CPE + Events Catalog

When do they exist and how to report them? This program will provide a detailed analysis of the real estate professional passive activity rules, including forms reporting examples, and integrates those rules with when real estate is considered a "business" under the Section 199A flow-through entity deduction.  **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.

One of the biggest challenges, if not the most critical challenge in business, is attracting and keeping an engaged and productive workforce. Navigating the world of engagement and retention requires an understanding of human needs as well as deliberate and intentional actions to strengthen an employee's investment and connection to their place of work. For all the HGTV lovers out there, this session mirrors a television show where an individual/family must decide if they want to stay in their current home (after renovations and home improvements) or move to a new space. This webinar title seems apt in describing the current issues around engagement and retention. When an employee chooses to "love it" or stay with their current employer, it typically means they are engaged in their work and they feel seen, heard and valued- they are content. Conversely, the notion of "leaving it" typically symbolizes an employee who cannot wait to get out of their current job. These employees often have negative attitudes and/or behaviors at work. The purpose of this webinar is to recognize the significance of attracting and retaining employees, building your brand as an employer of choice and developing a culture where individual employees feel valued, cared for and ultimately engaged, all though an ethical lens. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This program addresses the Section 199A deduction for flow-through entity income, including a review of the major provisions, forms reporting, and recent developments. 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 provides a concise overview of how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) thinks. The session reviews how the agency uses behavioral insights -- the study of how people reflect and behave -- to drive compliance, positively impact taxpayer engagement, and reduce taxpayer burden. While the IRS is governed by federal tax law, it's also shaped by social norms. As part of their mission to collect taxes and administer the Internal Revenue Code, the agency utilizes human psychology to achieve their goals. These activities include public identity (using the IRS logo, seal, and symbol), voluntary compliance (using public shaming and the "Wesley Snipes" effect), trust building (using a Taxpayer Bill of Rights), and error reductions (using alerts and reminders to nudge behaviors). The session reveals how to "get into the head" of the agency and better understand the key psychological factors (individual, environmental, social) that drive leading IRS operations and decisions. The course also spotlights the leading issues and pain-points that are currently "top of mind" for the agency and how practitioners can be more mindful in their interactions with the IRS to improve outcomes. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This session revisits useful, but potentially underutilized, managerial accounting techniques. You will appreciate a fresh look at concepts you may not have considered since your college days. We will illustrate practical ways you can immediately implement managerial accounting analysis in your professional endeavors. 

This course examines the critical issues and special opportunities facing partnerships and their partners, as well as the relationship between limited liability companies and partnerships, with a focus on reporting tax basis capital accounts. **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.

This course focuses on how to integrate integrity and objectivity in situations accounting professionals face daily. The participant will be able to know not just what is the right thing to do according to the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, but how to put values into action! As part of this course, we will also walk through real world examples of individuals and companies faced with these dilemmas. 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 explores the latest tax provisions impacting non-profit entities, including charities, hospitals, and universities, with a focus on common issues CPAs may face when completing their clients Form 990. **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.  

Over the next decade, the area of “Advisory Services” has the greatest potential for growth in your practice.  Complexities within your clients’ financial, estate, and asset protection plans coupled with the ever-changing Internal Revenue Code has created an opportunity for the CPA, the EA, and other advisors to expand their client offerings. This course provides the practitioner with the framework for practice expansion as well as an understanding of a variety of necessary issues and techniques.  

This course provides a high-level overview and introduction into the world of the forensic accountant. Most accountants have an understanding of the concept of fraud and how it impacts companies, but many individuals do not have a full comprehension of the variance in the work performed by a forensic accountant versus a typical management accountant.   This course is meant for those individuals interested in understanding the variances in the job tasks and responsibilities of forensic accountants versus typical financial or management accountants. Forensic accountants or auditors take a unique focus on performing their work.  Typically, when a person with forensic experience is called in to examine financial records, it is due to suspicion of fraud, evaluation of assets, or even to track down fundamentally incorrect accounting – intentional or not. As fraud continues to raise its head in business processes, forensic accountants are discovering new and unique ways to identify, examine, and support their hypotheses and investigative techniques.  The work performed by a forensic specialist can be interesting and full of potential potholes if evidence isn’t examined according to proper protocols and standards.  

