CPE + Events Catalog

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.

This intensive two-hour course addresses the critical need for accuracy and efficiency when developing spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel. Recognizing that even minor errors can have significant implications, this course delves deep into strategies and skills required to detect and correct errors in Excel. By the end of this course, participants will have a comprehensive understanding of how to efficiently identify and correct errors in Excel spreadsheets, enhancing their overall productivity and accuracy in their professional roles. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This course will dive into the fundamentals of fiduciary accounting and provide a reporting guide for determining whether receipts and expenditures are assigned to income or principal/corpus. 

The course provides a concise overview of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting -- an emerging system of non-financial record-keeping and governance. Around the world, organizations of all sizes and kinds are under increasing pressure from regulators, consumers, employees, and other stakeholders to provide a fuller and more integrated picture of the way in which entities operate, invest, and create value. This includes taking into account how their operations impact financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social, relationship, and natural capital. Participants will walk away with an increased situational awareness of ESG reporting, and an ESG starter strategy. This can be used immediately to position themselves for ESG success in an era of growing expectations for conscious capitalism, ethical investing, and moral leadership. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Governmental entities are the second largest victims of embezzlement.  This seminar examines recent events involving the theft of public money and the circumstances that allowed the fraud to occur.  We will be looking at a variety of case studies to illustrate these points.  

Have you ever met an accountant who exhibits solid technical prowess but possesses lackluster communication skills? It is not unusual to meet a savvy accountant who is a technical expert, but could enhance the delivery of written and spoken words. This course is designed to help CPAs improve their written and verbal communication skills. Participants will learn how to tailor communication to their audience, with particular emphasis on techniques for crafting a message that effectively conveys technical information in an engaging manner. The course’s author will share personal success tips gleaned from more than two decades of experience communicating myriad topics to a variety of audiences.

Everyone knows that Excel is the most widely used spreadsheet application in the world today. However, because it is ever-changing, many users are unable to keep up with the latest features and capabilities of this ubiquitous application. In this course, we'll look at some of the most helpful new features and tools that have been added to both the Desktop version of Excel and the Web version. This course is for anyone who regularly works with Excel-We hope you'll attend!

Individuals who work in a governmental environment have many rules of ethics that must be followed. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issues Yellow Book providing rules related to ethics and independence, which received a significant update in 2018. We'll review some of the key elements of ethics relevant to governmental entities and auditors to prevent independence noncompliance. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This course dives into the powerful, but potentially under-utilized, capabilities of Microsoft Excel. Designed for sophisticated users willing to approach spreadsheets from a unique perspective, this program encourages users to challenge the status quo by considering opportunities to take acceptable spreadsheets to a new level. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Think about how much time you spend reviewing and creating PDF files. This course teaches you how to take advantage of a multitude of features and functions available in Adobe Acrobat to create, review, organize, edit and secure your PDF files more effectively and efficiently. Like many personal productivity software applications, it is very likely that you are using only a fraction of the potential of Adobe Acrobat when working with your PDF files. For many CPAs, a PDF file is the final presentation of your work product, whether it is a tax return, financial statement, audit report or other financial reports. This course will teach you how improve the quality of those report presentations. The tips you learn in this course will save you time on a daily basis. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Microsoft 365/Office 365 continues to grow and evolve, yet most utilize only a fraction of the tools available in their subscription. For example, powerful resources such as SharePoint Online and audio and video conferencing can change how your organization communicates and collaborates. In contrast, more personal apps such as Teams, Planner, Flow, and Sway allow individuals to work more efficiently and effectively in virtually all facets of their jobs. Further, security enhancements to Office 365 mean that your organization can take advantage of all these features in a highly secure environment.  Isn’t it time you learned how to move beyond the traditional Microsoft 365/Office 365 applications such as Excel, Word, and Outlook and unleash all your subscription offers? Join us in this fast-paced and highly interactive seminar where you will learn what you need to know to succeed with Microsoft 365/Office 365.

This course will explore some of the most essential tools for measuring financial and operational success, as well as improving results. Appendices will be provided to give students hands-on applicable materials that can be utilized after completion of the course.

This highly informative course comprehensively covers all the latest tax law developments. The focus is on individual taxation and discussion of the planning opportunities practitioners need to understand to help clients respond effectively. You will come away from the course with the up-to-date knowledge to educate your individual tax clients and implement tax-saving ideas that will serve their ever-evolving needs. This course is continually updated to reflect enacted legislation. Please Note: Due to content overlap, it is recommended that this course NOT be taken together with BFTU.

Many Excel users have received little or no formal training to help them use the ubiquitous productivity application. This session can help users that wish to improve their Excel skills to increase their productivity. The material starts by covering basic topics such as time saving tips and keyboard shortcuts and then moves to more advanced areas like conditional formatting and complex formula building. Users that find themselves looking at the spreadsheets that others design and wishing they could do as much with Excel will benefit greatly by taking this course. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Auditing standards require auditors to assess risk-including controls-and use that assessment as a foundation for performing the audit. Risk assessment is not just a technical GAAS requirement, it has a direct impact on realization. Audit teams that perform a thorough risk assessment are more likely to have high realization engagements than those who go through the motions. This course is designed for small business audit teams. It addresses the risk assessment procedures and responsibilities for each team member and how they fit together to create more effective and efficient audits. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Does your organization encourage timely reporting? Does your organization provide substantive protection for those who report? Organizations should be aware of characteristics indicative of a retaliatory culture - one in which bad actors are provided ample opportunity and cover to retaliate.

