Professional Development and Event Catalog

Do you want to build stronger relationships with your clients, improve client retention, and drive growth in your practice? This course delves into the essential strategies for effective client management in today's competitive landscape. Client relationships, like any relationship, can be challenging to manage. Miscommunication, differing work styles, and unrealistic expectations are some of the challenges accounting and finance professionals routinely encounter. However, when accounting clients and members of your team are on the same page, client loyalty and profitability improve while conflict is minimized. This webinar explores proven strategies to improve relationships between accounting and finance professionals and their clients.

Ethical behavior continues to be a problem in society and even in the CPA ranks. "Ethics - A Line in the Sand" looks at the behavioral issues that influence how CPA's act. The course will address why individuals make ethical blunders, the state of ethical conduct in business organizations, the relationship between strong cultures, policy and procedures and successful ethical work environments. In addition, the course will highlight the one behavior to watch for as an indicator of potential ethical violations.

We kick off this course with a look at the GASB standards that are effective this year including GASB 100, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections and GASB 101, Compensated Absences.  We then move to the NFP side of the house with a look at the Accounting Standard Updates issued by the FASB that impacts nonprofit entities. Following that, we review the work of the Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC) and the projects they advise the FASB on. After the break, we will conduct a deeper dive into Yellow Book and Single Audit engagements. The course closes with a look at the significant changes in the 2024 Compliance Supplement, the changes to the Uniform Guidance and the common deficiencies identified by the federal agencies and peer reviewers. 

LLCs and partnerships continue to present some of the greatest challenges for return preparers and advisors.  This program will address the latest developments: New IRS audit initiatives An SE tax update for LLCs and partnerships Disregarded entity rules and transactions Common allocation problems Identifying various types of partnership debt properly for basis purposes The 754 election in the sale of interests and at death Reporting LLC and partnership interests on gift and estate tax returns and valuation of closely held businesses and minority interests **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.

In addition to the many challenges faced by small businesses in today’s Post-COVID world, with labor shortages, serious inflation and “supply-chain” issues, small businesses face a variety of tax challenges from the time of formation of the business until sale.  There are numerous special rules in the Code.  And the IRS plans on increasing its small business audit emphasis. **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 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.

The AICPA has identified risk assessment as an area of focus for its Enhancing Audit Quality Initiative as deficiencies in auditor's risk assessment procedures continue to be a common issue identified in peer review. SAS No. 145, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, was written to improve the quality of risk-based audits. While key concepts do not fundamentally change, the standard works to clarify and enhance certain aspects of the identification and assessment of the risks of material misstatement to drive better risk assessments and hopefully overall enhance audit quality. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The mad scramble to remote work and utilize apps like Teams has been trying for most organizations over the past couple of years. With a rush to install and no time to plan, most team members did their best, prioritizing remote meetings as the primary concern. Therefore, as a result, Teams is vastly misunderstood and underutilized in most organizations. Join us in this session to go beyond the remote meetings aspect of Teams and to learn how to optimize efficiency, communication, and workflow with Teams.

AI is an extremely popular topic these days, and for good reason! However, does AI present yet another threat to your privacy? Get answers to this question and more in this session.

Many organizations have implemented Microsoft 365/Office 365 at a basic level, but few have truly explored the breadth and depth of tools included with their subscriptions. Some less commonly known apps help you manage shared email boxes, create and use web forms, schedule appointments, trade shifts, create real-time closed captions, and translate presentations. Attend this session and learn more about the hidden features in Microsoft 365 that you can use to level up your productivity.

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.

One of the important roles of any member of the financial team. Including the controller, may be involvement in the preparation of the company’s financial statements. Even if that responsibility falls within the office of the CFO, the controller and other finance personnel must understand how their transitions recorded impact the financial statements. Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity. Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to understand. They typically include four basic financial statements accompanied by a management discussion and analysis: A balance sheet or statement of financial position reports on a company's assets, liabilities and owners’ equity at a given point in time. An income statement may have varying names including profit and loss report (P&L report), statement of comprehensive income, or statement of revenue & expenses. These report on a company's income, expenses, and profits over a stated period. A profit and loss statement provides information on the operation of the enterprise. These include sales and the various expenses incurred during the stated period. A statement of changes in equity or “statement of equity” also called “statement of retained earnings” reports on the changes in equity of the company over a stated period. A cash flow statement reports on a company's cash flow, particularly its operating, investing and financing activities over a stated period. A balance sheet represents a single point in time, where the income statement, the statement of changes in equity, and the cash flow statement each represent activities over a stated period. For large corporations, these statements may be complex and may include an extensive set of footnotes to the financial statements, management discussion and analysis and supplementary information. The notes typically describe each item on the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement in further detail. Notes to financial statements are considered an integral part of the financial statements.  

Financial skills needed in many situations are constantly changing.  It is prudent to routinely look into your toolbox to restock or revise your tool set.  In this course we will examine three tool categories that form the foundation for many analytical processes.

Do you find yourself challenged to achieve the results you want? While leading employees can be one of the most challenging activities, it is also one of the most impactful leadership skills few seem to master. Inspirational leadership looks like lifelong employees reaching their full potential AND impactful business results that are repeated year after year. Striking the balance between these two critical aspects does not have to be rocket science. In this power-packed course, the formula to be an Inspirational leader has been masterfully developed and covers the soft skills of Inspirational leadership and the Results Model: Goal Setting + Coaching + Follow Up with proven results from dozens of both large and small companies. These cornerstones are simple but can be hard to execute because it is HOW you do it first, then WHAT you do second. This exciting course is designed to ignite your leadership skills by putting theory into practice; drilling into real live examples and experiencing first-hand what excellence sounds like through role-playing and building your action plan. Get ready to become an inspirational leader and learn the steps required to get the results you really want. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Navigating the complexities of estate and trust administration is a vital skill for professionals, who play an integral role in the administration team. This comprehensive course is designed to equip professionals with a thorough understanding of their responsibilities and the processes involved in estate administration, enhancing their ability to address estate settlement issues effectively. Participants will be provided with a detailed overview of the professional’s role in estate and trust administration, emphasizing practical insights and strategies for managing assets, addressing the legitimacy of debts and creditors, and ensuring the proper distribution of assets. **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.

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.

This session provides a refresher regarding the fundamentals of activity-based costing (ABC). We will examine theoretical concepts before exploring practical possibilities for implementing ABC. A major focus of the course will be factors to consider when determining whether this managerial accounting tool is an appropriate resource for an organization. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

At its height, LIBOR was the benchmark for over US $350 trillion in financial contracts worldwide. Yet, due to concerns over the manipulation of the rate, standard setters determined that LIBOR should be discontinued. The global response to reference rate reform required financial reporting standard setters to provide practical expedients and exceptions to current modification guidance. This course will provide an overview of the standards issued (including amendments) from both the FASB and GASB to address the transition away from LIBOR.

Whether you are responsible for managing 1 employee or 20, your leadership can make or break your team. Learn practical leadership strategies that you can implement when you return to your office. In today’s competitive market, it’s more imperative than ever that as leaders we are inspiring and motivating our teams to success.  

Small businesses have better options now than ever before in the market of accounting solutions. Participate in this session to learn more about these options and which might be best for you or your clients.