CPE + Events Catalog

Looking to stay ahead in tax matters? Join our 2025 Individual Tax Update course for an essential deep dive into Form 1040 essentials. Designed for tax pros eager to sharpen their skills, this course unpacks recent tax code changes and equips you with the know-how to navigate them effortlessly. From mastering IRS Form 1040 to leveraging new tax benefits, you'll emerge ready to optimize returns for your clients while staying compliant with the latest regulations. Don't miss out on this opportunity to boost your expertise and ensure financial success for both you and your clients! **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.

Today’s economy and all of the digital enhancements have impacted the way companies engage with their customers as well as how the company manages their internal practices. The business control function needs to keep pace. The rising importance of analytical capability is critical when defining the role of the modern controller. Execution of analytics can vary but there are still key questions that must be asked. What are the options and what we need to understand to decide the best way forward? This course focuses on the value that can be brought by the Controller when becoming involved with data analytics powered by technology and also Big Data. The digitized world we live in has made it important for the Controller function to evolve and take on this advanced task.  

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.  

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 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.  

Understand the new pronouncement from FASB specifically related to financial instruments and leases. Learn up-to-date requirements and how to apply the guidance.

To make more money in less time, all accountants need to learn to market themselves effectively to their clients or their firm. For better or worse, promotions and more money go to those who are the best marketers, rather than the most competent accountants.  In this fascinating and fun workshop, participants will learn seven key ways to get more clients and/or promotions through the art of marketing.

We all want to be successful and deeply fulfilled, but most of us have not learned what really leads to a life of abundance, happiness, purpose, and great relationships.  In this seminar, you will learn the most effective methods for creating the life you really want.  In his interviews with such people as Oprah, the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, Ted Turner, and dozens of others, Jonathan has learned what really works and what does not.  In this seminar you’ll learn the best personal and professional growth techniques he’s acquired over his career.  Once you know these great ideas and methods, you'll be able to take your life and career to a whole new level. 

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.

Learn to provide information on new requirements from PCAOB auditing standards and help practitioners apply the guidance in practice.

Stop struggling with PDFs! Adobe Acrobat and other PDF tools provide access to features that make working with PDF files a breeze. In this course, you will learn how to use tools and features such as PDF forms, redaction, converting PDFs to Word and Excel files, and electronic signatures. You will also learn how to create and apply tick marks, build indices, catalogs, and portfolios, and secure PDF documents to their fullest. The popularity and usefulness of PDFs increase daily, but most PDF users have not learned how to manipulate PDF documents effectively. Accordingly, they struggle and strain with these standard files. You do not need to let this be the case. Join us in this very timely session where you will learn the top features necessary to optimize your work with PDF documents.

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.

Join us for an in-depth webcast on Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) and the essential aspects of preparing Form 5227.  This course will provide a comprehensive overview of CRTs, including their purpose, benefits, and practical considerations. Moreover, we will delve into the intricacies of Form 5227, the informational return for charitable remainder trusts, ensuring you have the necessary knowledge to accurately complete and file this crucial document. During this webcast, Art Werner will guide you through the fundamental concepts of Charitable Remainder Trusts, illustrating how they can be utilized as a strategic tool for tax planning. We will explore various types of CRTs, their formation, and the different scenarios in which they are most beneficial.  A significant portion of the webcast will be dedicated to Form 5227, the reporting requirement for charitable remainder trusts. We will provide an in-depth analysis of the form's components, line by line, ensuring you gain a comprehensive understanding of the information it requires. From trust assets and income to distributions and charitable beneficiaries, we will cover each section, discussing common pitfalls and best practices for accurate reporting. Mr. Werner will address the recent updates and changes to Form 5227, enabling you to stay up to date with the latest compliance requirements.

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 this seminar you'll learn the best ways to get more done in less time, how to stay sane with all you have to do, and how to get other people to do some of "your" work by building great relationships.

This webcast walks through the limitations, and suggests how to improve the VLOOKUP function. We spend some time trapping errors with the IFERROR function, which was first rolled out with Excel 2007.

The QuickBooks platform is a robust environment 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 that 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.  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, such as 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, the audit trail, customizing reports, exporting reports to Excel, and extending QuickBooks’ usefulness with tools such as the Fixed Asset Manager and Loan Manager.    

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.  

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.