Calendar of Events

Seismic changes in tax legislation is currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this four hour program in order to stay abreast of these developments.  This program will cover new court decisions, recent IRS publications, and the latest tax legislation that will impact businesses and individuals.  The remaining time will be spent on IRS procedure and other issues. This course will provide a concise look at the hottest topics affecting every tax practitioner. 

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Seismic changes in tax legislation are currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this 9 hour program in order to stay abreast of these developments.  This program will cover new court decisions, recent IRS publications, and the latest tax legislation that will impact individuals.  The remaining time will be spent on IRS procedure and other issues. This course will provide a concise look at the hottest topics affecting every tax practitioner.  

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Financial managers and executives need to create cash projections that are relevant, current, and accurate. Too often cash planning is reactive, leading to inefficient, chaotic, and unreliable forecasts. Organizations never want to find themselves short in the availability or timing of cash.  Proper cash forecasting and planning can avoid such cash shortfalls.  This session will explore proactive approaches to cash forecasting.  

When asked the question, “What would you like to improve about your leadership and communication style?” more than 65% of leaders say they want to be more confident and assertive in their communication. Confidence and clarity communicates leadership. If you are responsible for growing a profitable company or a productive team, you want team members who have the ability to reach goals, make sales, finish projects, and serve customers. Being a confident compelling leader helps to inspire better relationships, promotes trust and reduces stress in the workplace.

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. 

Essential Skills for the Next 10 Years

Presented by:  Don Minges, John L. Daly, & Richard Karwic

Join the day’s speakers for a free form, panel discussion about the skills that financial professionals will need in the next decade. 

Essential Skills for Financial Leaders Conference The world is changing and you need to keep up to date to advance in your career.  Come gain the insights of three financial veterans who will talk about the essential skills you need for the next 10 years.

This program compares and contrasts the financial accounting for partnerships and LLCs, as well as discusses the tax accounting for these entities. It includes a thorough discussion of the important differences between financial accounting for partnership capital accounts and the tax accounting for partnership capital accounts. Financial accounting for operations of a partnership will also be addressed.

To make more money in less time, all accountants need to learn to market themselves effectively to their clients or their firm. For better or worse, promotions and more money go to those who are the best marketers, rather than the most competent accountants.  In this fascinating and fun workshop, participants will learn seven key ways to get more clients and/or promotions through the art of marketing.

Technology is a business-critical business capability in today’s day and age. Any interruption to an organization’s ability to use its information system poses a significant risk to its viability. Data breaches, cyber-attacks, and ransomware are examples of the most significant existential risks facing businesses today. There are threat actors worldwide that entirely focus on stealing organizational data, stealing economic resources, and disrupting commerce. They use complex social engineering attacks, pervasive phishing messages, intricate malware, and other highly effective techniques. For example, publically reported data breaches now exceed 100k annually. These breaches resulted in releasing the personal information of millions of people worldwide, billions of dollars of compromised organizational assets, and putting countless people in harm’s way. This course covers recent major security breaches, including Solarwinds, Ubiquity, Colonial Pipeline, Tecnimont SpA, Citrix, and LabCorp. It will discuss how these breaches occurred, why they occurred, and how organizations can prevent similar incidents from impacting them. Each case study examines a different form of security vulnerability and how to avoid it. The topics will include social engineering, auditing processes for IT Security systems, forensic accounting, password, two-factor authentication, and improvements for managerial oversight. Participants will gain real-world knowledge from the mistakes of other organizations and, from that experience, develop their own security best practices for their organizations.

The adage, “what gets measured, gets managed,” has never been more true than it is today. Organizations of all kinds and sizes are creating systems and processes to categorize, track, and report on many of their operations by creating reports featuring key performance indicators (KPIs). This session will teach you about many different kinds of KPIs. Further, you will learn how to find data and use tools like Microsoft Excel and Power BI to measure performance. You will also identify the benefits and drawbacks of using KPIs in management philosophies like holacracy to make it easier for employees to know in real time where they stand.

GASB has been very busy issuing standards impacting state and local governments. This course begins with a deeper dive into GASB 87, Leases. by reviewing the impact for both lessees and lessors. We will also cover other standards effective this year impacting state and local governments including the recently renamed annual comprehensive financial report and reference rate reform.

This comprehensive case-driven training is designed to get the accountant up to speed quickly in the area of basis calculations and distribution planning for the owners of pass-thru entities (i.e., S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies (LLCs)). The cornerstone of this course is the line-by-line analysis of the Schedule K-1s and how it affects the basis calculations. 

**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

Does your firm have interest in expanding its’ services beyond traditional CPA services?  Do you have staff with the expertise to compete against non-CPA firms? Welcome to a course that will lead you through the maze of creating a successful Consulting Business Practice for your CPA firm. The course will help you understand: where consulting business opportunities exist, what are the firm’s professional responsibilities and most importantly how to recognize the needs of the client.

This course focuses on the key federal tax issues affecting businesses from the internal accountant's point of view, with a focus on recent tax legislation and developments.  Planning alternatives and the potential risks associated with those strategies will also be discussed.   

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

The mad scramble to remote work and utilize apps like Teams has been trying for most organizations over the past couple of years. With a rush to install and no time to plan, most team members did their best, prioritizing remote meetings as the primary concern. Therefore, as a result, Teams is vastly misunderstood and underutilized in most organizations. Join us in this session to go beyond the remote meetings aspect of Teams and to learn how to optimize efficiency, communication, and workflow with Teams.

Internal controls are more important than ever, and their importance increases daily. However, internal controls present a challenge for many smaller organizations. This program will teach you how to evaluate, develop, and implement an effective internal control structure in a small business environment. You will identify how to assess risk in smaller organizations and implement preventive, detective, deterrent, and compensating controls to mitigate these risks, even without proper segregation of duties. Additionally, participating in this program will teach you technology-focused techniques for preventing and detecting fraud and securing information systems and sensitive data. For small organizations, maintaining an effective system of internal controls presents a significant challenge. Realistically, implementing many theoretical concepts surrounding internal controls may not be possible in some cases. Consequently, many internal control structures foster an environment where too much risk exists. This factor and uncontrolled information systems can often lead to disastrous results. Participate in this program to learn the necessary insights and tools to design, implement, and monitor effective internal controls, security, and anti-fraud measures in small organizations.

This course helps the practitioner understand planning considerations and potential problems when certain “bad situations” happen to his/her client. Updated for COVID-19 issues, this course will explore a variety of bad situations and provide the practitioner an understanding of the tax and non-tax circumstances to be considered when advising a client who is experiencing a bad situation in these trying times.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

When the leadership in any organizations carries out their responsibilities of establishing, maintaining and monitoring internal controls, it significantly reduces the possibility of fraud occurring.  When and if it does occur, a good system of internal controls will often detect it early on. 

This presentation is an illustration of what can happen when top management fails to carry out their responsibility of protecting an entity’s assets through a good system of internal controls.

This course highlights significant updates that affect financial reporting and related attestation services. We will explore novel FASB pronouncements while examining the enduring impact of lease accounting and revenue recognition standards. This course will provide reminders regarding both GAAP and non-GAAP financial reporting alternatives for closely held entities. We will also explore selected guidance regarding audit, review, and compilation engagements.

According to the FBI, “white-collar crime is … synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals … characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust …. The motivation behind these crimes is financial—to obtain or avoid losing money, property, or services or to secure a personal or business advantage.”  CPAs can and should play a crucial role in preventing and detecting white collar crime, as well as in prosecuting the perpetrators.  This session will explore whether we are up to this challenge, heighten awareness regarding the CPA’s role as a front-line defender of the public interest, and assess whether we are deserving of the public trust we enjoy.

This comprehensive case-driven training is designed to get the accountant up to speed quickly in the area of basis calculations and distribution planning for the owners of pass-thru entities (i.e., S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies (LLCs)). The cornerstone of this course is the line-by-line analysis of the Schedule K-1s and how it affects the basis calculations. 

**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

If you are an experienced Excel user seeking to elevate your skills, join the K2 team for K2’s Advanced Excel. In this laptop-friendly program, you will learn critical advanced Excel skills in six key areas: 1) collaborating with other users and securing workbooks, 2) using tables to analyze and report data, 3) integrating and manipulating data from external sources, 4) creating and auditing complex formulas, 5) advanced data analysis tools, and 6) visualization techniques to analyze and communicate information.

The course draws from over twenty-five years of experience delivering Excel training to accountants and other business professionals. Throughout the program, relevant, real-world examples reinforce the topics presented. Take advantage of this opportunity to become more efficient and proficient in Microsoft Office Excel, the tool of choice for accounting and financial professionals. This course covers advanced Excel topics found in Excel 2019 and newer.

Fraud continues to plague businesses at epidemic levels, and technology control failures are a big reason fraud occurs. Using a case study approach, in this session, you will learn about the pervasiveness of fraud, the control failures that contribute to fraud, and what you can do to mitigate fraud risk.

