Professional Development and Event Catalog

SAS 145, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, was issued in October 2021. The audit standard amends AU-C 315, including many changes to address common audit deficiencies. This course will provide an overview of SAS 145 and its changes to AU-C 315. Attendees will have an opportunity to evaluate the impact on audit methodology and documentation.

Some CPAs & FAs might focus on estate administration; however, many more will come across this through routine work with a client. This course provides an overview of how you can help to administer an estate. It includes a checklist of tasks and an overview of what each entails. This webinar covers minor points such as what information you'll need to collect and when to get an EIN. It also covers substantial discussions of essential topics, such as developing an inventory, estate accounting, allocating income between Form 1040 and form 1041, and filing your client's final Form 1040.

Explore the intricacies of federal income taxation as it intertwines with rental real estate activities. This course delves into the calculation of rental income, understanding the nuances of deductions, and unraveling the complexities of passive activity loss rules. Whether it's mastering Schedule E or understanding Congress' intent behind tax laws, professionals will leave with an enriched understanding.

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.  

Accountants in public practice face ethical conflicts almost daily. This workshop (re-)introduces the revised AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and walks through the eleven rules of conduct applicable to accountants in public practice, emphasizing the management of objectivity and competence. We end with discussions of a real-world case involving a CPA whose objectivity and competence is questioned. 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.

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.

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.

Auditing Contingencies and Going Concern Uncertainty - Testing for Completeness and Proper Disclosure will provide tips and techniques for obtaining sufficient appropriate audit evidence to support conclusions related to contingencies and going concern uncertainty. Financial statements may contain significant uncertainties requiring special audit consideration for evaluating proper accounting and financial reporting treatment. Note: This course is recommended as a part of a 16-hour audit skills curriculum for supervisory or managerial auditors, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has responsibilities for evaluating loss contingencies and substantial doubt about going concern. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

What exactly is cryptocurrency and its cousin named blockchain? Are they here to stay? This session will provide a big picture examination of the technologies and currencies by explaining how we got here. We discuss the systems and technical aspects of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. What is the broad view of the technologies that currently do, and will continue to, impact our workplace and lives?

Our guidance on ethics comes from the AICPA and other groups, but it does not fully address the “why” behind ethics. This session will examine and define what ethics is and what it means to varying people in the workplace. Understanding what motivates people and understanding those people are key to both solving ethical dilemmas and workplace issues that can lead to greater job satisfaction and efficiency. To correct an issue, you need to delve into the root cause – the why?

Building on Part 1, this course will review the application of sampling in financial statement audits with a focus on sampling for tests of controls. We'll also review the requirements for sampling in Single Audits with a focus on tests of controls and tests of compliance. 

Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), unique, identifiable digital assets based on blockchain technologies, have become a fast-growing industry. This course will provide a background on how NFTs came into the mainstream marketplace.  These materials will assist the practitioner to understand the tax implications of the creation, purchase and sale of these 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.

With capacity challenges on the mind of many tax and accounting leaders, finding ways for their teams to work more efficiently is crucial. They need their teams to not be busy, but deliver value, and continue to develop their skills and knowledge. Project Management techniques help uncover inefficiencies and gaps in current processes, as well as, manage the planning and forecasting needed to drive necessary changes for future success. In this session, learn when to incorporate project management best practices that can help you get the best out of your team.

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.

The Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC) has been meeting with FASB to discuss the impact of various standards on the nonprofit community. In this course, we will explore the work of the NAC and the impact they've had. We then transition to the Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs) issued by the FASB that are impacting nonprofit entities, including a review of year 2 issues with respect to the leases standard including modification accounting. We will close with a look at common deficiencies found in nonprofit financials.

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.

When the leadership in any organizations carries out their responsibilities of establishing, maintaining and monitoring internal controls, it significantly reduces the possibility of fraud occurring.  When and if it does occur, a good system of internal controls will often detect it early on.  This presentation is an illustration of what can happen when top management fails to carry out their responsibility of protecting an entity’s assets through a good system of internal controls.

Learn the basics of FASB's Accounting Standard Update for Leases (ASC Topic 842), the key differences between ASC Topic 842 and ASC Topic 840, Leases, and the practical challenges and complexities within the new standard and how they apply to you. We will focus on lessee accounting, and will discuss key issues within the standard, required analyses, critical judgments, policy elections, disclosures, and the lessons learned from public filings. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event