Professional Development and Event Catalog

This course provides an overview of cybersecurity from the CPA perspective. We will discuss the components of an IT environment that need to be considered in audits - e.g. network, operating systems, database, and application layers. Additionally, we will discuss an overview of cybersecurity frameworks under the influence of the AICPA and/or ISACA - e.g. SOC2, COBIT, COSO, SOX IT controls, etc. and key cybersecurity controls. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Managing expenses is a key for business success, and overhead costs play a pivotal role in realizing favorable profit margins. Almost all companies have some form of overhead consisting of specific categories of indirect expenses. The better organizations are able to manage overhead costs, the more competitive they are in the marketplace. It is incumbent in the Controller’s role to effectively manage, monitor and perform ongoing assessment of overhead costs, allocations and rates. Overhead refers to the ongoing business expenses not directly attributed to creating a product or service. A company must pay overhead on an ongoing basis, regardless of how much or how little the company sells. It is important for budgeting purposes but also for determining how much a company must charge for its products or services to make a profit. Overhead can be fixed, variable, or a hybrid of both. There are different categories of overhead, such as administrative overhead, which includes costs related to managing a business. In short, overhead is any expense incurred to support the business while not being directly related to a specific product or service.      

Client and Engagement Management - Managing the Black Holes That Erode Profitability will provide guidance on how to maximize return on time spent with critical areas, such as budgeting, scheduling, client assistance, and delegation. Sound client and engagement management can influence both the effectiveness and efficiency of an audit engagement. 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 client and audit engagement management. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Many leaders in business organizations of all sizes view the system of Internal Control almost purely as a protective security measure. A well-designed internal control system can and will drive all entity objectives which includes successful operations. This session uses information gathered from years of creating internal control systems as well as concepts from well-respected authoritative pronouncements and frameworks to illustrate the power of a strong and well supported control system as well as actions that can help establish such a system. Those that work with internal controls who are tasked with developing ways to improve operation level capabilities should strongly consider this session. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

In the "Excel - Formatting Spreadsheets for Beginners" class, you learned basic formatting of a spreadsheet. In this class, we take you to the next level by teaching you how to customize many of the formatting options. Learn to customize cell styles and how to use these styles in other workbooks. Most Excel users know how to select number formats but this class shows how to leverage the Custom Number Formatting option to create special formatting options. Many of the formatting options are applied manually, cell-by-cell or by range. This can be tedious if there is a condition by which you want to apply a format. You will learn to use Conditional Formatting to format based upon a criteria. Have you ever finalized a spreadsheet, only to accidently make changes over the top? This action is something that is very easy to do. This class demonstrates various options to prevent this from happening and will look at various security options within Excel. This session is presented using Excel 2019/Office 365. Regardless of the version you are using, most concepts covered in this course apply to all versions of Excel. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

At its height, LIBOR was the benchmark for over US $350 trillion in financial contracts worldwide. Yet, due to concerns over the manipulation of the rate, standard setters determined that LIBOR should be discontinued. The global response to reference rate reform required financial reporting standard setters to provide practical expedients and exceptions to current modification guidance. This course will provide an overview of the standards issued (including amendments) from both the FASB and GASB to address the transition away from LIBOR.

Learn why creating an employer brand is so important and instrumental in competing in today's competitive marketplace. Elevate your recruiting experience for candidates and onboarding process for new hires to enhance your employer's brand.

The Department of Justice updated guidance regarding their evaluations of Corporate Compliance Programs in March 2023: “Prosecutors should assess whether the company’s complaint-handling process includes proactive measures to create a workplace atmosphere without fear of retaliation, appropriate processes for the submission of complaints, and processes to protect whistleblowers.” This course offers recommendations for employers to consider when developing or augmenting an internal complaint handling process. Organizations benefit when whistleblowers trust the process and choose to promptly report their concerns internally. The measures offered promote a strong speak up culture and align with the Department of Justice's guidance. 

Award winning discussion leader Mark Hugh discusses both nexus basics and new developments in the dynamic, ever changing world of state income and sales tax nexus. This valuable course answers your frequently asked questions, reviews key factors in examining potential nexus consequences, takes a tour through the rules in states comprising 50% of the US, and identifies free, online multistate resources. 

Many finance departments spend considerable time managing cash, particularly if the organization is highly leveraged or cash rich.  Many opportunities exist to reduce your financing costs or increase short-term cash returns if you manage cash effectively.  This session will cover a wide variety of day-to-day cash management tools.  

