Professional Development and Event Catalog
Ethics, Tax Practice and Understanding Circular 230
Tuesday, Dec. 22 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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This course provides a comprehensive overview of the ethical standards and principles governing tax practice, as outlined in IRS Circular 230. Participants will explore the importance of ethics in the tax preparation industry, review IRS rules, and examine common ethical violations and their associated penalties. The course emphasizes procedures that promote compliance with ethical guidelines, equipping tax practitioners to navigate complex ethical dilemmas confidently. Real-world scenarios will be used to demonstrate the application of ethical principles in tax preparation and representation. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Revenue Recognition Topic 606 Contract with Customers - Identify the Contract Part 2
Tuesday, Dec. 22 4:00pm - 5:09pm
Online
1.20 Credits
Member Price: $39
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This course is a continuation of discussion over Step One in the revenue recognition process of Identify the Contract. Specifically, this session delves further into the considerations surrounding contract modifications, change orders, unpriced change orders, cancelations, non-finalized changes and accounting treatment when a contract does not exist.
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The Controller Function - Elevating the Role
Tuesday, Dec. 22 4:00pm - 5:18pm
Online
1.50 Credits
Member Price: $79
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This is the beginning of a series that will cover major aspects of the Controllership function. Controllers are essential to the day-to-day accounting for organizations. Yet, the role is not often readily understood. In today’s world of acronyms such as CFO, CEO, COO, CAO, etc., the Controller function may get lost in the shuffle. However, they are a critical group of professionals who ensure the adequacy and transparency of accounting and financial reporting information. A Controller is an individual who has responsibility for all accounting-related activities including high-level accounting, managerial counting, and finance activities within a company. The duties of a Controller include assisting with the preparation of the operating budgets, overseeing financial reporting, and performing essential duties relating to payroll. However, in today’s evolving world, the Controller function can provide much more in-depth value to their organizations. This series is dedicated to exploring the traditional Controller role and stepping out of the box to identify areas where the Controller can add strategic value to their organizations. In this first course we focus on the typical Controller function and begin to identify ways to elevate the function.
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Profiles in Fraud
Tuesday, Dec. 22 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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Nobody is immune to fraud risk. This course opens with stories of real fraud perpetrators then examines the similarities between the fraud perpetrators, discovering that they all have many common traits. It finishes with techniques accountants can use to deter these behaviors. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Accounting for Leases
Tuesday, Dec. 22 4:00pm - 6:21pm
Online
2.60 Credits
Member Price: $99
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In February 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, which provides new guidelines that change the accounting for leasing arrangements. To be able to properly account for leases, financial professionals must understand ASU 2016-02 (also referred to as Topic 842). This guidance covers information on how leases should be accounted for. The previous leasing standard (ASC 840) had been in existence for almost 40 years. Under ASC Topic 842, lessors continue to classify leases as operating, direct financing, or sales-type. While lessees now classify leases as operating or financing leases. Previous guidance only required capital leases to be reflected on the BS. The new guidance requires all leases to be reflected on the BS. This is a major change for organizations and will cause their balance sheets to swell as leases must now be disclosed on the balance sheet. The standards original effective dates were prior to 2019. In April 2020, due to COVID-19, FASB voted to defer the effective date for ASC 842 for private companies and certain not-for-profit's for one year. For private companies and private not-for-profits, the leasing standard will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. For public companies the leasing standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The course covers elements of lease classification for both lessees and lessors. Also, numerous examples are incorporated as reference.
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The Controllership Series - The Future Role of the Controller Part 1
Tuesday, Dec. 22 5:00pm - 6:21pm
Online
1.50 Credits
Member Price: $79
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This is a two-part series that discuss new trends and concepts the financial controller should begin to execute in order to truly become a valued member of the senior leadership team. The rapid pace of the evolving technological landscape has promoted changes in how accountants and financial professionals focus attention on strategy and modernize their roles to leverage digital technology. There is increased demand for enhancing flexibility into finance cycles and initiating real-time reporting and insights. These are the core attributes that will assist in transforming the work that controllership function performs. Is the financial controllership prepared to meet future business demands? The IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) and Deloitte’s Center for Controllership aimed to better understand the current state of controllership and expectations of future demands for controllers and accounting professionals. They conducted a survey in late 2022 and identified several trends. The survey takes a look at how prepared controllership is to meet future business demands. It also highlights some insights for leaders to consider that may increase their preparedness. It also identified areas of additional insight and questions to answer on the controllership transformation journey. In this segment one, we go through numerous concepts in detail and the remaining concepts will be covered in segment two.
