CPE + Events Catalog

Seismic changes in tax legislation is currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this two hour monthly program in order to stay abreast of these developments! Approximately one-half of the program is devoted to individual tax issues, and the remaining time is spend on business entity taxation, IRS procedure, tax legislation and other issues. Due to the changing nature of the topic, learning objectives, course descriptions and program content will vary and will be provided in more specificity closer to presentation time. This course provides a concise look at the hottest topics affecting every tax practitioner. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is mainstream, and most people have a basic understanding of it, but few know the depth and breadth of its capabilities. AI is making an impact in just about everything in business and our lives. The operation of an internal control system is also changing because of this incredible advancement. This course explains what AI is and how it works and goes into detail about how it can be applied to an internal control system. This course explores changes occurring in today's world as well as what's coming.

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.

This course will help you master individual income tax return preparation! It will improve your understanding of the basics, focusing on the law and compliance associated with Form 1040. It is an excellent Update of the process for new preparers and a refresher for the more seasoned professional.

This comprehensive training is designed to get the accountant up to speed quickly with the complex passive activity loss (PAL) rules that apply to certain investments in trades or businesses and rental activities. The cornerstone of the course is the in-depth coverage of the detailed tax law and regulations applicable to passive activities under IRC 469 and how and when the 3.8% net investment income tax under 1411 applies. Each attendee will receive the most comprehensive passive activity reference manual with numerous practice aids and real-world examples.

Substantive Analytic Procedures - Strengthening Evidence to Satisfy Audit Objectives will provide the tips and best practice techniques for strengthening substantive analytic procedures in order to reduce over-reliance on tests of details. One of the ways to perform a more effective and efficient audit is to maximize the use of substantive analytic procedures in the detailed audit plan. 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 analytical procedures. 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 will examine what guidance exists for cryptocurrency on the date of the program and how practitioners can become comfortable working in the unknown emerging areas of the cryptocurrency industry. Some of the topics that will be covered are how to use the history of cryptocurrency development to identify the critical features of new technologies to separate the hype from reality and then how to use that reality to import properties from other areas of tax to let clients find a reasonable basis for a filing position.

With increasing competition for finding the best qualified candidates and retaining today’s workforce, it’s more important than ever to consider flexible work options in the workplace. We will review the most popular flexible work options your company could consider implementing: telecommuting, compressed work weeks, flexible hours, phased return from leave of absence, job sharing, early release days, and more! We’ll discuss the benefits of this talent management strategy, including increased productivity, decreased costs, better work-life “integration”, and increased employee engagement and satisfaction. You’ll learn how to propose flexible scheduling to your executive team, including how to logistically roll out this program. Whether you’re in a manufacturing plant, corporate headquarters, or retail industry, you can apply any of these flexible work options to your organization. 

This course corresponds to our Controllership series. This course is dedicated to exploring the traditional controller role and stepping out of the box to identify areas where the controller can continue to add strategic value to their organizations. Within this segment of our controllership series, we discuss the area of cash and investments and explore how the controller can move these responsibilities into more of a strategic role. In today’s world, the role of cash management is often a pivotal role in the organization. In economically difficult times, controllers may find that they spend a great deal of their time on understanding and managing the organizations' cash position. This is certainly important and, in some areas, can be seen as a staple of the lifeblood of the organization’s ongoing viability. This course takes a look at some of the typical objectives involved in cash management and then evaluates how those objectives can be further stretched into strategic pillars of the organization.  

A common challenge for the controller role is in closing the month-end and period-end books in preparation to issue financial statements. This duty requires precision, timing and efficiency. In today’s digital world, many organizations have access to financial accounting software that will assist with the steps in the financial close. However, even with this aid it is critical the accountant understand the various steps for the close process and how they inter-relate to other accounting processes. This course gives you an insight into the inter-relationships between many processes that impact the financial close. The closing process has traditionally been a slow one with many companies taking two weeks to close its subsidiary’s books and another two to three weeks to roll up and consolidated the results. With the introduction of technology much has been done to help accelerate that process with integrated enterprise resource planning systems and general ledger and consolidate software. Within this segment we will discuss the elements of the financial close and also important concepts to assist the controller in accelerating their close timeline. This includes addressing all functional areas of the close including payroll, invoicing, payables, inventory, cash, and the general ledger. We will also discuss important concepts of ensuring your financial close is accurate by discussing bank reconciliations, overhead allocations, bad debt reserves, unpaid wages and accruals for vacation time, account reconciliations, deprecation and overall financial statement review. Note: This course does not address utilizing technology in the financial close. Its focus is to understand the varied procedures involved in the financial close whether or not technology is utilized.  