What can you do to enhance your commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession? How will doing so bring you more business? In this unique and engaging ethics course, the instructor, Dr. Bruce Weinstein, The Ethics Guy (R), reveals ten crucial qualities of CPAs. They are: 1. Honesty 2. Accountability 3. Care 4. Courage 5. Fairness 6. Gratitude 7. Humility 8. Loyalty 9. Patience 10. Presence (focus or mindfulness) You're already a good CPA and a good person. This course will show you how to be even better. The result will be greater satisfaction in your professional relationships, a deeper commitment to the profession of accounting, and much more business. Please note that this is a stand-alone course for 2 CPE credits in Behavioral Ethics, but you'll maximize your ROI by also taking "Ethics: How to Build and Keep Your A-Team". Together these courses are two of the surest pathways to sustained success in accounting. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

One of the important roles of any member of the financial team. Including the controller, may be involvement in the preparation of the company’s financial statements. Even if that responsibility falls within the office of the CFO, the controller and other finance personnel must understand how their transitions recorded impact the financial statements. Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity. Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to understand. They typically include four basic financial statements accompanied by a management discussion and analysis: A balance sheet or statement of financial position reports on a company's assets, liabilities and owners’ equity at a given point in time. An income statement may have varying names including profit and loss report (P&L report), statement of comprehensive income, or statement of revenue & expenses. These report on a company's income, expenses, and profits over a stated period. A profit and loss statement provides information on the operation of the enterprise. These include sales and the various expenses incurred during the stated period. A statement of changes in equity or “statement of equity” also called “statement of retained earnings” reports on the changes in equity of the company over a stated period. A cash flow statement reports on a company's cash flow, particularly its operating, investing and financing activities over a stated period. A balance sheet represents a single point in time, where the income statement, the statement of changes in equity, and the cash flow statement each represent activities over a stated period. For large corporations, these statements may be complex and may include an extensive set of footnotes to the financial statements, management discussion and analysis and supplementary information. The notes typically describe each item on the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement in further detail. Notes to financial statements are considered an integral part of the financial statements.  

Payroll is among the most common tasks an employer undertakes in the course of running their business. At its most basic level, payroll consists of an agreement between an employer and employee related to compensation for services. Once you look under the hood, there is so much more to payroll, including various kinds of compensation, payroll taxes and required reporting on government forms. This course will provide a general introduction to the workings of the payroll returns an employer is required to file. We will cover the various types of federal and state payroll taxes, what various payroll returns an employer may need to file, how to complete the most common types of payroll returns accurately, and real-life illustrations for reconciling at year end and ensuring your payroll returns are correct. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Many of our clients are moving to one of the seven states with no personal income tax, particularly Florida and Texas. Others may maintain multiple homes with an eye toward eventually establishing residency in a state with no income tax. This course will give you practical tips for your clients seeking to establish residency in a new jurisdiction. Cash-strapped states are increasingly attempting to assess taxpayers who have declared domicile and residency elsewhere, for example in Florida, to maintain their diminishing tax base. Arm your clients with the tools needed to save money by successfully establishing domicile and residency. As a practitioner, you can't afford to be unaware of the latest issues affecting so many relocating baby boomers and others. Avoid that state audit with the information provided in this entertaining webinar.

New quality management standards (QMS) made a big splash last year! Firms with A&A practices need to understand the new quality management standards and how to move from a quality control system to a quality management system. Uncover the keys to unlocking a successful transition and focus on your own risk assessment process.

Audit Reporting Advanced Concepts - Understanding the Impact of General Audit Procedures on Disclosures and Audit Report Modifications will provide guidance for properly altering financial statements and audit reports for certain complex transactions and events that are often uncovered through general audit procedures, such as subsequent testing, reviewing minutes, and more. Each set of financial statements and auditor's report thereon must properly address the unique circumstances of the specific reporting entity's circumstances. 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 audit reporting and general audit procedures. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The AICPA has determined than 1 in 10 firms are not compliant with the risk assessment standards. This course will discuss how to properly identify risks and assess risks under AU-C 315. We will then review how to respond to identified risks under AU-C 330. The course will focus on the inherent risk model. We will also review common deficiencies and how a proper risk assessment can drive a more efficient and effective audit.

This session will provide a basic overview of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (“ESOPs”). It will specifically address what companies are well suited for establishing an ESOP, how ESOPs are implemented, and how employees and departing owners alike can benefit from them. The session is intended to provide business and tax advisors with talking points about how an ESOP may be used as a succession planning strategy.

As financial and tax professionals well know, information overload is a constant struggle we face because things change quickly, and the sheer number of changes being made on a daily basis is enormous. Of great importance to small and medium tax and advisory firms is differentiating between changes that are relevant to our practice and our clients and changes that are new but totally irrelevant. Distinguishing between the two is difficult and time-consuming. Mike Tucker and a team of experts are pleased to present a weekly series designed to eliminate the clutter and get you what you need to stay up-to-date and perform for your clients. Mike and his co-presenters will dispense news on current events impacting taxes, finance, and industry. The subject matter will differ each week and intermittently include topics such as Social Security and Medicare. The panelists will discuss personal and corporate tax matters as well as other late-breaking news related to practitioners' personal finances and those of their clients. Every financial professional will benefit from this series. This is a cost-effective way for accountants to fulfill their compulsory continuing education because this weekly series will include almost 40 one-hour presentations. Sign up today - your clients and your bottom line will thank you.

Does your organization encourage timely reporting? Does your organization provide substantive protection for those who report? Organizations should be aware of characteristics indicative of a retaliatory culture - one in which bad actors are provided ample opportunity and cover to retaliate.