A specific focus of this course is the application of information technology general controls and information technology application controls. In this course, you will examine numerous reported fraud cases and identify the general control and application control failures that contributed to each of these frauds. By learning through these real-world case studies, you will be better positioned to reduce fraud risk.

In this course, we will look at the recent activities of the FASB, the Auditing Standards Board (ASB), and Accounting & Review Services Committee (ARSC) that impact small businesses. We will discuss the impact of the new standards and how you can prepare to implement them in a practical way. This course is tailored to focus on topics primarily impacting smaller entities. It does not cover some of the more complex accounting requirements not commonly found in smaller entities.

You only have one chance to make a good first impression.  In the fast paced world we live in, being able to create immediate rapport and a sense of trust with people is more important than ever.  Fortunately, this is an easily learnable skill that can serve you in both business and in life.  People who can master the one minute relationship end up making more money, being better liked, and enjoying their clients more.  

This program addresses the many complex financial and tax accounting issues that are common in S corporation transactions, with discussion of common pitfalls and the new AICPA "small" GAAP accounting standards.

Leaders Eat Last

Don Minges, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

Trust is essential, because without trust, there can be no teamwork.  Trust is like oxygen, when it is gone - we suffocate.  This session provides a 15-step action plan to gain commitment from your team members, build trust, hold each person accountable and create results for your organization. 

In this course, you'll learn why being able to do public speaking well is a major advantage in becoming successful in your career.  You'll learn how to write a good talk, how to present it well, and how to use your new found ability to get more clients and/or a promotion. In addition, you'll learn how to overcome your nervousness, and how to overcome stress in less than a minute.

Fraud continues to plague businesses at epidemic levels, and technology control failures are a significant reason fraud occurs. Using a case study approach, in this session, you will learn about the pervasiveness of fraud, the control failures that contribute to fraud, and what you can do to mitigate fraud risk.

A specific focus of this course is the application of information technology general controls and information technology application controls. In this course, you will examine numerous reported fraud cases and identify the general control and application control failures that contributed to each of these frauds. By learning through these real-world case studies, you will be positioned better to reduce fraud risk.

This course explores the tests used to determine whether a worker is properly characterized as an employee or an independent contractor for tax purposes, with a focus on the cost of getting it wrong and possible Section 530 relief.  The game changing impact of the Dynamex case and AB5 will also be discussed. 

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

In the course of legal actions, payments may be made pursuant to a final disposition of a court case or a mutually agreed-upon settlement.  This course will cover the tax implications for payments made for personal injury, emotional distress, lost wages, punitive awards, pre- and post-judgement interest, contract claims, among other damages.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.
 

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.  

Our guidance on ethics comes from the AICPA and other groups, but it does not fully address the “why” behind ethics. Understanding what motivates people and understanding those people are key to both solving ethical dilemmas and workplace issues that can lead to greater job satisfaction and efficiency. To correct an issue, you need to delve into the root cause – the why?

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.

This session describes a state agency's quality review of a not-for-profit organization's A-133 audit.  The case study describes the organization audited, its Federally- and state-funded programs, and the CPA firm retained to do the audit.  Various anomalies in the financial statements alerted State officials to potential problems, and a detailed quality review followed.  Find out how the entity turned hundreds of thousands of dollars in bank overdrafts into hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash on its balance sheet.  Explore other “creative” ways to deal with fixed assets, accounts receivable, and related-party transactions.  Were the auditors just sloppy, ignorant, negligent?  Or were they active participants in producing fraudulent financial statements?  You be the judge.

Prior to the original SAS No. 82 on Consideration of Fraud In A Financial Statement Audit (now codified as SAS No. 122, AU 240), the word fraud never appeared in a single SAS, nor was it described anywhere.  SAS No. 82 stated that auditors failed to detect fraud for two reasons:  1) They did not know what it looked like and 2) They had not been trained to look for it.  Although the SASs did not provide any guidance, auditors have always been responsible for the detection of anything that would cause a material misstatement of the financial statements whether caused by error or irregularities.  (They would not even say the word fraud until it appeared in SAS No. 82) The standards were replete with guidance on the detection of an error but silent on how to detect irregularities.  Now auditors are required to document in every financial statement audit their process of determining the risk of financial misstatement due to fraud.

This presentation is designed to focus on frauds that were missed by the auditors and, in some cases, why it was missed.  There will also be discussion as to what the auditor must do in order to improve their track record on detecting fraud.  As reported on the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations, only 4% of frauds were initially discovered by the external auditor.  It was reported that more frauds were discovered by accident, (5%) then was discovered by the external auditor.

The GASB has been working on some big projects lately. This course starts with a look at the GASB standards effective this year, including GASB 94, Public Private Partnerships and GASB 96, Subscription Based IT Arrangements. We will include practical applications in the form of case studies to apply the topics. We will then switch gears to the GASB standards coming down the pike, including the major projects of the GASB.

Seismic changes in tax legislation is currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this four hour program in order to stay abreast of these developments.  This program will cover new court decisions, recent IRS publications, and the latest tax legislation that will impact individuals.  The remaining time will be spent on IRS procedure and other issues. This course will provide a concise look at the hottest topics affecting every tax practitioner. 

**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.
 

Cash Management Essentials

Richard Karwic, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

Are you managing your cash, or is your cash managing you?  Can you effectively project cash position a week, month or year from now?  This seminar demonstrates cash management processes that will lead to productive days and restful nights. 

Essential Skills for Financial Leaders Conference The world is changing and you need to keep up to date to advance in your career.  Come gain the insights of three financial veterans who will talk about the essential skills you need for the next 10 years. 

This program addresses the many issues impacting CPA practice with a world in crisis.  The unique challenges facing practitioners are related through actual practice situations – and then analyzed for their ethical implications. Based on real life experiences.

Although Windows incorporates the OneDrive app, you may not have configured it correctly for your specific needs. Using the OneDrive app and the related Cloud storage service to their fullest potential means you can access your files when and where you need them. Further, sharing your files and collaborating with others is easy when using OneDrive correctly. In this session, you will learn best practices for taking full advantage of OneDrive.

The standard audit report will soon receive an overhaul. This course investigates major changes to the contents and format of audit reports for private entities while exploring the influence of changes to audit reports for public companies. 

Welcome to a management course that helps CFOs and Controllers lead the Accounting Department. It is essential that the Accounting Department have a Vision which is aligned with the Business goals. Controllers must also be comfortable with wearing multiple 'hats' in the business. The head of the Accounting Department must be skilled in a variety of leadership skills, technical skills, managerial skills and current management techniquest.

This presentation will provide a detailed analysis of the Circular 230 rules for conduct of a tax practice, with a review of the political, legislative and regulatory rules impacting every accounting and tax professional. Best practices and guidance provided by the AICPA’s Code of Professional Conduct will be discussed.

Do you ever get tired of other people's complaining and negativity? How can you stay calm, upbeat, and motivated despite other people’s grumpiness, rudeness, or pessimism? This program is all about helping you be your best. Even though you may not be able to change your colleagues, customers, or even your boss, you can reduce your stress and frustration by changing how you respond. Staying positive and calm is easier when you learn how to build your immunity.

This course teaches you Tina’s proprietary five-step “Immunity to Negativity Formula™”. You’ll learn simple techniques for staying calm and choosing to respond as your best self. This is a key skill you can build for yourself so you can enjoy less stress and frustration. You can even teach others so they can improve customer service, teamwork, and relationships within your company. 
 

You often can perform an audit in accordance with all of the standards, and still have a substandard audit IF you did not get out among the clients employees (let them know you are there and where you located), talk to as many people as you can regardless as to whether you may think that they may have any helpful information; constantly observe your surrounding where ever you are at (you never now what you might see) and lastly, listen to not only what people are saying to you but are also saying around you.

This presentation is designed to illustrate the importance of making yourself available to your client’s employees, let them know that you are there and where you can be found. Talk with them because if there is a problem, somebody knows and they will often tell you all about it IF you just ask them.  Look at your surrounding everywhere you go.  What are you looking for?  I don’t know but I’ll know it when I see it. Lastly, listen to what they have to say.  Every word is important because they may say something that you had not asked about. 

Remember, you never want to discover something and go to an individual who you determined knew about it and ask, why didn’t you tell me about this and their response was, you never asked me!

Business ethics is not something “nice to do” but can mean the difference between success, failure and survival in today’s competitive environment.  Being trustworthy, having consistent business principles and an outstanding reputation may provide an organization’s only long-term competitive advantage.  This updated webcast outlines eight steps to create an ethical business environment including specific ways for financial professionals to make better ethical decisions moving forward.

What do you need to get ahead? In this day and age, we live in a network economy – – it’s all about who you know, who knows you, and what they know about you.
In this talk Connector’s Advantage author Michelle Tillis Lederman explains the types of relationships you want and need, how to adopt the Connector’s mindset and move up the Connector spectrum to get better, faster, and easier results. At the end of the day it is the strength of your relationships that leads to your success.

