CPE + Events Catalog

New features in Excel provide tremendous opportunities to improve Excel-based operational and financial reports. For example, Data Models, Power Query, Data Analysis Expressions, Power Pivot, and many others can help you create more powerful summaries and schedules in less time than ever. Bundle these tools with some of Excel’s “legacy” features, and you have significant new opportunities to improve your Excel-based reporting environments. In this fast-paced seminar, you will learn about the importance of using Power Query to link data into Excel data models and how you can manage these data models to facilitate better and more efficient reporting. Additionally, you will learn how to incorporate Key Performance Indicators, Slicers, and Timelines into your reports to enhance the analytics and understandability of the data. Further, you will learn best practices to quickly and easily format your spreadsheets to give them a polished and professional appearance. This course should be at the top of your professional development list if you use Excel for any reporting process.

As talent advance into supervisory roles they have to transition from being individual contributors to organizing a team to produce the results. However, most were never taught how to do the planning and scheduling to run projects because many of their leaders learned on the job as well. In this session we will borrow project management skills to teach a new supervisors and managers how to start making longer term plans to optimize the team. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Transforming your practice or business to a digital model is a journey, not a destination. There are some digital initiatives that require a great deal of time and money to deploy. There are also many "low hanging fruit" initiatives that are relatively easy and inexpensive to deploy. E-signature software is a perfect example of the latter. John Higgins, a nationally recognized leader in accounting technology, will guide you through the process of evaluating, selecting and implementing e-signature software to streamline a solution, and secure your document signing processes. You will be surprised to discover how easy it is to take your engagement letter and contract signing workflow digital. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Just about every company, no matter its size or the types of activities it undertakes, is at greater risk because of all the types of fraud that can be be carried out electronically. Potential perpetrators can be operating internally or externally and the scope of the damage that occurs is almost never limited to cyber-assets. While threat awareness is improving, there are still too many owners or top level executives that underestimate the scale of the issue. In this session, we delve into the types and the nature of many electronic defalcation schemes. The material then explores measures that organizations can implement to help stop these activities and add additional layers of security. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

From understanding fraud requirements to improving risk assessment procedures, and from testing to meeting auditing standards, discover ways to audit more effectively and efficiently. Engage in discussions that cover reducing risk and effective planning, research and documentation. Review various case studies, real-life examples and sample documentation will reinforce ideas. This course meets the specific California Board of Accountancy requirements that CPAs are required to meet for re-issuance of their license. This course is one of two parts of Auditing Standards: A Comprehensive Review 2024. Please be sure to also register for Part 2.

The QuickBooks platform is robust with features and capabilities that many users are unaware of or do not know how to utilize effectively. This course helps you get more out of QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online and resolve the issues even experienced QuickBooks users struggle with, such as locking down prior periods. This program starts fast with a chapter covering the top issues accountants face with QuickBooks. Then, the day continues with practical guidance and solutions designed to help accountants get the most out of QuickBooks for themselves or their clients. You will learn about issues like setting up a new company, configuring and customizing QuickBooks preferences, and enabling system security and password protection features. Also, you will learn how to lock down transactions in prior periods, use the audit trail, customize reports, export reports to Excel, and extend QuickBooks' usefulness with tools such as the Fixed Asset Manager and Loan Manager.

This course provides in-depth information to enable the practitioner to make a well-informed decision as to whether a trust is the appropriate vehicle for a client’s financial, estate, and/or asset protection plan, and, if so, how the trust can best be implemented and operated. Participants will learn about the many different types of trusts that can be harnessed to save clients income, estate, generation-skipping, and other taxes, at both the federal and state level.

From understanding fraud requirements to improving risk assessment procedures and from testing to meeting auditing standards, discover ways to audit more effectively and efficiently. Engage in discussions that cover reducing risk and effective planning, research and documentation. Review various case studies, real-life examples and sample documentation will reinforce ideas. This course meets the specific California Board of Accountancy requirements that CPAs are required to meet for re-issuance of their license.

Internal Control Deficiencies and Other Matters - Adding Value Through Required Auditor Communications will help the auditor with understanding how to improve required internal control communications to be more value-added from the perspective of the client. Professional and regulatory audit standards require communication of internal control matters noted in a financial statement audit. This assists management and those charged with governance with satisfying responsibilities for designing, implementing, maintaining, and monitoring internal controls. In addition, in order to retain existing clients, lower fee pressures and gain invaluable referral sources, financial statement auditors must place a priority on being a value-added business advisor. Note: This course is recommended as a part of a 16-hour audit skills curriculum for in-charge or supervisor auditors, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has responsibilities for communicating internal control related matters to the client. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The AICPA has determined than 1 in 10 firms are not compliant with the risk assessment standards. This course will discuss how to properly identify risks and assess risks under AU-C 315. We will then review how to respond to identified risks under AU-C 330. The course will focus on the inherent risk model. We will also review common deficiencies and how a proper risk assessment can drive a more efficient and effective audit.