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Anti-Money Laundering Warning Signs and Mitigation Techniques
Tuesday, Dec. 22 5:00pm - 6:51pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $85
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Could you imagine a drug dealer using a credit-card terminal to accept payment? How about someone paying for a television they bought off the back of a truck with a personal check? Hard to imagine, right? Most criminals conduct their business in cash. For years, criminals kept their ill-gotten gains in cash and used it to pay for everything from real estate to jewelry to things such as private school tuition. This prompted governments around the globe to pass laws prohibiting large cash payments or, at the least, requiring such payments to be reported. These laws created the need for criminals to conceal the true source of the money or to "launder" it. To combat these threats, laws, and regulations have been enacted in countries around the globe that make financial services firms, and in some cases individuals, responsible for preventing or stopping money laundering. Within this course, we explore AML warning signs and potential mitigation techniques companies and professionals can take to help eliminate money laundering.
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The Role of Internal Audit in Operational Audits
Wednesday, Dec. 23 9:00am - 10:47am
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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An operational audit is a method of examining how an organization conducts business. It identifies areas where an entity can improve to be more effective and efficient. This course will focus on how to plan and perform operational audits, as well as delivering value-added recommendations as a result.
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Cost and Pricing Models: Boost Your Bottom Line
Wednesday, Dec. 23 9:00am - 11:00am
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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If sales increase, so should profits. Yet, the opposite result often leaves executive’s scratching their heads. When organizations work with inferior cost information, they make mistakes in four specific situations. Bad information causes sellers to overprice easy, high-volume work and under-price difficult, low-volume work. This session discusses how to use activity-based costing to build accurate costing models that consider far more than just the labor and materials necessary to provide goods and services.
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Fraud and Embezzlement: Case Studies from the Trenches
Wednesday, Dec. 23 9:00am - 11:00am
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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Governmental entities are the second largest victims of embezzlement. This seminar examines recent events involving theft of public money and circumstances that allowed the fraud to occur. Case studies we examine include the 2012 $54 million embezzlement from the City of Dixon by Rita Crundwell. The events that impacted the small Illinois town of 16,000 residents was the largest governmental fraud case to date, and spanned an astonishing 20 years. This remarkable story inspired an award-winning documentary, "All the Queen's Horses." We will also examine factors that led to scandals involving the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, World Com, Collin Street Bakery and the Ohio American Cancer Society, among others. This course is ideal for CPAs, government finance personnel, all Internal Auditors, lawyers, governance professionals, accountants and human resource personnel. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Surgent's Buying and Selling a Business: Tax and Structuring Overview
Wednesday, Dec. 23 9:00am - 12:30pm
Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $159
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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.
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Surgent's Guide to Payroll Taxes and 1099 Issues
Wednesday, Dec. 23 9:00am - 12:30pm
Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $159
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Employment taxes are often overlooked as an area where more planning may be effective. Payroll taxes have become an increasing burden for the average business and IRS penalties for noncompliance have risen dramatically in recent years. As a result, they have also been subject to employer incentives. The Service has announced that uncovering noncompliance by employers ranks high on its audit list. This course presents an overview of employee versus independent contractor criteria, the federal payroll taxes form, Form 1099, and related compliance issues.
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Multi Year Failure to File: Getting into Compliance
Wednesday, Dec. 23 9:00am - 5:00pm
Online
8.00 Credits
Member Price: $239
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This comprehensive program equips CPAs with the knowledge and practical tools to handle clients who have failed to file tax returns for multiple years. The course covers every stage of the process-from client onboarding and transcript analysis to risk assessment, ethical considerations, and resolution strategies. Participants will learn how to manage cases involving individuals, married couples, businesses, payroll taxes, and S corporations, including situations with missing records and potential criminal exposure. Real-world examples, IRS references, and best practices are integrated throughout to ensure confidence and compliance. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Surgent's Advanced Individual Income Tax Return Issues
Wednesday, Dec. 23 9:00am - 5:00pm
Online
8.00 Credits
Member Price: $279
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Most accounting and financial professionals have been preparing individual income tax returns for years, and while many of the returns are easy, there are always a number of issues that come up in busy season of which experienced practitioners wish they had more knowledge. This course is designed to explore the tough tax issues for experienced practitioners and help them provide better planning strategies and results for their higher income clients.