Leaders were once chosen for their character, but today we live in an age where loudmouthed extroverts seem to take center stage in everything, including business, politics and entertainment.  While the talkative, charismatic leader makes the front page of business magazines, recent research shows that successful business leaders tend to be more reserved, pensive and sometimes outright shy.  Learn why your desire to spend significant time inside your own head may be your greatest asset. Whether you are introverted or not, you likely work with, manage or are a related to an introvert.  We will discuss proven methods to better understand introverts, how to manage them, and how to get the most out of their amazing talents.  If you want to enhance your leadership skills, this seminar is for you. 

All business professionals need access to the necessary technology to help them perform their jobs efficiently and effectively. Yet, no one should overpay for their tech stack. Unfortunately, though, many are overpaying and have yet to realize it. In this session, you will learn valuable tips to help you simplify and economize your technology stack. Participate in this session to avoid the risk of overpaying for your tech tools.

This course explores the multitude of issues that taking on a new client can bring with it, and then interprets them using three sets of ethical rules.  A group of “players” reveal real-life challenges faced by the CPA firm in bringing the new client into compliance, as well as proper financial and tax compliance issues.

Cash does not manage itself.  It is up to the CFO to establish practices and procedures for the short-term, mid-term, and long-term management of cash.  Every organization needs to control the availability of the right amount of cash, at the right time, at the right place.   This webcast will help you gain insights in cash management that will allow you to function at the highest level.

Financial accounting for trusts and estates is one of the least understood branches of accounting. It is not particularly concerned with recording income and expenses but is obsessed with determining whether receipts and expenditures are assigned to income or principal/corpus. This course will dive into this tricky area and provide a reporting guide for fiduciary accounting.

This course initially explores actual fraud circumstances through the lens of potential prevention. We will examine how selected frauds were accomplished and consider what internal controls may have prevented fraudsters from achieving their nefarious acts. Then we will switch gears to an interactive, case-based discussion that asks participants to reach their own conclusions by analyzing facts in concert with the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and other sources of ethical guidance. This course ultimately provides practical, action-oriented insight that can be implemented by accounting professionals in both public practice and industry.

Unlike a traditional financial audit objective (Are the financial statements materially misstated?), performance auditing can address a wide variety of objectives (Is this program working? Can it be improved? Where can we save money? How can we operate more efficiently and effectively?).  This session will explain what a performance audit is, describe the standards that must be followed, and provide examples that indicate the value of a performance audit.  Performance audits can add value to any entity and practitioners can profit from adding these assurance services to their practices.

The audit standards state that one of the reasons auditors fail to detect fraud is that they don’t know what it looks like.  Prior to the original SAS No. 82, Consideration of Fraud In A Financial Statement Audit, nowhere in any SAS was there a description of what fraud looked like.  So, as they say, if you don’t know what you are looking for, you can often look right at it and not recognize it!

This presentation illustrates some of the more common indicators of fraud they most individuals would overlook unless they 1) knew what they were looking for and were 2) actually looking for it.  Contrary to what the standards say about fraud being concealed, I have found that fraud is often laying on the table right in front of you; but no one has discovered it because they have no idea what the indicators of fraud are.

Stop struggling with PDFs! Adobe Acrobat and other PDF tools provide access to features that make working with PDF files a breeze. In this course, you will learn how to use tools and features such as PDF forms, redaction, converting PDFs to Word and Excel files, and electronic signatures. You will also learn how to create and apply tick marks, build indices, catalogs, and portfolios, and secure PDF documents to their fullest.

The popularity and usefulness of PDFs increase daily, but most PDF users have not learned how to manipulate PDF documents effectively. Accordingly, they struggle and strain with these standard files. You do not need to let this be the case. Join us in this very timely session where you will learn the top features necessary to optimize your work with PDF documents.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) has become a hot topic among standard setters. This session will look at the work of the FASB, GASB, and AICPA in the areas of ESG. We’ll also look at the types of engagements CPAs can provide to entities who want assurance around their ESG reporting.

If a great leader is someone we are willing to sacrifice for – what do those leaders do that makes us want to do more? Many of us work in dysfunctional organizations that want followers, but have no leaders that lead. What makes a leader effective? True leaders sacrifice, they are trustworthy and they empathize. We discuss the steps to take so you can become a true leader: including, integrity, humility, communication, self-control and self-awareness. With diligence, you can become a better leader and we will discuss how.  

Cash does not manage itself.  It is up to the CFO to establish practices and procedures for the short-term, mid-term, and long-term management of cash.  Every organization needs to control the availability of the right amount of cash, at the right time, at the right place.   This webcast will help you gain insights in cash management that will allow you to function at the highest level.

Sustainability Accounting is now a recognized professional skill of increasing importance in larger organizations. It is the process of finding, measuring and managing the material metrics for sustainable performance and risk management. The goal is to bring these metrics into regular financial statements so leaders can act on them.  This course teaches Sustainability Accounting basics with example from the restaurant industry.   It is suitable for any professional or student who wants to learn fast about sustainability issues in specific industry sectors and how to integrate sustainability metrics into financial accounting and reporting.

This session explores the nature of analytical procedures, with significant emphasis placed upon professional standards involving the use of analytical procedures in audit and review engagements. Practical examples to illustrate the application process will also be given.

It is the role of a leader to build and maintain a great culture in the organization. The culture is the driving force that shapes the attitudes and behaviors of everyone in the organization. A relationship driven organization is built on trust and is the most effective way to improve productivity, engagement, and the bottom line. Understand the components that enable trust to  be created and maintained throughout teams and organizations.

Review of the major employment laws governing the workplace, when they are triggered, and key compliance aspects under each law. This presentation is designed to give viewers enough information to issue spot when matters arise in the workplace. 

This course examines the critical issues and special opportunities facing partnerships and their partners, with a focus on reporting tax basis capital accounts. 

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Performance targets and incentives can drive breathtakingly positive results: the moon landings, the eradication of smallpox, or the repair of the ozone layer, for example. They can also have a dark side that can create stress, overload and anxiety and even drive lawbreaking.

What is the difference between a healthy ‘stretch’ target and one pushes people too far? How can we spot potential problems in advance and systematically design sensible, humane and effective performance targets?

Using practical examples and case studies, Bernie will give you an overview of the essential steps for designing robust, effective, and credible targets for any organization.

Designing effective, practical and realistic performance targets will never be easy, but this session will introduce you to the tools that help make the process clearer, simpler and more consistent.

The ability to influence people is the one fundamental skill that every professional needs. All managers know how hard it can be to make views heard despite having persuasive points to make. The program gives participants all the techniques necessary to increase their influence and put the power of persuasion to work for them.

If you are efficient and want to learn lessons from the best in a short time, this seminar is for you.  Popular speaker Don Minges will review the key lessons from five fantastic business books that will help you become more effective.  The topics are; leadership, how to create a valuable business, how to turnaround a business, how to make terrific presentations and how do humans think?  These lessons are valuable for every business leader. 

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.

Professional Codes of Conduct make Ethics seem easy and clear cut. However, this is not so in real life. This session discusses five cases where the ethics is not so clear cut.  What should be considered?  We will explain how you can be more diligent and maintain awareness of ethical issues to become more effective and enhance the reputation of the profession.    

What if being nice, or specifically being a positive best version of yourself, made you a more effective leader?  Ethical leadership, is effective leadership. That’s what Dr. Cohen, noted psychologist, transformational speaker, executive coach, and author of Be The Sun, Not The Salt, has been teaching organizations to do for years. Dr. Cohen’s work is based on scientific studies of human behavior broken down into simple, easily digestible pillars structured around the Heliotropic Effect. In this webcast we will discuss Dr. Cohen’s path to this work, what the Heliotropic Effect is, and how Be The Sun, Not The Salt is the perfect reminder to Do More of That every day.

This presentation will review what sex harassment is under the law, company compliance obligations, and describe how promoting a positive company culture can prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. 

In times of economic and tax uncertainty, real estate ownership can create frustrations and concerns for your client. The purpose of this course is to assist the practitioner in understanding the complexities that a client faces with regard to real estate ownership, prospective real estate ownership, and the tax issues surrounding their real estate holding and prospective holdings.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.
 

Why can it be hard to automate accounting? Because many accountants don’t know their options and, therefore, fail to reap the rewards of accounting automation.

This session will teach you how easy and profitable accounting automation can be. In it, you will learn how to automate many traditional accounting processes, often with technology you already own. In addition to bank feeds, you will learn about automation options for processing accounts payable and receivable, approving transactions, and linking data from one platform to another. If you are serious about improving efficiency and accuracy, you should make plans to attend this session.

Are you looking to take your PivotTables to the next level? Many experts consider PivotTables to be Excel’s most powerful feature. Yet, most who create and work with them barely scratch the surface of all that PivotTables can do. In this session, you’ll learn eight powerful features you may have missed. From user-defined calculations to consolidating reports and adding KPIs, we’ll show you how to get the most out of your PivotTables. These are just some examples of the great things you can do with PivotTables, and in this session, you will learn these and other techniques to make your PivotTables even more powerful.