Excel errors continue to plague organizations of all sizes. As spreadsheets become more common, these errors will continue to impact virtually every Excel user and those who rely on Excel-based data and analyses. Fortunately, that need not be the case because many options exist to prevent, identify, and correct spreadsheet errors before adversely affecting reports and decision-making processes. In this session, you will learn how to apply best practices to reduce the error rate in workbooks you and others on your team create and edit. Equally important, you will learn how to use add-ins for Excel to programmatically scan and audit your spreadsheets to identify potentially costly errors while there is still time to correct them. Finally, you do not want to miss this opportunity to learn how PerfectXL, ClusterSeven, and ActiveData tools can help you and your team identify and correct potentially disastrous spreadsheet errors.

There is always too much to do and too little time to do it all.  Fortunately, if you know the right ways to manage people, projects and your time, you can get on top of everything by working smarter.  In Part 2 of this seminar we will go into more depth about how to get more done in less time, as well as how to not burnout from all the work you do.  We will discuss additional methods for working smarter through technology, communication, stress reduction, and creating smart and helpful goals.

This course is designed to equip CPAs, EAs, attorneys, and tax professionals with the essential knowledge and strategies needed to navigate the latest developments. Explore innovative approaches to maximize retirement savings, discuss tax- efficient retirement plan options, and align estate planning techniques with current trends. Gain a thorough understanding of altered rules for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and discover how to optimize estate plans in response to changing regulations. This update is tailored for professionals seeking practical insights in the realm of contemporary retirement planning. **Please Note:  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to kori.herrera@acpen.com.

The tax laws keep changing and nonprofit entities must continue to adjust to new rules.  As part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, passed in August 2022, hundreds of billions of dollars in government funding and costs were allocated to energy and climate initiatives. As part of the legislation, for the first-time, tax-exempt organizations (including not-for-profits and government agencies) can claim certain energy credits on their federal income tax returns and receive a refund from the federal government even if they have zero federal income tax liability. Donor advised funds continue to be an area of focus within the IRS and Treasury, with proposed regulations recently issued (with more expected on the way). This year’s tax update will include s summary of these regulations already issued, as well as what’s on the table prospectively. This year’s Annual Not-for-Profit Update will include a tax update and review of key issues in completing IRS Form 990, and related Schedules. It is more important than ever for non-profits to understand and complete this annual tax form to ensure that the organization and its donors are also protected so they can accomplish their corporate intentions and goals. On the accounting standards front, some nonprofits will still be implementing the FASB’s new Credit Losses standard (Accounting Standards Codification [ASC] Topic 326), the last of the FASB’s recent wave of major standards. This standard primarily affects two groups of nonprofits: (1) those making loans or financial guarantees (e.g., foundations, community development financial institutions, universities) and (2) those with accounts receivable arising from service (or goods) delivery rather than grants and contributions (e.g., hospitals, universities). Meanwhile, the FASB has been progressing through its next generation of projects, informed by a public agenda consultation in 2021, as well as preparing for a follow-on public agenda consultation to be conducted beginning later this year. Although many of these projects are focused on business enterprises and the needs of their investors, there are several recent standards (Accounting Standards Updates [ASUs]) and current projects that have or could have significant applicability to some or many nonprofits. These include recent ASUs on Crypto Assets (2023-08) and on Income Tax Disclosures (2023-09) and current projects on Software Development Costs and on two specific Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues with potential financial statement impact, Financial Instruments with ESG-linked Features (part of a project on Derivatives Scope Refinements) and Environmental Credit Programs. This year’s FASB Update will include helpful implementation reminders for Credit Losses, and for Leases between Entities under Common Control (ASU 2023-01), which was important follow-on guidance for another of the FASB’s major recent standards, Leases (ASC Topic 842). The Update will also provide background information and discuss key provisions of the ASUs on Crypto Assets and Income Tax Disclosures, and a summary of efforts to-date on the Software Development Costs and ESG-related projects, as well as provide a brief preview of upcoming 2024 agenda consultation. Auditing Update - a review of Statements on Auditing Standards 142 (Audit Evidence), 143 (Accounting Estimates), 144 (Amendments to AU-C 501, 540 and 620); 145 (Understanding the Entity and Assessing Risk), 146 (Quality Management),148 (Amendments to AU-C 935), that will impact audits conducted in 2023 and beyond, with emphasis on practical application to NFP organizations. This session will also discuss the Statements on Quality Management Standards and their impact on smaller firms. Ethics Update – Our course will provide a review of recently enacted Ethics Interpretations, including NOLAR, Unpaid Fees, Accounting Standards Implementation, Loans, Information system services, Officer and directors, and Compliance Audits, as well as consideration of exposure drafts currently outstanding. Qualifies as one hour of ethics CPE.   This program will also provide an overview of other recent standards issued and projects in progress that impact Not-for-Profit entities. **Please Note:  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to kori.herrera@acpen.com.