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Tax Fundamentals of LLCs and Partnerships - Tax Staff Essentials
Wednesday, Dec. 23 9:00am - 5:00pm
Online
8.00 Credits
Member Price: $319
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Building a solid foundation of partnership and LLC taxation A foundational understanding of partnership taxation is essential to a tax preparer's career. Given that most U.S. businesses are formed as pass-through entities, you'll likely encounter partnership tax matters that require your attention. This course covers the taxation of partnerships, including limited liability companies (LLCs) treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Matters discussed include: Common transactions Check-the-box election rules Consequential court cases involving partnership formation Skills to explain partnership taxation matters to your clients Talking about tax can sometimes sound like speaking a foreign language to your clients. Learn how to explain complex issues with accuracy and confidence. Part of Tax Staff Essentials Level 1 This self-study online course is part of Tax Staff Essentials Level 1, a comprehensive learning program that provides tax staff with the technical training required to support their teams.
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The Best S Corporation, Limited Liability, and Partnership Update Course by Surgent
Wednesday, Dec. 23 9:00am - 5:00pm
Online
8.00 Credits
Member Price: $299
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This year practitioners need to keep abreast of tax changes affecting pass-through entities used by their business clients and employers, and this enlightening course delivers that information. You will learn invaluable strategies, techniques, innovative tax-planning concepts, income-generating ideas, and other planning opportunities available to S corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and LLPs. In addition, this course will discuss current trends and emerging issues, helping practitioners stay informed about relevant and significant topics that may impact their clients. Continually updated to reflect enacted legislation.
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Finance and Innovation: Reinvent Your Organization and Department
Wednesday, Dec. 23 9:30am - 5:30pm
Online
8.00 Credits
Member Price: $239
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Innovate or die is more than a catchphrase, it is a fact. The tsunami of innovation relentlessly coming to our businesses, teams, markets and to accounting will not stop. Innovation is one of the most desirable traits, but how do we innovate? We will discuss how your company can foster, nurture, encourage and sustain innovation - and give you an action plan. Technology has significantly changed what we do and how, and this will not stop. What are the negative consequences of failing to innovate? To remain relevant, we must re-think accounting's role and how our organization innovates - or not. The status quo will go - we must embrace innovation so you and your company can thrive. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Advanced Excel for Staff - Build Reports and Analyze Data
Wednesday, Dec. 23 10:00am - 12:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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Advanced Excel for Staff - Build Reports and Analyze Data is a comprehensive, 2-hour course tailored for professionals looking to enhance their Microsoft Excel skills in creating reports and performing data analysis. This course bridges the gap between basic Excel functionality and the advanced techniques required for effective data-driven reports. Participants will learn to efficiently gather, organize, and structure data, apply calculations to derive key metrics, and create professional-grade reports that are both visually appealing and actionable. The course emphasizes practical application, providing participants with guidance on Excel's advanced tools and functions. By mastering workflows and best practices, learners will gain the confidence to tackle complex data challenges and streamline reporting processes. Additionally, participants will explore methods to validate and share their work, ensuring that reports are accurate, insightful, and easily communicated across teams. Whether you are tasked with preparing financial summaries, tracking performance metrics, or generating operational insights, this course will equip you with the tools to maximize Excel's potential, saving time and improving the quality of your outputs. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Surgent's Employee Stock Options: What Financial Professionals Should Know When Advising Their Clients
Wednesday, Dec. 23 10:00am - 12:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $99
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Companies often offer stock options as an additional form of compensation to attract and retain the best talent. Used appropriately, stock options can generate significant wealth, yet many employees are unfamiliar with how stock options work and why options serve as a valuable opportunity for employees to establish and grow their wealth. Unfortunately, employees who receive stock options are often unaware of their inherent risks. Research has shown that over 76% of employees have never exercised their stock options. Almost half of these individuals (48%), say they held off on selling their options due to fear of making a mistake. This course provides accounting and finance professionals with a broad overview of employee stock options. The webinar is designed to help participants better understand the fundamentals behind these investments and, in turn, better advise their clients.
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Surgent's Hiring New Workers and Payroll Taxes
Wednesday, Dec. 23 10:00am - 12:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $99
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When a new employee is hired, there are a lot of things the employer needs to take care of. Aside from getting employment contracts signed, training lined up, and the new hire breakfast planned, employers are tasked with making sure all of the payroll forms are filled out. For many small business owners, this can be a source of anxiety. They often wonder if they have everything they need. They also hear horror stories about potential IRS penalties for not having all of the boxes checked. In this course, we will explore the payroll compliance side of hiring new employees. From the alphabet soup of forms that need to be filled out to the initial payroll tax forms, we have you covered if you are a new practitioner or new business owner. We will even discuss the surprisingly difficult-to-navigate world of unemployment insurance.