Blockchain is one of the most-watched emerging technologies. Yet, few accountants understand how to use this technology to make existing ledger-based systems more efficient, effective, and tamper-resistant. In this session, you will learn the basics of blockchain-based ledgers. You will also learn about the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ripple. Additionally, you will learn about emerging issues in these fields, such as stablecoins, central bank-issued digital currencies, smart contracts, and sovereign identity management. By attending this session, you will see how blockchain-based technologies will change your work with others.

Tax compliance issues for fiduciary entities are sometimes confusing to practitioners due to the fact that many lack experience in this area. This course provides the practitioner with a practical understanding of the issues involved in preparing the U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts (Form 1041), including a Line-by-Line presentation of the form.  The practitioner will have a better understanding of entities and the basics of Subchapter J of the Internal Revenue Code.  Understanding these areas will allow the practitioner to start their understanding of tax compliance in preparing the U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts (Form 1041).

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

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.

The thought of bartering, bickering, negotiating, even compromising often produce a negative connotation, and frequently fear, in one's mind. Each of us however, has to negotiate daily in every aspect of our lives. Negotiation is an integral part of creating value for the organization and your success depends on your skills as a negotiator.  This course will give you with a new perspective on the art of negotiation by equipping you with techniques, counter-techniques, and a framework for mutually beneficial results.

This program addresses the critical issues and special opportunities facing S-corporations, with a focus on reporting shareholder basis and distributions. 

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

This session will explore newly-issued auditing standards. Particular emphasis will be devoted to the reformatted audit report and key audit matters.

In the fast moving world where everyone is communicating through email, text and instant messaging we have forgotten the power of face-to-face conversation. Communication and connection is the foundation for building a thriving network and business.

During this talk, The Connector’s Advantage author, Michelle Tillis Lederman will inspire you to leverage the power of personal connection in the digital age while still incorporating the efficiency of virtual communication.
 

In 2020, 96% of the world’s largest 250 companies published reports on their sustainability performance in accordance with national and international standards.   Now many more companies are committing to sustainability, and Net Zero emissions in particular.   This creates a new responsibility and opportunity for HR leaders.   Staff must be trained in new policies, goals and procedures.  Executives need help as leaders in this new approach.  This one-hour course summarizes SHRM research into HR and sustainability, plus other expert sources and the instructor's own 30-year journey helping companies become more sustainable.   The course presents key concepts, tools and sources to help HR find its role.

Governmental accounting and auditing has many unique requirements. In this course, we will start off with a look at the recent changes in accounting as GASB has been very busy issuing standards impacting state and local governments. We will take a deeper dive into GASB 87, Leases by reviewing the impact for both lessees and lessors. We will also cover other standards effective this year impacting state and local governments including the recently renamed annual comprehensive financial report and reference rate reform. As we turn our attention to the auditing side of the house, we will look at the 2021 Technical Update and review the 2018 Yellow Book independence requirements. The course closes with a look at the Uniform Guidance including changes in the new compliance supplement as well as the impact of ARPA

Award winning and entertaining discussion leader Mark Hugh discusses how to create value for clients and your firm with consulting services. Whether you want to consult a little or full time, this valuable course reviews identifying a specialty, growing a practice, capturing value, creating deliverables, and effective marketing strategies whether within a firm or out in the marketplace.  

Most organizations manage their income statement, but many virtually ignore the balance sheet until balance sheet problems create seemingly insurmountable emergencies. This session discusses how to analyze and manage your financial statements more holistically, allowing you to identify and correct balance sheet issues early. How do you choose whether to raise debt or equity? What are the key considerations and the advantages of each? What is the cost of capital? What are the ‘hidden’ balance sheet risks? We will also examine several crucial ideas you can incorporate into your analyses to enhance performance and reduce risk. If you want to enhance your corporate finance skills, this session is for you.

What obligations does an employer have when an employee needs to take a leave of absence? This presentation will provide an overview of the complicated, intertwined compliance obligations triggered when an employee requests a medical leave of absence (including for pregnancy, mental health, or addiction).

Performance management's impact on an organization can be directly felt in the bottom line. Companies with high turnover and poor employee retention rates experience lower employee morale and increased expenses in recruiting and training. Understanding the strengths and development needs of staff can guide employees toward a long-term career track. Communicating the keys to success is even more critical in long-term productivity and retention. This course will provide methodologies for each phase from goal setting to coaching to feedback. Exercises offer an opportunity for participants to begin developing their personal objectives as well as imparting techniques to manage the monitoring, coaching, and appraisal feedback phases of the process.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered corporate and public accounting in ways we could never have imagined. This broad-based course will discuss accounting and auditing implications that have arisen as a result of the pandemic.

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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Understanding how you prefer to communicate impacts how you lead, solve problems, make decisions, form relationships, collaborate, provide feedback, influence, and motivate. It also indicates what is influential and motivating to you. In this program you will learn your own communication preferences, how to identify others' preferences, and how to flex your style.

SAS 145, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, was issued in October 2021. This audit standard amends AU-C 315, making many changes to address common audit deficiencies. This course will provide an overview of SAS 145 and its changes to AU-C 315.

Cryptocurrency can be a very confusing issue for a client in both compliance and in planning.  This course will assist the practitioner in understanding the tax aspects of cryptocurrency from a federal compliance standpoint.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.
 

Are you running around with a fire extinguisher permanently strapped to your back? Do everyday crises run your life, both at work and at home? Do you find yourself
consistently taking care of everyone else with no time left to take care of you?

In this session, we dive into controlling your chaos and managing your energy. Make no mistake, this isn't your father's time management class. It’s an energy management class developed on behalf of and with tired, frustrated, and burned out HR professionals like yourselves! If you find yourself drained and drinking far too much coffee, this is the session for you!

This course covers FASB Accounting Standard Updates (ASUs) that impact NFPs. It includes a deep dive into the new disclosure requirements for contributed nonfinancial assets in ASU 2020-07. We also review the impact of COVID-19 on accounting for various federal funding in response to the global pandemic. Finally, attendees will also gain an understanding of what must be considered in order to implement standards impacting nonprofit entities including leases.

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.

Please join us for a discussion on Treasury Circular 230 and other ethical issues faced by enrolled agents and other tax preparers.  In addition to covering the practice standards espoused by Treasury Circular 230, there will also be an overview of the applicable provisions in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and common law which will affect tax preparers.  The discussion will conclude with other ethical issues, such as avoiding conflicts of interest, proper fee structure and maintaining competency.  Also included will be case studies illustrating dilemmas faced by tax practitioners.  

**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 anne.taylor@acpen.com.
 

This is not your average CPE course--Part 2! In this second part course (which is equally fun and engaging), you will learn how to feel confident--even in highly stressful situations. You will learn new secrets to great health that take under 10 minutes per week, and you will learn how to know what is most important to you--so you can be happier and healthier in the long run. Tune in for techniques to relieve stress and tips on incorpating meditation into your daily routine. All of which will help improve your memory and overall mental health and wellbeing. In addition, you'll learn an unsurpassed method for making sure you stay consistent with actually implementing these methods in your daily life.

Your ability to create meaningful and lasting relationships directly impacts your success from hiring, to being a trustworthy leader, to shaping the organizational culture. Growing a larger network with stronger relationships increases your value, influence and impact.

Discover how you can become a leader who attracts and engages an eager, committed team.  Expand your role, build loyalty, and close deals on relationships not price.  And when opportunities arise, be first in mind and someone they want to say ‘yes’ to!
 

This course will address recent tax legislation, rules, and developments related to capitalization and depreciation; Section 179 and 168(k) 100 % bonus deduction; Depreciation of automobiles, including new luxury auto limits; ADS depreciation for electing farm and real estate business.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Sustainability Accounting is now a recognized professional skill of increasing importance in larger organizations. It is the process of finding, measuring and managing the material metrics for sustainable performance and risk management. The goal is to bring these metrics into regular financial statements so leaders can act on them.  This course teaches Sustainability Accounting basics with example from the restaurant industry.   It is suitable for any professional or student who wants to learn fast about sustainability issues in specific industry sectors and how to integrate sustainability metrics into financial accounting and reporting.

This course will allow you to get reacquainted with the statement of cash flows. We will refresher your skills regarding both the preparation and utilization of the statement of cash flows. Significant emphasis will be placed on the informational role of the statement of cash flows and insights that can be obtained using the statement of cash flows in concert with the other elements of a company’s accrual-basis financial statements.

What do people say about you when you leave the room? Is it what you want them to say? How you show up in the room, get listened to, build trust, and are known amongst your colleagues are all critical components of your future success. In this workshop Michelle Tillis Lederman, CEO and Founder of Executive Essentials, will discuss how to determine you brand attributes, demonstrate the nuances of body language on your professional presence, and discuss how to strengthen trust and the lasting impressions you make on your network, expanding upon lessons from her books The Connectors’ Advantage and The 11 Laws of Likability. 