During this webcast you will learn about tools that have been added to Excel that will make accessing data, from various data sources, even easier, such as data models and Power Query (Get and Transform).

The process of closing out the books every month can make year-end accounting a breeze! But isn't this time consuming? Not when you know the steps to take monthly. We'll show you what to do in your QuickBooks Pro, Premier, or Enterprise as well as learn what you can do monthly to ensure a tax return that will stand up again an IRS audit. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The QuickBooks ecosystem of accounting tools remains the most widely-used set of accounting applications used by small businesses. Yet, many of these organizations struggle because of inadequate internal controls. In this seminar, you will learn options for improving internal controls in small businesses running QuickBooks Pro, Premier, Enterprise, or Online. Participate in this program to understand how you can create a robust system of internal controls in a small business environment, including businesses using QuickBooks accounting solutions. In this session, you will also learn about the four common types of internal controls and how to assess the relative condition of the internal control structure of a small business. With this background in place, the focus then shifts to discovering the opportunities to enhance internal controls in QuickBooks-based environments using features found in the application. In addition, you will learn about additional internal control procedures for situations where you cannot establish adequate controls in QuickBooks. In sum, while many believe that QuickBooks-based organizations will forever face weak internal control structures, by participating in this session, you will learn how QuickBooks-based businesses can benefit from strong internal controls.

How good are you with the technology you use daily?  What new technology tools are available that could save you time and make you more effective?  Technology continues to accelerate rapidly, and the need to keep pace is essential. If you are not an information technology (IT) expert but need a technology update to maintain and improve your skills to serve your companies or clients more efficiently and effectively, this course is for you! In this fast-paced, update-style course, you will survey today’s IT environment, learning about computer hardware, software (including Microsoft Office), operating systems (including Windows 10), and what they mean for you, and peripheral devices. You will also learn about significant trends in information technology and how to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these trends.  Examples include the latest Excel features, working with PDF files, and security and privacy issues. Additionally, you will learn how to improve the overall performance of your IT investment, thereby increasing your return on investment. Throughout this program, you will learn from real-time demonstrations of practical applications of the latest tools, which can provide you with the knowledge you need to harness the power of technology, both now and in the future. Register now for this “don’t miss” opportunity to get the skills required to enhance the value of your IT investment.  

We kick off this course with a look at the GASB standards that are effective this year including GASB 100, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections and GASB 101, Compensated Absences.  We then move to the NFP side of the house with a look at the Accounting Standard Updates issued by the FASB that impacts nonprofit entities. Following that, we review the work of the Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC) and the projects they advise the FASB on. After the break, we will conduct a deeper dive into Yellow Book and Single Audit engagements. The course closes with a look at the significant changes in the 2024 Compliance Supplement, the changes to the Uniform Guidance and the common deficiencies identified by the federal agencies and peer reviewers. 

PowerPoint is a widely available resource that is potentially underutilized by accountants because many accountants do not stray beyond Excel and Word in the Microsoft Office suite. You will learn how to create and edit a professional PowerPoint slide deck. This session places particular emphasis on efficiency tips and tricks that will allow you to develop creative, professional visual aids while minimizing time and effort. The course’s author will share personal insights he has cultivated throughout more than two decades of public speaking. Although the session will focus on creating and editing slides, we will illustrate best practices for presentation delivery. We will also explain how PowerPoint can be used for purposes other than delivering presentations.

Ethics are of central importance to the CPA profession. But what do we mean by ethics? Is it just appropriate behavior, compliance with laws, or is it more than that? In this course, we'll discover what sets ethics apart and, therefore, sets the profession apart as well. We'll explore the tools available, the role of bias, and dive into real life case studies. We'll apply the AICPA's ethical framework and detect where bias was involved in the case studies. We'll even discover that one person set the price tag on their ethics at $53.7 million, only to lose it all in the end. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Tax advisors often receive questions concerning all facets of Medicare. How does Medicare work? How do I apply? How much does it cost? Is Medicare optional or required? This program provides a basic introduction to the Medicare program and covers many of the areas of the Medicare program that clients are most interested in. If you, or some of your clients, have questions relating to Medicare, this program is a must for you.

Auditing contract revenue can be challenging. Long-term contracts can be even more difficult. Learn the knowledge necessary to conduct a successful audit of contracts, and the key issues affecting construction auditing, including auditing under the new revenue recognition and leases guidance.

Joshua, a CFO from Chicago, did not go to prison for stealing the $2 million in liquid cash he had access to on a daily basis. Instead, Joshua ended up in prison by rationalizing that he was entitled to a few small perks of the profession. This course explores Joshua's story and covers how and why executives with high annual incomes make short-sighted decisions that can cost them their job and freedom. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.