Professional Development and Event Catalog

This course is an updated overview of the single audit of state and local governments and not-for-profit organizations under the OMB Unified Circular, as well as the applicable AICPA standards for compliance audits. 

A comprehensive review of the newest version of the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s Government Auditing Standards, otherwise known as “the Yellow Book.”  The standard will affect all auditors who perform audits of government and nonprofit organizations who receive federal funds, or where application of GAO standards is required by law, regulation or contract.  It does not address the standards applicable to performance audits.

This course covers recently issued standards from the AICPA Auditing Standards Board and AICPA Accounting and Review Services Committee. The session will highlight projects in progress at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. The course will also present common peer review findings and best practices to improve practice quality. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Ethics involve relationship to self, others, and the world in which we live. In the busyness of our world we often act out of habit without realizing that what we do truly matters. We matter! This session explores ethical values and principles as they apply to creating an Ethic of Care in the workplace with specific emphasis on compassion, accountability and respect. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Trusts are not cookie-cutter documents. In fact, they can be rather unwieldy, especially in explaining the functions to a client and then having the client comply with the trust terms. This course delves into best practices. Given common scenarios, what are the best trusts to use? And how can the client be best protected?

We all are busy, pressed for time and we strive to do as much as we can – as fast as we can. This is our world.  However, there are times when we should stop and think. When we do not analyze (one of our many talents) this inaction causes problems. We will review the penalties of moving too fast. Let’s learn from the mistakes of others.

A team member is not performing satisfactorily.  Tried several corrective actions – none worked.  We must dig to determine the root causes.  We will review a 15-step process to assess all the reasons why they are not performing, so you can reduce and hopefully eliminate performance issues.  Proper planning is essential.  If none of the remedies or suggestions work, we will review how to part ways.  The sooner you address the issues, the sooner the situation can improve.  If you have had one employee problem, this session is for you.  

The TCJA made turning business losses into tax refunds far more difficult.  The CARES Act suspended and modified many of these changes.  This course will address the revised rules for deducting business losses and discuss planning ideas and potential pitfalls.  **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.

Auditing Investments - Understanding Risks and Procedures for the Most Common Investments will provide an overview for evaluating the proper recognition, measurement and disclosure of the most common investments types. Many small- and mid-size entities hold less-complex investments, including mutual funds, 'plain vanilla' derivatives (such as interest rate swaps), and permanent life insurance policies. Note: This course is recommended as a part of a 16-hour audit skills curriculum for in-charge or supervisor auditors, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has responsibilities for auditing common investments. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

By the nature of our work and training, financial professionals have more personal finance knowledge than the general population. However, sometimes we spend so much time planning our company's future that we neglect or defer taking steps to build our own personal net worth. If you are dissatisfied about the speed that you are accumulating savings, this session will help put you on the right track. Even if you are meeting your goals, this session will provide insights and ideas which will add to and reinforce what you may already be doing.

A project doesn't just happen, it takes a dedicated person to help a team create something from nothing. The best project managers incorporate the art of people management and science of execution to guide an initiative from an idea to reality. Not everyone can hire a project manager, so the great news is these skills and techniques can be learned. This class will show how a project manager breaks down a concept and applies techniques needed to effectively lead a team through the visioning, scoping, testing and rolling out of an initiative. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

How much can you contribute to a Roth IRA, Roth 401(k), SEP Roth IRA, or SIMPLE Roth IRA? How will a Roth distribution qualify to be tax-free? How did SECURE Act 1.0 and SECURE Act 2.0 change the Roth rules? These are only some of the key Roth questions advisors must know the answers to. Plus, as Roth accounts have increasingly become an essential component of retirement savings portfolios, with one-third of IRA owners owning Roth IRAs, advisors have even more reasons to be Roth-proficient. To that end, the instructor will simplify critical rules that govern Roth funding and Roth distributions for Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, and sister plans.

Professional Athletes have multiple coaches - business people rarely utilize coaches. This course will focus on creating the coaching skills that are required to raise the performance of your employees. Coaching Model / Strategies Successful Communication Techniques Root Cause Analysis Performance Gap Analysis Personality impact on coaching model.

The Accounting and Auditing Update is designed to provide its participants with a comprehensive, in-depth review of what’s happening at the FASB, AICPA, and other professional bodies who may impact accounting and auditing this year, including FASB Statements and Interpretations, Statements on Auditing Standards, Statements of Position, Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services, Ethics Interpretations, exposure drafts and projects in progress, with emphasis on the practical application and impact on practitioners in small to medium sized firms and members in industry. Special attention this year will be focused on the emerging use of data analytics related to audit evidence. **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.

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.

Why do for profit organizations exist??? To make money!!!!! What a great concept. But if the organization does not have the proper collections and credit procedures in place, they may not be able to access that money. Hence the importance of the credit and collection process.Credit and collections are critical areas for the financial statement controllers. Customer credit is a form of payment that allows small business customers to purchase a product or service before paying for it in full. The process works similarly to the way a credit card does - you procure something and pay it back later. Collections is a term used by a business when referring to money owed to that business by a customer. When a customer does not pay within the terms specified, the amount of the bill becomes past due and is sometimes submitted to a collection agency. The sales and collection process includes business activities related to selling products and services, maintaining customer records, billing customers, and recording payments from customers. It also includes activities necessary to manage accounts receivable, such as aging accounts and authorizing credit. This course delves into the topics that impact the sales, credit and collections process for management. We discuss strategic steps management can take to ensure their processes are efficient and that they are able to actually collect their revenue.  

You don’t need an accounting degree to harness the power of Microsoft Excel. This course shows how Excel makes sense beyond dollars and cents. We will focus on fundamental concepts for creating, editing, and utilizing Excel content. Participants will learn how to use Excel’s menus and other functions to craft Excel workbooks. Because this course is designed for newer users, we intentionally offer a broad overview of Excel’s numerous capabilities with in-depth coverage of selected resources tailored for non-accounting applications.

The course provides a concise overview of the most common conduct and ethical issues faced by IRS employees. This is based on an internal IRS directive entitled "Plain Talk About Ethics and Conduct". The document provides guidance to IRS staff at all levels on the agency's ethical standards. All IRS employees are subject to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Standards of Ethical Conduct. The OGE Standards, which are applicable to all executive branch employees, are uniform ethics regulations covering such topics as gifts between employees, conflicts of interest, appearances of a lack of impartiality, and outside employment. Participants will walk away with an increased situational awareness of the ethical requirements of IRS employees, and how practitioners can avert or prevent any potential ethical problems before they occur when communicating or interacting with IRS officials at any level. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

You may have read all sorts of stories in books about how bad people steal and make their coworkers and organizations miserable.  Come hear veteran Internal Auditor Rob Berry and veteran CFO John L. Daly discuss situations they have seen in the real world.  

In forensic accounting, interviewing is used to obtain important information from witnesses and suspects. An important aspect is the ability of investigators to obtain accurate and reliable information from victims, witnesses and the suspects or any interviewee. The interview process is an essential part of information gathering for any investigation. The importance of improving the quality of the interviewing with the potential for visual recording of all interviews should be placed high on the agenda of all organizations across the globe. A properly conducted forensic interview can result in an extreme benefit regarding collection of information. The interviewer’s role is to develop a full understanding of the facts. There is a distinct difference between a forensic interview and a criminal interrogation. Typically, forensic auditors will not be involved in interrogations. The Canadian or U.S. forensic accounting profession does not have a standardized interview model to truly equip its professionals with the interview tools required to elicit confessions ethically. Majority of their skills are developed through experience, and not through a standardized model of training.  This session focuses on various interview concepts and methods.