Cash Management Essentials

Richard Karwic, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

Are you managing your cash, or is your cash managing you?  Can you effectively project cash position a week, month or year from now?  This seminar demonstrates cash management processes that will lead to productive days and restful nights. 

Essential Skills for Financial Leaders Conference The world is changing and you need to keep up to date to advance in your career.  Come gain the insights of three financial veterans who will talk about the essential skills you need for the next 10 years. 

Suitable for anyone with an interest in understanding the impacts of remote work on diverse people and promoting equitable outcomes that lead to a more inclusive work environment.

Employee Turnover is at an all-time high, and what use to work isn't working anymore. We explore a call to action with a new way of thinking.

The Uniform Guidance identifies COSO and Green Book as best practices in internal control. This course will cover the background on COSO and its 2013 update. We’ll also review the application of COSO to Green Book. Attendees will learn how to leverage Part 6 of the Compliance Supplement for documentation of internal controls.

Google is one of the largest, most widely used and vital technology companies on the planet. Their name has become synonymous with search, knowledge, and cutting-edge technology. Google developed and maintains a wide range of products that have changed how we learn, find things in our community, and communicate with the world. Further, Google offers a business-ready cloud productivity suite used by a growing number of businesses worldwide. Google brings together a wide range of communication and business tools under one roof to serve as the backbone of an organization’s technology infrastructure. Most users are familiar with Google’s search service or Gmail but are unaware of the other services they provide. Additionally, most users barely scratch the surface of the functionality of Google’s tools and services. This course looks at the most valuable features, apps, and services of Google that the busy working professional could better utilize. Course participants will learn to find better web results using search operators and tools. Further, they will understand Workspace and use it as an organization’s back office. They will learn to create dynamic, creative, and useful business documents using Google tools. They will learn to back up and sync their electronic documents to the Cloud using Google Drive. Finally, they will learn to grow their business and expand their marketing using Google’s marketing and website tools. This session finishes with a top-five list of Google's best-hidden secrets and functionalities. Beginners to advanced users of Google products will leave this course with a much deeper understanding of the services, time-saving tips to use the products more effectively, and practical advice on how to best leverage their incredible technology.

The number of accounting applications available today can be staggering for businesses with up to $15 million in annual revenue! In addition, cloud-based solutions such as QuickBooks Online, Xero, Accounting Power, and Wave are growing in breadth and depth. At the same time, traditional desktop and client-server applications continue to add more features, including hosted options. On top of all of this, financial reporting and other add-on solutions can further complicate your decision as to which tools you/your clients should use. In this course, we will take a deep look into setting up a Quickbooks Online Accountant (QBOA) account. We will examine all the various firm, staff, and client configuration options for getting this to work inside your organization. This session focuses specifically on the configuration options for the financial professional. QBO is an extensive application, requiring you to ensure you’ve correctly set up your firm and client files. Additionally, we will look at the various import/export functionality for getting your data into or out of QBO and some of the best 3rd party tools in the Intuit App Marketplace. Participants will leave this class supercharged with the knowledge of getting the most out of their QBOA subscription.

The next five years are going to be eventful for CPA firms. The profession has never seen such rapid change, with new and changing technologies appearing almost daily! So, what will your firm do?

How can you keep up without getting overwhelmed by these fast-paced transformations in the profession and stay profitable during this turmoil? What are the best technologies to handle client interactions, PBC lists, electronic signatures, and Advisory services? How do the cloud, next-generation accounting software, and client demands affect partner profitability? Attend this session to get an independent overview of the state of technology in the profession.

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. 

Human Resources is a wonderful profession, but finding the right technology is challenging. While you may think you have settled your information technology tools, you might be surprised by what is in the market that can help you do your job in the best way possible. We'll cover select tools to help you every day at work.

Join us for a session to help you find the software tools to streamline your HR process. We'll cover recruitment, onboarding, compliance, and solutions in many other categories. You should leave this session with more than a few software products and approaches that can make your job easier.

Emerging from the pandemic is a workplace culture governed by values. Far from a soft approach, it can drive significant business results. Organizations that embrace an empathetic culture increase performance and decrease turnover, while their customers report a more positive experience. Additionally, being more “person-focused” strongly correlates with more effective ethics and compliance programs. These insights can provide a roadmap for the "new normal" as the world emerges from the crisis. How employees and management move forward from this experience will shape the workplace for decades to come.

When asked the question, “What would you like to improve about your leadership and communication style?” more than 65% of leaders say they want to be more confident and assertive in their communication. Confidence and clarity communicate leadership. If you are responsible for growing a profitable company or a productive team, you want team members who have the ability to reach goals, make sales, finish projects, and serve customers. Being a confident, compelling leader helps to inspire better relationships, promotes trust, and reduces stress in the workplace.
Lack of confidence and assertiveness can lead to resentment, depression, low self-esteem, and loss of respect from colleagues and employers. Confident communication cultivates cooperation, goal achievement, and a more respectful work environment. Clear and compelling leaders are better equipped to move projects forward and make things happen while improving cooperation and respect from partners and subordinates.
 

Award winning and entertaining 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. 

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Essential Skills for Financial Leaders Conference The world is changing and you need to keep up to date to advance in your career.  Come gain the insights of three financial veterans who will talk about the essential skills you need for the next 10 years. 

Leaders Eat Last

Don Minges, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

Trust is essential, because without trust, there can be no teamwork.  Trust is like oxygen, when it is gone - we suffocate.  This session provides a 15-step action plan to gain commitment from your team members, build trust, hold each person accountable and create results for your organization. 

Preparing for a CFO Role

John L. Daly, Executive Education, Inc. 

Many accountants spend their early career trying to develop technical skills, yet a surprising proportion of public company Chief Financial Officers don't even have an accounting degree.  What does it take to become a CFO and be successful once you get there?  Whether you are early or late in your career, this session will provide valuable insights.  Come hear stories of a real world CFO’s successes and failures.

Cash Management Essentials

Richard Karwic, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

Are you managing your cash, or is your cash managing you?  Can you effectively project cash position a week, month or year from now?  This seminar demonstrates cash management processes that will lead to productive days and restful nights. 

Essential Skills for the Next 10 Years

Presented by:  Don Minges, John L. Daly, & Richard Karwic

Join the day’s speakers for a free form, panel discussion about the skills that financial professionals will need in the next decade. 

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a means of creating and enforcing security policies in an organization. For example, you can create DLP rules that programmatically block all outbound email messages containing Social Security or credit card numbers. Unfortunately, most business professionals have yet to discover DLP and how it improves security.

In this session, you will learn the fundamentals of DLP and, through demonstrations, see how you can use DLP to enhance organizational security. You do not want to miss this chance to learn how to take advantage of one of the most innovative security options available to you!

Change is all around us and the pace of change is accelerating. Those who can effectively manage change will be the profession's future leaders. As organizations and the CPA profession continue to evolve, CPAs will need to have the ability to be resilient and thrive in an ever-changing world. This course will look at practical ways CPAs can not only accept change but also manage change effectively and efficiently.

Preparing for a CFO Role

John L. Daly, Executive Education, Inc. 

Many accountants spend their early career trying to develop technical skills, yet a surprising proportion of public company Chief Financial Officers don't even have an accounting degree.  What does it take to become a CFO and be successful once you get there?  Whether you are early or late in your career, this session will provide valuable insights.  Come hear stories of a real world CFO’s successes and failures. 

Essential Skills for Financial Leaders Conference The world is changing and you need to keep up to date to advance in your career.  Come gain the insights of three financial veterans who will talk about the essential skills you need for the next 10 years. 

This course reviews accounting standards issued by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) that will be effective this year as well as those that will be effective in the near future. In addition to reviewing the standards, we will also focus on implementation strategies and challenges. Finally, we will turn our attention to the future by discussing GASB’s current projects and exposure drafts.

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.

Debt is a real problem for many clients, business owners, and the general public.  It can be ever increasing and causes financial, emotional and physical challenges that seem to spiral out of control.

What if you could help your clients “do debt differently”? This strategy turns the game upside down and presents solutions from the inside out.  As a CPA, you are already a trusted advisor for your clients.  What if you could help your clients be free of this burden?  This is a tremendous resource you can offer to your clients, expanding the value of what you offer them by adding these processes to your packages.  Clients will be happy to pay for this kind of relief as you support them in doing debt differently.  

If you are one of the many people who are personally burdened by this situation, these strategies, tools, mindsets and actions will personally help you get better results…so you can go back to the task of expanding and growing your business, sleeping better at night and gaining access to the creativity that will take you to your next level of financial fulfillment. 

Paying off debt is an inside/outside job.  Successful strategies include the internal shifts to mindset and enhancing the inner qualities that are most helpful in paying off debt, and practical tools to help make the transition from thinking about paying off debt to actually doing it. This program combines both -- emotional support and dozens of tools and action steps to Do Debt Differently, including:

• An inventory process to objectively assess the situation and face it head on
• Guided mind/body processes to alleviate anxiety about the situation
• Creative exploration (writing and drawing) to gain clarity and specificity
• Stories and discussion to strengthen your access to the qualities that will be most helpful to your success
• Using a menu of options to create a personal action plan and an ongoing support team

The techniques in this program are creative and easy, but immensely practical.   We will combine practical, nuts-and-bolts action steps with powerful tools for mindset-shifting.

