Professional Development and Event Catalog

George Washington once wrote, "We ought not to look back, unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dear bought experience." The cost of fraud, dearly paid by governments and nonprofits, is too severe not to learn and profit from. In this course, we will look back at real-world government and nonprofit frauds and derive useful controls to stop them. The course materials utilize a highly illustrative and innovative format. Over 15 focused exercises are included to provide an enhanced working knowledge of fraud and anti-fraud controls to both auditors and industry professionals.

This course will review the Accounting Standard Updates issued by the FASB that impact nonprofit entities. We will also look at the work of the Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC) and the projects they are advising the FASB on.

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.

This course is designed to provide an overview of the IRS Strategic Plan 2023-2026 and its impacts on the accounting profession and regulatory ethics. The course will cover the key goals and priorities of the IRS Strategic Plan, including improving service to taxpayers, enforcing the tax law fairly, transforming IRS operations, and fostering an inclusive and well-equipped workforce. Participants will learn about the specific measures the IRS plans to take to achieve these goals and the implications of these measures for tax professionals. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Office Scripts are an exciting new development for Excel and other applications. Although they are like macros in some respects, most users will likely find them easier to work with. Learn how to put this powerful automation tool to use!

Due to the constant stress of a fast paced life, overwork, and family demands, it’s easy to feel one’s life is out of balance. When this happens, all areas of your life can suffer. By learning key methods for setting priorities and goals, overcoming stress, and deciding what’s most important to you, you can achieve new levels of balance and greater results. Having more balance in your life will allow you to do less of what you don’t want and more of what is truly important to you.

A discussion of the latest 2021/222 tax developments impacting individual taxpayers, with a focus on important provisions, rules and concepts. 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.  

Cloud computing has become a source of cyber-crime. “Cloud forensics is the application of digital forensics in cloud computing as a subset of network forensics to gather and preserve evidence in a way that is suitable for presentation in a court of law.” Cloud forensics is a combination of the varied types of accounting forensics including: •    Digital forensics •    Network forensics. •    Hardware forensics In cloud crime, the cloud is considered the object when the target of the crime is the cloud service provider they are directly affected by the act. It is considered the subject of the crime when the criminal act is committed within the cloud environment. It is considered the tool when it is used to plan or conduct a crime. This course will delve into the many concepts involved in cloud forensics. The course complements other courses in the series of Becoming a Forensic Accountant.  

This is not your average CPE course! In this fun and practical course, you'll learn how to remember names, where you put things, what you read, or anything else 300% (or more) effectively than before. You will also learn how to prevent dementia, and halve your stress by using exercises that take under two minutes a day to do. Additionally, you'll receive information on ways to improve your memory by improving your overall health and wellness. This course will give you an overview of natural supplements to enhance your memory as well as share tips to improve your sleep. This course will change your life both now and in the future by making sure you know the best ways to remember information, handle stress and keep your mind sharp until the day you die. The information in this course to help increase your professional efficiency and improve your overall quality of life.

Most professionals routinely use Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint, but many are self-taught and, as a result, have not been exposed to the best features of these three applications. Consequently, they often use “brute force,” inefficient means when working with these three components of Microsoft Office. If that describes you, ensure you carve time out of your schedule to participate in this fourhour session. In it, you will learn how to work much more efficiently when using these tools to get better results in less time.  

Quality management will have a big impact on CPA firms. This course will cover both SQMS 1 and 2 as well as the related engagement level standards (SAS 146 and SSARS 26). The new standards will require a risk-based approach to quality management as well as the documentation of an information & communication process. This two hour class will provide a deep dive into what you need to know to start your implementation process!

This course will start with a review of the impact of the 2024 Compliance Supplement on Single Audits as well as the changes to the Uniform Guidance. We will also review common audit deficiencies found in Single Audits.

The course provides a concise overview of cognitive biases - thinking errors and "brain bugs" that may distort perceptions, compromise ethics, trigger inaccurate judgments, and spark illogical interpretations in your accounting work. Discover the most common types of cognitive biases in the profession, and how to recognize and address these flaws and blindspots in your "mental firmware". This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Is your tech stack aligned with your organizational goals? Is there duplication among software titles? Is your hardware where it needs to be? Get answers to these and other questions in this session!

When we verbally communicate with an individual, we must make a conscious decision as to whether we believe what we have heard.  Little do we realize that we are not making a decision based on what we have heard; rather we make a subconscious decision based primarily on what we have seen, or how the body was behaving when the subject was speaking.  We often walk away from a conversation with a gut feeling that the person was not telling the truth.  That gut feeling is your subconscious.  Yet we often have no idea as to why we have that feeling. This presentation is designed to provide the participant with the tools to identify those both verbal and nonverbal indicators that we all give off when we are under stress.  Normally, telling the truth does not create stress.  When we lie, we know that we are not supposed to and that creates stress, and it will manifest itself in some manner, and that is what a trained interviewer is looking to observe. When we observe indicators of deception, how do we deal with it?  How do we get the subject to admit to a wrong-doing when it is not in their best interest to do so?  That is one of the many things that will be addressed in this presentation.  Whether you are a parent dealing with you kids; an employer dealing with employees or and investigation interviewing a suspect, this presentation will provide you with the tools to assist you in finding the truth.

In trying to achieve life balance, various internal and external obstacles arise.  In this course we will look at these obstacles and provide specific ways to overcome them.  In addition, we will look at how to excel in every area of your life including your relationships, finances, sense of purpose, level of  happiness, and your physical health and leisure time pursuits.  You will leave this course with powerful methods and a specific plan to move forward in your life in a balanced, healthy, and productive manner.  Don't forget to take Part 1 of this amazing course.

As reported in the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Occupational Fraud 2022:  A Report to the Nations, on average, small businesses lose 5% of their revenue due to fraud.  Can the average small business owner afford to lose 5% of their revenue due to fraud?  I think not.  This presentation is designed to illustrate the numerous ways employees commit fraud in small businesses, how to detect it, and most importantly, how to prevent it.  Both auditors and small business owners would both benefit from this presentation.

This workshop explores how each of us can play a part in helping to make the world a more fair and gentler place. This one-hour webinar includes an overview of Aristotle's virtue ethics and its application to present day life. We will focus on the virtue of compassion both individually and organizationally and its impact on individual, organizational and world wellbeing. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

OneNote is a fantastic application included in your Microsoft 365 subscription. Yet, it is underutilized and misunderstood most of the time. If you genuinely want to change how you work, embrace OneNote. Stop using Outlook as a filing cabinet for essential emails and move them to OneNote instead. If you share a OneNote notebook with others, you can stop emailing altogether within your group and use OneNote as your collaboration and reference platform.