Award winning discussion leader, former state accountancy board chair, and lifelong tax practitioner Mark Hugh will review ethics for tax professionals: the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and interpretations; the Statements on Standards for Tax Services; tax preparer standards in the Internal Revenue Code; the rules for practice with and before the IRS, including IRS Circular 230; new developments; and discuss examples of best practices and case studies.

By the nature of our work and training, financial professionals have more personal finance knowledge than the general population. However, sometimes we spend so much time planning our company's future that we neglect or defer taking steps to build our own personal net worth. If you are dissatisfied about the speed that you are accumulating savings, this session will help put you on the right track. Even if you are meeting your goals, this session will provide insights and ideas which will add to and reinforce what you may already be doing.

Security is not optional, and yesterday’s security techniques do not minimize today’s security threats. Therefore, now is the time for you to tune up what you know about protecting sensitive data. This program will teach you the latest tools and techniques for securing your data, including encryption, virus protection, safe communications, electronic signatures, secure authentication, and more. You will also learn how to implement a practical, five-step approach to securing your PC and the questions you should ask your staff to ensure server-based information remains protected. Security failures, such as a breach of client or customer data, are costly – they can even drive your company out of business. So, what security tools do you need, and how should you use them to secure your sensitive data and systems? Can you afford to risk attempting to manage today’s threats using yesterday’s techniques? Participate in this program to learn how to identify viable and practical solutions to mitigating today’s security threats.  

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.

This is a two-part series that discuss new trends and concepts the financial controller should begin to execute in order to truly become a valued member of the senior leadership team. The rapid pace of the evolving technological landscape has promoted changes in how accountants and financial professionals focus attention on strategy and modernize their roles to leverage digital technology. There is increased demand for enhancing flexibility into finance cycles and initiating real-time reporting and insights. These are the core attributes that will assist in transforming the work that controllership function performs. Is the financial controllership prepared to meet future business demands? The IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) and Deloitte’s Center for Controllership aimed to better understand the current state of controllership and expectations of future demands for controllers and accounting professionals. They conducted a survey in late 2022 and identified several trends. The survey takes a look at how prepared controllership is to meet future business demands. It also highlights some insights for leaders to consider that may increase their preparedness. It also identified areas of additional insight and questions to answer on the controllership transformation journey. In this segment, we will go through numerous concepts in detail.  

Please join us for a discussion on Treasury Circular 230 and other ethical issues faced by enrolled agents and other tax preparers.  In addition to covering the practice standards espoused by Treasury Circular 230, there will also be an overview of the applicable provisions in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and common law which will affect tax preparers.  The discussion will conclude with other ethical issues, such as avoiding conflicts of interest, proper fee structure and maintaining competency.  Also included will be case studies illustrating dilemmas faced by tax practitioners.   **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.  

Good people believe everyone else is just like them. They cannot imagine someone could con them or their company and have no guilt or remorse about what they have done. Lack of guilt and empathy are key traits of a psychopath. Most of us envision psychopaths to be cold-blooded serial killers who are locked away in prison. However, experts estimate that 4% of corporate executives are psychopaths who may initially appear to be more normal than the rest of us. Psychopaths may present a convincing picture of virtue while helping themselves to money, status and sex while leaving a path of shattered expectations, empty wallets, and broken hearts in their wake. Learn how to recognize and deal with others who have no conscience. 

In the course of legal actions, payments may be made pursuant to a final disposition of a court case or a mutually agreed-upon settlement.  This course will cover the tax implications for payments made for personal injury, emotional distress, lost wages, punitive awards, pre- and post-judgement interest, contract claims, among other damages. **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 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.