There is no reason to continue to suffer the burden and overwhelm of debt. Relief is here! Through discussion, interactive exercises, skill building, mindset shifting and powerful actions, you and your clients could be on your way to a debt free life. Please join me for this empowering approach to changing your financial situation.

This session explores managerial accounting techniques with an emphasis on internal decision-making tools. You will appreciate a reminder regarding concepts you may not have considered since your college days. We will revisit managerial accounting concepts by illustrating practical examples that you can immediately bring back to the office!

This course examines the critical issues and special opportunities facing partnerships and their partners, as well as the relationship between limited liability companies and partnerships, with a focus on reporting tax basis capital accounts.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

People skills are the most significant skills that Professionals need to develop and yet are often the last skills perfected. This course will help participants understand personality types and the successful interactions with clients, peers and family. In addition, participants will learn Neuro-linguistic programming and develop the ability to better understand nonverbal language which is key in communication. Participants will also learn techniques to enhance memory and to improve the ability to recall key facts.

Tax compliance issues in estate and gift taxation are sometimes confusing to practitioners because many lack experiences in this area. This course, the second part of a 2-part series (6 CPE hours in total), provides the practitioner with a “hands-on” understanding as to how to prepare both the Federal Form 706 (Estate Tax return) and the Federal Form 709 (Gift Tax return). The participants will be shown how to properly prepare these returns “line-by-line”.    Mastering this course will allow the practitioner to gain confidence in preparing these difficult tax returns.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Tax compliance issues in estate and gift taxation are sometimes confusing to practitioners because many lack experiences in this area. This course, is a the entire 2-part series (6 CPE hours in total).  It provides the practitioner with a practical understanding of Federal estate and gift tax law, as well as provide the practitioner with a “hands-on” understanding as to how to prepare both the Federal Form 706 (Estate Tax return) and the Federal Form 709 (Gift Tax return) line by line.  Emphasis will be given on the various of the Internal Revenue Code Sections that deal with this topic (income taxation of estates and trusts).    Mastering these sections of the Internal Revenue Code areas will allow the practitioner to start their understanding of tax compliance in preparing Federal Forms 706 and 709 and gain confidence in preparing these difficult tax returns.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Governmental Accounting 101, is a 2 hour webcast that takes the participant of a whirlwind tour of governmental accounting basics, focusing on wetting the participant’s appetite for more.  This session will be the first of a series of webcasts, with each subsequent webcast delving deeper and deeper into the governmental accounting basics. 

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was a major overhaul of our tax system that lowered the income tax rates for individual and corporate taxpayers and introduced the new 20% qualified business income (QBI) deduction for sole proprietors and pass-through entities. The cornerstone of this course is the comprehensive discussion of the 20% QBI deduction final regulations under IRC §199A.   

**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

Security is not optional, and yesterday’s security techniques do not minimize today’s security threats. Therefore, now is the time for you to tune up what you know about protecting sensitive data. This program will teach you the latest tools and techniques for securing your data, including encryption, virus protection, safe communications, electronic signatures, secure authentication, and more. You will also learn how to implement a practical, five-step approach to securing your PC and the questions you should ask your staff to ensure server-based information remains protected. Security failures, such as a breach of client or customer data, are costly – they can even drive your company out of business. So, what security tools do you need, and how should you use them to secure your sensitive data and systems? Can you afford to risk attempting to manage today’s threats using yesterday’s techniques? Participate in this program to learn how to identify viable and practical solutions to mitigating today’s security threats.

This course is based on the premise that one typically hires for competence but fires for character.This course focuses on the character and trustworthiness of the individual.  The course takes you through critical attributes of character and provides for gaining self-awareness of where one stands in their character through a key exercise.  The emphasis is also on trust, a critical ingredient to successful relationship management.  Several  tools and approaches are discussed in the course that will assist and guide the individual in effectively evaluating the trustworthiness of themselves or others, including bosses, direct reports, peers.

Seismic changes in tax legislation is currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this eight hour program in order to stay abreast of these developments.  This program will cover new court decisions, recent IRS publications, and the latest tax legislation that will impact businesses and individuals.  The remaining time will be spent on IRS procedure and other issues. This course will provide a concise look at the hottest topics affecting every tax practitioner. 

**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

Every business needs capital, and capital has a cost. Providers of debt and equity demand a return and the combination is the cost of capital for the business. This session discusses how to calculate the cost of capital, how to use it to make superior business decisions every day and some common ways organizations misuse this number.

Who should understand your organization’s cost of capital? Even if you are not yet the CFO, you need to thoroughly understand the cost of capital and its use. The cost of capital allows managers to, “Get the biggest bang for the buck.” If you want to enhance your corporate finance skills, this session is for you.

Government leases are getting an overhaul. GASB Statement 87 was issued in 2017 and provides an update on the proper accounting for leases from both the lessee and lessor points-of-view. 

This course will help attendees understand the nuances of the updated definition of a lease as well as other significant changes to terminology. Attendees will discuss the impact of the changes to financial reporting as well as the key challenges that governments and auditors will need to consider to properly implement the new standard. This interactive course includes the preparation of journal entries to assist in understanding impact.

Tax Season can be a daunting time for tax preparers, but it doesn’t have to be with the help of tax automation software tools and other innovative technology. This session will provide an overview of the latest technologies and tools that can help automate your workflow and make the entire tax return preparation process smoother and more efficient. From client portals, workflow management, and e-signatures to robotic process automation, you’ll learn about all the options available to help streamline your tax preparation process. So don’t dread Tax Season - attend this session and arm yourself with the tools you need to succeed!

PowerPoint has become a ubiquitous tool in virtual and in-person meeting rooms around the world. However, it's a tool that is often misused, leading to boredom and frustration for audiences. A bored and frustrated audience will not receive your message, and you – the presenter – will not achieve your desired results. Many speakers know their slides are ineffective but don't know a better way. Well, here it is!

This workshop is interactive, incorporating activities and exercises in order for participants to be able to apply the principles of effective communication of their ideas to real life situations. 

The workshop is based on current research and covers the basics of effective PowerPoint design that works for you, not against you. 

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was a major overhaul of our tax system that lowered the income tax rates for individual and corporate taxpayers and introduced the new 20% qualified business income (QBI) deduction for sole proprietors and pass-through entities. The cornerstone of this course is the comprehensive discussion of the 20% QBI deduction final regulations under IRC §199A.   

**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 session explores tools and techniques that can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of client engagements and business processes using data analysis tools. We will introduce some of today’s popular and software tools and examine the AICPA’s Five-step approach to incorporating data analytics into public accounting engagements.

This program addresses the critical issues and special opportunities facing S-corporations, with a focus on reporting shareholder basis and distributions. 

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Award winning and entertaining 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. 

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Audit Risk Assessment in Plain English, is a 2 hour webcast highlighting the AICPA’s clarified risk assessment standards, along with a new Statement on Auditing Standard (SAS 145) related to understanding the entity, the entity’s environment, the entity’s internal controls, and assessing the risks of material misstatement.  This session will attempt to simplify the requirements using common sense examples and language.

This course will cover the Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs) issued by the FASB that will be effective this year including a deep dive into Topic 842, Leases as well as those that will be effective in the near future. The course will address those standards that will be effective for public and private entities in 2022.

QuickBooks remains one of the leading accounting solutions for small and growing businesses and Intuit has added numerous advanced features to the application over the past few releases. In this seminar, you will learn how to take advantage of many of QuickBooks’ new and advanced features to solve important issues. For example, you will learn advanced inventory management techniques, including the ability to change the default costing methodology in QuickBooks, and implementing lot and serial number tracking. You will also learn how to build complete sets of financial statements in Excel that link in real-time to underlying QuickBooks data files and how to create multi-company financial statements. Additionally, you will learn how to put the Client Data Review feature to work to streamline the process of identifying and correcting errors and closing accounting periods in QuickBooks.

Knowing how to take advantage of the advanced tools and features available can determine your level of success when working with QuickBooks. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn about QuickBooks’ “deep” features so that you maximize your effectiveness with the application.

This course will discuss the impact of IFRS Adoption, Convergence Completion and Private Company Reporting Options on U.S. Financial Reporting.

Imagine being able to see into the future with confidence.  The ability to be a great forecaster is not innate but learned.  By examining great forecasters, we can learn to improve our ability to predict the future.  We will examine best practices and current research to improve our ability to predict events that will affect our business.  

Every presenter has to deal with a difficult audience or audience member at one time or another. Professionals, however, because of topics or situations that are inherently uncomfortable, or because of mandated/resistant audience members, will face these audiences more frequently.

It can be difficult to get a resistant audience/member to resonate with your message, but if they leave angry, uninspired, unmotivated or unlikely to act on your call to action, you don't get the results you need or want.
 