Forensic accounting, forensic accountancy or financial forensics is the specialty practice area of accounting that investigates whether firms engage in financial reporting misconduct. Forensic accountants apply a range of skills and methods to determine whether there has been financial reporting misconduct. Financial forensic engagements may fall into several categories. For example: Economic damages calculations, whether suffered through tort or breach of contract. Post-acquisition disputes such as earnouts or breaches of warranties Bankruptcy, insolvency and reorganization Securities and tax fraud Money laundering Business valuation Computer forensics/e-discovery This session is designed to delve into further investigative procedures used including digital forensics. Future sessions will focus on computer forensics, network forensics and mobile forensics.  

The TCJA made turning business losses into tax refunds far more difficult.  The CARES Act suspended and modified many of these changes.  This course will address the revised rules for deducting business losses and discuss planning ideas and potential pitfalls.  **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.

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Copilot are available to everyone and offer great promise for improved productivity. Learn how you can begin to take advantage of these tools by participating in this session.

Payroll is among the most common tasks an employer undertakes in the course of running their business. At it's most basic level, payroll consists of an agreement between an employer and employee related to compensation for services. However, once you look under the hood, there is so much more to payroll, including various kinds of compensation, payroll taxes and required reporting on government forms. Ethics in payroll is present in every step in the payroll process, from handling employee confidential information and dealing with pay, compensation and fringe benefits, to acting as an intermediary on behalf of federal, state, and local governments in the collection and remittance of payroll taxes. All levels of payroll staff- from payroll processor to payroll manager to CEO - encounter ethical considerations in their conduct when dealing with payroll matters. This course will discuss ethics as it pertains to payroll. Attendees will leave with a comprehensive framework for ethical decision making in the payroll function, as well as some real-life examples of what happens when stakeholders in the payroll process make the decision to decouple ethics from payroll. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Estate planning continues to evolve, and staying informed about the latest trends and strategies is crucial for professionals in the field. This forward-looking course delves into the intricacies of estate planning, with a specific focus on current issues. Participants will explore cutting-edge techniques, emerging legal considerations, and industry developments to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to create effective estate plans that withstand the test of time and safeguard their clients' legacies.  

Gear up for tax season with Steve Dilley's annual update!  This program provides an update to the latest tax developments, rules and regulations affecting both business and individual taxpayers, including a review and integration of 2023-2024 legislation.    **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.

It is now common for those who live to the age of 65 to expect to live at least another 20 years. With increased length of life comes the need to understand that certain necessities must be considered for elderly/disabled clients. We walk you through issue spotting, including senior housing and care giving options, guardianships, conservatorships, financial and health care powers of attorney, Medicaid qualification and asset protection planning. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Financial forecasting is an important part of any successful business. It enables businesses to plan for the future and anticipate scenarios based on strategy. The controller helps forecast financials by calculating future revenue and income streams. In recent years, corporate finance has undergone many dramatic changes due to the growth of a number of high-tech tools. The responsibilities/competencies of the Financial Controller position (FC) has changed in recent years To maximize performance, Controllers must be aware of how the FC position is changing, and how they must adjust to these changes. There are many types and methods of financial forecasting. This course will review the most prevalent forecasts and relative methods being used.

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.

Are you comfortable giving presentations and feel good about your performance, or does the experience make you anxious and leave you feeling dissatisfied? In this session, learn how to let your best self shine during interactions with your staff, the auditee, and the governing board. Jim Comer is an accomplished speechwriter and presentations skill coach for executives. Leita Fanta has led over 1500 full-day seminars. Let Jim and Leita help you establish genuine and comfortable professional relationships and avoid mistakes that will detract from your message. *Qualifies for Yellowbook credit This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.