CPE + Events Catalog

This course provides an overview of cybersecurity from the CPA perspective. We will discuss the components of an IT environment that need to be considered in audits - e.g. network, operating systems, database, and application layers. Additionally, we will discuss an overview of cybersecurity frameworks under the influence of the AICPA and/or ISACA - e.g. SOC2, COBIT, COSO, SOX IT controls, etc. and key cybersecurity controls. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Properly designed and effectively operating internal control over financial reporting is critical for preventing, or detecting and correcting, material misstatement. This course describes how to satisfy the audit requirements related to taking a control reliance strategy by testing the operating effectiveness of internal controls, while promoting an effective and efficient financial statement audit. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Not-for-profit entities have recently applied critical new standards related to contributions of nonfinancial assets, leases, and more. Now is the time to know more than just what the standards say - we need to know what they mean and how they will affect not-for-profit entities. This course is designed to do just that! The course materials utilize a highly illustrative and innovative format. Over 15 focused exercises are included to provide an enhanced working knowledge of the challenges in not-for-profit accounting.

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.  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 a bit deeper into the world of forensic accounting and identify some of the specific areas of expertise required to become a forensic accountant. We will then first delve deeper into the art of document analysis and handwriting analysis.  

This course provides a concise overview of recent IRS criminal investigations and what practitioners can learn from these cases to help fight economic crime and even avoid personal criminal prosecution. While accountants are numbers people by training (not detectives per se with the exception of forensic accountants), practitioners are increasingly being called upon by governments and economic organizations at all levels to step up and help law enforcement battle financial impropriety. The stakes are huge. In the United States alone, the OECD estimates that 5% to 10% of the annual budget of the US health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid, is wasted as a result of corruption. Every dollar lost to monetary malfeasance has a crippling effect that ripples through countries, industries, companies, communities and individual lives. Government resources are wasted, public services are compromised, companies are financially destabilized, shareholders are cheated, employers are swindled, charities are undermined and much more. By increasing their awareness of what and how the IRS investigates and prosecutes, accountants can heighten their "spidey sense" of what doesn't look right in financial records. This includes honing skills to more readily notice -- and report -- ledger anomalies and irregularities, and even rethink a "silence is always safer" mindset. As technology disrupts and automates many fundamental accounting functions, practitioners can add value by more diligently scanning for "creative accounting" red flags on the frontlines. Prioritizing transparency and behaving ethically -- the core of the profession -- not only helps society and the economy as a whole, it can help accountants boost their reputation as highly trusted business advisors and even supercharge their bottom line. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

A challenge for many small business owners is choosing the `right' type of retirement plan for their businesses. Many hesitate to make a choice because they are intimidated by the governing rules. In those cases, an IRA-based retirement plan is an easy, effective, and efficient way to start a retirement plan. These IRA-based plans - SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs - have low maintenance costs and are easy to communicate to employees. In some cases, employer contributions are discretionary, providing the business owners with the choice of whether to fund every year.

Recent legislation in Congress has provided the IRS with substantially increased funding to bolster its human staff and purchase software that will allow the IRS to audit many more taxpayers in a more effective way. The IRS believes it can target the right kinds of taxpayers for audits so that it will not waste its time on audits that produce little, if any, revenue. The purpose of this program is to discuss the current state of IRS audits and the anticipated increases in the IRS's ability to audit wealthier taxpayers in an efficient way. Panelists will discuss the state of the IRS's current audits and where the IRS is headed with audits in the coming years. Tax practitioners should also be aware of the state of the IRS's efforts to target efficiencies so as to produce the most revenue.

Manufacturing overhead costs - how to identify, classify, and trace products. How to handle Phantom sub-assembly costing issues. How to account for costs when manufacturing deviates from normal operations - outside temporary contractors. Applying costing principles to a process cost system and a project cost system. Example of a best-in-class chart of accounts for management reporting.

Ethics involve relationship to self, others, and the world in which we live. In the busyness of our world we often act out of habit without realizing that what we do truly matters. We matter! This session explores ethical values and principles as they apply to creating an Ethic of Care in the workplace with specific emphasis on compassion, accountability and respect. 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 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.   