Selecting the right KPIs for your organization can be complex and stressful. Rather than resorting to brainstorming and internet searches, there is a better way to discover the best KPIs for your organization - the ROKS method. In this session Bernie Smith, creator of the ROKS method, walks you through the first five steps of this powerful approach, using real-world stories to bring each step to life.  

Individuals who work in a governmental environment have many rules of ethics that must be followed. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issues Yellow Book providing rules related to ethics and independence, which received a significant update in 2018. We'll review some of the key elements of ethics relevant to governmental entities and auditors to prevent independence noncompliance.

Almost 50% of businesses that started five years ago are no longer in operation today. Controllers and CFOs can and must influence the longevity of their organization to improve their success rate.  Jim will help you be aware and understand the answers to these issues:

Can you describe the financial health of your company?

Can you also explain what the financial health of your industry is?

Do you know your Business Cycle compared to the industry business cycle?

Do you have an executable plan?

Do you know what the competitive, legal and technological landscape is currently, and for the future?

Is your organization aligned and incentivize to be successful?

Jim has developed his groundbreaking Business Longevity concept as a keynote and a workshop, and would be happy to speak to your organization on this topic. This session will focus on assessment (financial health, competitive environment), determination (effective business planning, including the future landscape), and execution (gettin’ it done!)

It’s a whole new world for lessees under ASC topic 842.  Soon nearly all leases will need to be disclosed as a liability on the balance sheet – from buildings right down to autos and copiers.  Although the greatest impact will be on large entities, this will affect the financial statements of small and mid-size entities as well.  This program will dive into the new standard on leases, effective dates, and address what you need to know now.

When we’re going through change and life feels out of balance, it’s normal to get stuck focused on all the problems and challenges that stress us out. How will the changes impact our team, our job, our lives? It doesn’t help that our brains are wired to anticipate the worst possible outcome. This wiring can make it difficult to be our best; to provide our best teamwork, our best ideas, and our best leadership. However, studies show that there are things we can do to shift our thinking so we can spend more time in positive emotions, like curiosity, enthusiasm, and optimism. Now everything gets easier and better, including:

~ Productivity
~ Customer relations
~ Change management
~ Teamwork
~ Leadership

Join Tina to learn and apply The Path for Positivity™ framework based in Positive Psychology. You will learn strategies and insights to help you experience less stress, a smoother transition, and higher productivity even when the future seems uncertain. Share the framework and strategies with your team, too.

Financial accounting for trusts and estates is one of the least understood branches of accounting. It is not particularly concerned with recording income and expenses but is obsessed with determining whether receipts and expenditures are assigned to income or principal/corpus. This course will dive into this tricky area and provide a reporting guide for fiduciary accounting.

Combatting today’s cybercriminals takes all of us working together. The Internal Revenue Service works with state tax agencies and the tax industry to fight these 21st-century identity thieves. Unfortunately, data thefts at tax professionals’ offices are on the rise. Online providers also must follow the six security and privacy standards in Publication 1345, Handbook for Authorized IRS e-file Providers of Individual Income Tax Returns. In addition, you fall under the PTIN and 4557 considerations if you prepare tax returns. Learn how to fulfill your obligations by participating in this session.

ProActive Response Group's Active Shooter Response Training course educates participants in current trends of active shooter incidents, how to recognize early warning signs of violence, appropriate actions to increase chances of survival in an active shooter event, and how to use basic medical equipment to save the lives of victims.  

*****(Warning: This video contains simulated graphic scenes that some viewers may find disturbing)*****

Common Audit and Financial Reporting Deficiencies in State and Local Governments, is a 2 hour webcast detailing many of the more common mistakes that auditors and accountants are making in either the preparation of their annual financial statements or the audits of such financial statements. Deficiencies in audit standards (AICPA, GAO, Single Audit) and preparation standards (GASB) noted in this webcast are driven by the most recent results found in audit organization peer reviews, workpaper or desk reviews, and various organizations checklists for oversight. 

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.

Automation is a great way to save time and improve accuracy and effectiveness. It also allows you to get more value from your workday. This session will teach you how to automate the tasks that are mundane or take up too much energy, so you complete them automatically instead. One of the best things a person can do is invest time into automating their workday to help them achieve more work, reduce daily stress, and provide better mental clarity.

This session focuses on various tools and services you can use to help promote personal automation. In it, you will learn about technologies such as integration platform tools, Amazon Alexa and Google Home, and the Elgato Stream Deck.

Networking strikes fear into the heart of even the most confident business leader. 

What if you don't know anyone? How do you introduce yourself? How do you enter a group conversation in progress, and how do you exit when you're ready to move on? How soon should you follow up and what's the best way to stay in touch? 

And: “Can't I just stay home, sit at my computer, and network on LinkedIn?”

Networking is a critical tool for spreading your message and growing your organization, yet many business and nonprofit leaders don't represent themselves or their companies effectively. 

This workshop covers the nitty gritty of talking to strangers and building relationships and partnerships through networking.

This course will walk you through Strategic Planning for Small and Medium Sized Businesses, and how to move your ideas into action. 

Every business has risks, but some myths seem to damage or kill more enterprises than others do. This session will review ten of the most problematic myths that may doom a business and discuss action steps to prevent these myths from holding your business back. This session discusses the common myths, mistakes, risks, and hidden landmines inherent in every business. We will learn from the mistakes of others who often paid a steep price so that we may learn valuable lessons. If you are a leader who wants your business to become even more successful, this session is for you.

The Auditing Standards Board (ASB) has completed its update of the three engagement types in the SSAEs. In this course, we will review the changes to the examination, review, and agreed-upon procedures standard to provide you with an understanding of the changes to performance and reporting requirements. 

This session provides a refresher regarding the fundamentals of activity-based costing (ABC). We will examine theoretical concepts before exploring practical possibilities for implementing ABC. A major focus of the course will be factors to consider when determining whether this managerial accounting tool is an appropriate resource for an organization.

This course focuses on the key federal tax issues affecting business from the internal accountant's point of view, with a focus on the major ramifications of the TCJA and other recent tax legislation and developments.  Planning alternatives and the potential risks associated with those strategies will also be discussed.   

Collaboration is a key to productivity and success. But remote work can make collaboration more challenging, including collaborating on spreadsheets. Fortunately, tools such as portals with check-in/check-out capabilities, version control, comment tracking, and co-authoring can enable online spreadsheet collaboration. Further, Excel’s Inquire tool can facilitate spreadsheet collaboration in offline environments.

Don’t let remote work hamper your spreadsheet collaboration needs! Participate in this session to learn how to collaborate on spreadsheets effectively from anywhere using tools you already own or license.

• Identify the fraud risk factors that should have alerted auditors to the fraud or corruption problem
• Evaluate the legs of the Fraud Triangle that supported the fraud
• Postulate appropriate fraud risk factor responses that would have led to the detection of the problem
• Evaluate whether or not the auditors should be held accountable for failing to detect the problem

This is a 2 hour webcast that will focus on the similarities between all three of these GASB accounting standards that deal with contractual arrangements such as leases, Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements (SBITA) and P3s.  Compare and contrast these standards as you prepare for implementation this year of GASB 94 and GASB 96, and review the implementation efforts of Leases in Year 2. 

Unlike technologies we use every day, many currently emerging technologies can change how we work in the future. This session covers an assortment of technologies nearing mainstream adoption and helps you understand what they do, how they work, and some of the potential risks and rewards they offer. Attend this course, and learn the basics of blockchain, cryptocurrencies, big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learn.

Working with a small business, you know that keeping the company's finances in order is critical to success. While numerous software programs and tools are available to help you do this, they vary substantially in many significant aspects. In addition to conventional options like QuickBooks and Sage 50, you can choose from Cloud-based tools such as Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online, Spire Systems, Xero, Accounting Suite, Accounting Power, and many more. In this session, we'll look at the best accounting tools for small businesses and discuss the benefits of each one. This session covers accounting solutions that should work for startups and companies with up to $10 million in annual revenue. We also cover various add-on solutions that can enhance the overall functionality of your accounting platform. Join us to learn your options for achieving your small business management financial goals.

Most ethics courses focus on unethical individuals and their terrible misdeeds. We don’t need another course on lessons from Enron or individuals committing fraud.  Most unethical failures result from unethical individuals.  Instead, this session will focus on how good people can do better, why there is no such thing as business ethics and why we only need one rule to lead ethical lives.

This program provides an update to the latest tax developments, rules and regulations affecting business taxpayers, including a review and integration of 2022-23 legislation.  The content of the course will include expected late 2023 legislation.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Breaking the Wall of blind acceptance;  avoiding Habitual complacency and Yoking the dots between cause and effect.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has made significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code.  This, in turn, has created a need to make changes in a client’s planning needs.  In addition to traditional issues faced by a business owner regarding the operation of his or her business, business ownership creates complexities in the tax, estate, and financial planning arenas. By focusing on the development of many unique business planning tools, this course explores the entrance and exit strategies available to business owners.  

