Professional Development and Event Catalog

Consumers file for bankruptcy to seek protection from creditors and to reorganize or liquidate debts. Bankruptcy filings rise and fall with the economy. Surveys show that loss of income is the leading cause of consumer bankruptcies, followed by medical expenses and foreclosure. As trusted advisors, accounting and financial professionals should have a basic understanding of the bankruptcy process. This webinar provides a thorough review of consumer bankruptcy proceedings. Participants in this webinar will gain an understanding of how consumer bankruptcy proceedings begin and end, as well as learn about key issues that affect debtor and creditor rights during bankruptcy. This webinar provides information from the perspective of both debtor and creditor. Although bankruptcy concerns the debts of the debtor, the Bankruptcy Code provides substantial protections to creditors. Creditor rights, however, vary widely depending on the status afforded the creditor under the Bankruptcy Code. Do yourself, your clients, and your profit margin a favor, and sign up for this invaluable webinar.

Don't just wing it when you can soar! To catch the eye of resource providers and fulfill the needs of leadership, it is essential that not-for-profits prepare financial statements which excel. This course will empower you with the knowledge of not-for-profit accounting and reporting to surpass the expectations of financial statement users. Over 15 focused exercises are included to illustrate and refine today's best practices in not-for-profit accounting and reporting.

Don't just wing it when you can soar! To catch the eye of resource providers and fulfill the needs of leadership, it is essential that not-for-profits prepare financial statements which excel. This course will empower you with the knowledge of not-for-profit accounting and reporting to surpass the expectations of financial statement users. Over 15 focused exercises are included to illustrate and refine today's best practices in not-for-profit accounting and reporting.

Networking can be a game changer but is too often viewed as a self- promotion tool that is not natural for most people. When one flips the context and instead views it as a way to help and support others while also improving professional relationships and ultimately enhancing career opportunities, the results are undeniable! This seminar provides participants with techniques to feel comfortable and confident in every networking setting from large conferences to one-on-one encounters. Both external and internal (within the company or firm) strategies are covered.

A personal brand is your story. Having a well-defined personal brand can help you not only cultivate powerful connections but also set you apart. Explore the integral components to building a strong brand and gain strategies to help you create your own marketable personal brand.

This course provides an overview of the similarities and key differences between the business combination standards issued by the FASB (ASC Topic 805) and the IASB (IFRS 3). While these standards are very similar, as is the case with many areas of U.S. GAAP vs. IFRS, there are notable differences that are helpful to understand. Note that this course is not intended to provide an exhaustive discussion of these differences.

To grow and succeed, accounting and finance professionals must have a workable business development plan - and execute it effectively. Business development plans serve as a road map for bringing new clients into an organization and keeping the clients you already have. This course provides a broad overview for successfully growing a business. Whether you are relatively new to your profession or a seasoned pro, this course will teach or remind you of the key strategies you need to utilize to expand your business. This course also addresses marketing fundamentals such as the establishment of referral sources, networking, publishing, and social media best practices.

Participants play the role of a consultant brought into an accounting firm that needs help building new business and restoring their sales pipeline. Players apply core business development principles as they move from analyzing networking groups to meet people that most closely align with the company's vision to choosing the right contacts that will best lead to referrals for the struggling company. The game's accompanying video, "Business Development for Accounting and Other Professionals" provides additional reinforcement of the topics and learning objectives.

Participants have nine hours before tonight's birthday party, and as they begin the workday, they must review and prioritize their task list to maximize productivity. How much can they get done? As they set off on their day by clicking through each task on the list, they will encounter interruptions and distractions from colleagues. Players must manage these interruptions while staying on track. Their responses will affect the day's priorities as well as the number of hours they consumed throughout the day.

One of the major transactions CPA clients are faced with is the purchase or disposition of a business. To help tax professionals advise those clients, this course offers a comprehensive analysis of the business and tax aspects of buying and selling a business. It is a practical guide to help practitioners and industry CPAs understand structuring techniques. All CPAs, including controllers and executives in industry, should understand how difficult the process of buying and selling a business has become.

One of the major transactions CPA clients are faced with is the purchase or disposition of a business. To help tax professionals advise those clients, this course offers a comprehensive analysis of the business and tax aspects of buying and selling a business. It is a practical guide to help practitioners and industry CPAs understand structuring techniques. All CPAs, including controllers and executives in industry, should understand how difficult the process of buying and selling a business has become.