In an era when sharing a photo of lunch can be considered an "update," the ethical standards that define the CPA profession are not always as intuitive as they once were. Our expert helps you navigate this new realm by using real-world examples to help illustrate the dos and don'ts in ethical social situations. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Honest people face real challenges when working in an unethical environment. Business owners may be at risk if team members feel as though policies and practices within the business violate rules, regulations, or laws. Some of those employees may contact authorities. Perhaps they work in an undercover capacity, exposing the business owner and other people that work with the business, or align with the business, to both government investigations and potentially criminal prosecutions. Participants will learn from a real story which led to criminal prosecution for Medicare Fraud. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Clients are living longer. Not only does that present challenges to the work we do with them to make sure that their money lasts, but it also brings into play additional issues and challenges that we may not have had to tackle in the past. How do we plan for where clients will live (possibly as solo agers)? How do we deal with issues of diminished capacity? How do we plan for long term care and end of life issues? How do we have complicated family conversations? How do we make sure that our clients have their best long lives possible both financially and otherwise?  Find out in this session where we will present tools you can use with clients to engage them in the planning process.

During this presentation, the most common mistakes made by employee benefit plan auditors, as well as, plan sponsors will be identified. Best practices for handling specific issues that arise during the course of the engagement will also be explored. This discussion will help auditors recognize potential pitfalls in audit procedures/documentation and assist plan sponsors with compliance issues.

This course begins with a look at the GASB standards effective this year, including GASB 100, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections and GASB 101, Compensated Absences. We'll include practical application of the topics in the form of case studies. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Award winning discussion leader Mark Hugh discusses how to create and capture value with consulting services. Whether you want to consult a little or full time, this valuable course reviews identifying a specialty, growing a practice, capturing value, creating deliverables, and effective marketplace marketing strategies.  

Payroll is everywhere. It is one of the most common tasks an employer can perform and can be found embedded in nearly every facet of the business and individual tax realm. For many, it is something they encounter regularly, but without any knowledge of how it really works, so it remains a black box. Join us as we un-box the Top 10 most commonly asked questions about payroll from an employer perspective. We'll cover the answers to questions you didn't even know you had and build on the fundamentals of payroll that will help make that black box a bit more transparent. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

These are uncertain times. With constant economic fluctuation, geopolitical uncertainty and inflation pressures, corporations and their professionals are facing challenges at every turn. The Controllership function is accustomed to dealing with changing variables but when the change is constant and every evolving, even the simplest of tasks like cash flow and cash forecasting can become difficult.  This webinar is to focus on what methods the controller can elicit to attempt to address the current uncertainty when working with their cash flow issues and forecasting. Of course, there are basic measures that can be employed such as: Proactively managing receivables and payables Automate your accounts payable and receivables process Keep business expenses at a minimum Work with digital methods of payment from vendors Use credit wisely However, this webinar will explore methods used to create and manage your cash flow and forecasting processes. These methods go one-step past your typical forecasting to enable management to explore various alternatives and scenarios for the business.

Leading change now ranks in the top three leader skills of the future. As audit, risk management, and governance are relied on more and more in organizational decision-making, the need to lead change is paramount. Leaders and practitioners at all levels must oversee or manage change in today's environment. Whether you are a CEO, small business owner, or individual practitioner, you lead change in your environment. In this session, learn how to lead change BETTER because everyone is a leader of someone. Build alignment with those you lead and work with, motivate and inspire, and model the behaviors that drive change. This session breaks down strategies into manageable steps that anyone can cultivate. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The topic of ethics has seemed to permeate every aspect of today’s business including occupying a significant spot in today’s business, educational and professional curriculum. Yet with all the discussion and awareness on the topic, why is it that significant ethical dilemmas and incidents continue to impact our daily lives? The concept of ethics is based in moral philosophy. In part, that is why it is such a difficult issue to “manage”. We often get caught between our independent moral ethical duty, the legal or compliance viewpoint of an issue and management concerns around reputation and ramifications. This course is dedicated to examining a time-line of historical ethical issues that have plagued the business world, evaluating the moral and perceived concepts around ethics, and taking a practical look at how moral and ethical concepts impact the creation of an ethical culture.