One of the major transactions CPA clients are faced with is the purchase or disposition of a business. To help tax professionals advise those clients, this course offers a comprehensive analysis of the business and tax aspects of buying and selling a business. It is a practical guide to help practitioners and industry CPAs understand structuring techniques. All CPAs, including controllers and executives in industry, should understand how difficult the process of buying and selling a business has become.

Did 2020 show us that planning doesn't work? It might seem that way. But, obviously some organizations survived far better than others due to their ability to handle unexpected change. Many organizations spend huge amounts of money and effort at planning, forecasting, and budgeting and all too often the three disciplines are separated and not connected throughout the company. It appears that people who are doing the strategic planning aren't talking with the people who are doing the budgeting or forecasting. Also, there is a lack of uniform accountability throughout the organization. The pandemic has shown us that our planning process must be far nimbler and allow our organization to shift rapidly. This course is designed to completely integrate the planning process and show how it can move from long-range thinking, through medium-term planning, through the annual budget, and to the monthly cash-flow forecast. This course will teach the participant how to avoid many political pitfalls that end up causing a lack of accountability and often cause the planning process to be demotivating to the staff. This isn't just a strategic planning course or a budgeting course. It is a course that looks at the entire planning process from beginning to end and shows how much smoother it can be when it is an integrated process. While it is a technical course discussing many of the technical tricks and tips for producing a good plan, it is also a management course in that it will discuss the political aspects of planning.

Capital planning as a concept has undergone few changes; however, following the recent pandemic, we suddenly saw that our old system didn't work with the rapid change that was required. This program will take a look at capital planning in light of what we have learned from COVID-19, and specifically apply it to the small businesses needing to view capital planning in a new way.

The business structure a client chooses influences virtually everything: day-to-day operations, taxes, how much of their personal assets are at risk, and more. For this and many other reasons, it is critical that a client choose a business structure that gives the right balance of legal protections and benefits. From a tax perspective, in terms of selecting an entity to do business in, the universe shifted with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted at the end of 2017. The tax rate for C corporations was lowered to 21% and the 199A deduction offered pass-through entities the chance to significantly lower the rate at which they are taxed. But how do all these options work and which option is best for what business? Those questions are at the heart of this webinar. In this program, we discuss whether there is a "best entity" for our clients. We all know that re-examining choice of entity determination is at the top of the agenda for client meetings during and after the 2022 tax season because clients continue to want reassurance that they have the most tax-efficient entity. This program will equip you with the knowledge and insights you need to lead those discussions.

According to a 2020 AICPA survey, advisory and consulting services were considered the greatest unmet needs of clients. The recent growth in Client Advisory Services (CAS) has led many to ask what is included in this broad category as well as how to develop the services for clients. With so much focus on the recent success of CAS offerings, now is the time to learn how the services differ from what you currently offer, which of your clients would benefit most, and what you need in place to add a quality CAS program to your firm's menu of services.

This one-day course will teach effective skills for coaching and training employees. You'll learn how to identify the characteristics of effective coaches and develop coaching strategies to support and assist your team, with the goal of helping them improve morale, productivity and quality. And, you'll learn a five-step approach for giving constructive criticism while managing defensive reactions. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 5.)

Clients often ask their tax advisors whether they have the "best" pension plan and whether they are using it to its maximum advantage. This program explains how various pension plans work and analyzes why a small or medium-sized business owner would choose one plan over another.

Specifically designed for practitioners and their staff wanting an overview of compilation and review engagements, this course will introduce you to the objectives of compilation and review engagements, SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, which is currently applicable and is the most significant change to the compilation and review standards since their inception over thirty years ago, and the basic components and characteristics of financial statement preparation, compilation, and review engagements. The course will also address the changes in professional standards for compilations and reviews due to the issuance of SSARS No. 22-25, including SSARS No. 25's guidance on materiality and reporting. This course will also provide you with a review of the ins and outs of accepting and planning compilation and review engagements.

Most CPA firms perform some level of compilation and review engagements. And some perform engagements under attestation standards. Building off what you learned in the training in Level 1, Module 4, this course offers builds provides a deeper dive into the most frequently missed issues in compilations and reviews engagements. We will also focus on attestation engagements and the various types of engagements an auditor can perform. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 2.)