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

As discussed in the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations, 86% of all frauds are misappropriation of assets.  Why is the misappropriation of assets so large?  Because there as so many of them it creates many, many opportunities.  And the asset which is stolen the most?  CASH!  Because it’s easy to conceal and you don’t have to convert it.  During this presentation, the many, many different ways to misappropriate (steal) assets and which assets (besides cash) are most subject to misappropriation are discussed as well as how to recognize such and more importantly, how easy it is to prevent it!

This program examines the critical issues, rules, and special opportunities when preparing your clients' Form 1041 US Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts. Learn what is considered taxable income; filing requirements and deadlines; impact of the 3.8 percent Medicare surtax on net investment income; and the 10 principles of tax accounting for trust income.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

The field of estate planning is increasingly complex. Finding appropriate solutions to a client’s estate issues upon his/her death are critical to a number of areas, including the estate tax return of the decedent, the decedent’s final income tax return, the income tax return of the estate of the decedent, and the estate and financial planning issues of the heirs of the decedent. This course provides the practitioner an understanding of after-death planning issues of a decedent’s estate.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

This course introduces practical ways that public accountants can use Excel to enhance both the efficiency and effectiveness of client engagements. We will reinforce core concepts by illustrating ways that Excel is a tool for analysis and reporting. We will introduce numerous analytical methods and techniques by using practical examples to illustrate how to unleash the power of Excel when obtaining, analyzing, and reporting information.

This course introduces practical ways that public accountants can use Excel to enhance both the efficiency and effectiveness of client engagements. We will reinforce core concepts by illustrating ways that Excel is a tool for analysis and reporting. We will introduce numerous analytical methods and techniques by using practical examples to illustrate how to unleash the power of Excel when obtaining, analyzing, and reporting information.

Most people dislike capricious judgment, intolerance, crime, shaming, blaming, punishing, unequal treatment and predatory opportunism. Yet we witness, hear about or directly experience one or more of these uncivil behaviors daily. What’s going on?

It used to be that when incivility in our home, neighborhood, schools, or community spaces harmed us, we counted on shared ethical norms to guide and help. We confidently relied on societal guardrails like the law, regulations or corporate policies for fair remedy.

But can we still? These days it sometimes feels like up is down, down is up, right is wrong, wrong is right, the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. Even our ethical compass doesn’t seem as reliable as it used to.

We’re not crazy to feel unanchored or anxious. Americans live in a moment when our constitutional federal republic and Western ethics face enormous challenge from those who would prefer a different construct.

Desiring change is one thing, but abandoning civility in its pursuit results in ethical chaos, societal breakdown, and individual misery. This holds true for human groups small and large, from the family to the federal government. 

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.

This program provides an update to the latest tax developments, rules and regulations affecting both business and individual taxpayers, including a review and integration of 2022-2023 legislation.  The content of the course will include expected late 2023 legislation.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, telework in state and local government was not often embraced as a form of employment. As the pandemic continues, governments are beginning to experience the benefits of remote work and are reevaluating hiring practices to offer more telework and hybrid work options, not simply as a result of an emergency. 

This course will review various telework options and best practices for success. 

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.

Seismic changes in tax legislation is currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this eight hour program in order to stay abreast of these developments.  This program will cover new court decisions, recent IRS publications, and the latest tax legislation that will impact businesses and individuals.  The remaining time will be spent on IRS procedure and other issues. This course will provide a concise look at the hottest topics affecting every tax practitioner.  

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Many businesses are being held back by legacy solutions. The old way of doing things just doesn’t work anymore. Instead, Software as a Service (SaaS) has transformed many mid-market companies. In this new world of cloud-based, workflow-enabled, data-centric, and connected solutions, you can solve existing and future business problems in new ways without being bogged down by paper-centric environments.

This session covers integrated and ERP solutions that should work for businesses in the $10 Million to $1 Billion range. If your existing system has been in place for seven or more years, it is time to consider upgrading or replacing it. Leverage your instructor’s knowledge of the market to minimize your risk.

Demands for an excellent user experience are at an all-time high. But how do you solve for easy collaboration, compliance, and workflow? What features do you need to be effective? How do you integrate payments, eSignatures, and other technologies to make interaction convenient? This session will explain the necessary features, provide an overview of the best technologies for collaboration, and help you think through how to solve your business problems. You'll learn about the options available from client portals, workflow management, payments, eSignatures, and more. Attend this session and arm yourself with the tools you need to succeed!

Business ethics is not just something “nice to do” but can mean the difference between success, failure, and survival in today’s increasingly competitive environment.  This seminar outlines steps to create an ethical business culture and provides specific ways for financial managers to make better ethical decisions.

Did you know that AI can now write your marketing copy? Create videos with your digital likeness? Provide subjective advice to your clients? Produce training for your employees? Even if you're on the fence about trusting artificial intelligence tools, knowing about these technologies, especially when combined with forms of synthetic media (think deep fakes, but not nefarious), is important for any business leader. Imagine being able to have your likeness communicate in over 40 languages. Think about how amazing it would be to create customized content for every situation without building each piece from scratch. Marvel at how that *perfect* image can manifest from typing just a few keywords. In this session you'll learn about the evolution of communication technologies, how artificial intelligence has expanded our range of connective possibilities, and what possibilities exist for leveraging these channels of communication in your business.

Thankfully, Jan Fraser is your Reinvention expert! Jan has developed the 7 step process for reinventing.  In this course, Jan will introduce you to the steps and show you how you can emerge successfully on the other side of Reinvention, creating your best life and feeling good about yourself in the process!

A comprehensive review of the July 2018 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.

Major Changes to the financial reporting package.

The audit standards state that one of the reasons auditors fail to detect fraud is that they don’t know what it looks like.  Prior to the original SAS No. 82, Consideration of Fraud In A Financial Statement Audit, nowhere in any SAS was there a description of what fraud looked like.  So, as they say, if you don’t know what you are looking for, you can often look right at it and not recognize it!

This presentation illustrates some of the more common indicators of fraud they most individuals would overlook unless they 1) knew what they were looking for and were 2) actually looking for it.  Contrary to what the standards say about fraud being concealed, I have found that fraud is often laying on the table right in front of you; but no one has discovered it because they have no idea what the indicators of fraud are.

Seismic changes in tax legislation is currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this eight hour program in order to stay abreast of these developments.  This program will cover new court decisions, recent IRS publications, and the latest tax legislation that will impact businesses and individuals.  The remaining time will be spent on IRS procedure and other issues. This course will provide a concise look at the hottest topics affecting every tax practitioner. 

**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 two hour course will cover the GASB standards that are effective this year with a deeper dive into GASB 94, Public Private Partnerships and GASB 96, Subscription Based IT Arrangements. We'll also look at smaller standards that are effective for 2023 year ends.

Auditors are required by Generally Accepted Auditing Standards to perform audit procedures to determine if the financial statements are materially misstated due to error OR FRAUD.  Unfortunately, in the past the profession has focused on misstatements due to errors and largely ignored to possibility of misstatements due to fraud.  While SAS No. 122, AU 240, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit sets forth the procedures that auditors are required to perform in each audit to determine if the financial statements are materially misstated due to fraud, this program presents a practical approach to making such a determination.  It’s not a substitute for the requirements in SAS 122, AU 240, but rather an informal supplement to the standard with some common-sense procedures which are designed from my over 30 plus years of directing fraud investigations.  After attending this session, you will more than likely never look at a financial statement audit the same way.

This course examines actual fraud circumstances through the lens of potential prevention. We will examine how selected frauds were accomplished and consider what internal controls may have prevented fraudsters’ ability to accomplish their nefarious acts.

A burning question on the minds of many is, “What features should I use in Windows 11?” Presented with end-users in mind, in this session, you will get the answer you need to that question and others, all delivered in the context of improving productivity and security.

Among other topics, you will learn about improvements in virtual desktops, changes to the user interface, customization options, and more. If you’re using Windows 11 now or plan to upgrade soon, this is a must-see session to help you make the most of your upgrade.

This course is designed to equip HR leaders, managers and business owners with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively minimize conflicts in the workplace. Participants will learn about the various sources of workplace conflict, how to identify and address conflicts before they escalate, and how to implement effective conflict resolution strategies. The course will also cover topics such as communication skills, active listening, and conflict management techniques. By the end of the course, leaders will be able to create a more positive and productive work environment, reduce turnover, and promote employee satisfaction.

This program addresses the recent changes imposed by recent tax legislation that real estate owners and investors need to know, including Section 199A, the new Section 163(j) interest expense limits and the opportunity to elect out.  An introduction to opportunity zones and other important issues will also be addressed.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

The ethical challenge of trustworthy leadership has never been harder than right now.

We’re living in a time of major social change, generational transition, and troubling possibilities. People are dangerously agitated by uncertainty over what leadership to trust any more. They see angry culture conflict among citizens and between nations. They witness big failures of integrity in public and private spheres of leadership. Many feel afraid and alienated from institutions across the board.

Such heightened sensitivity guarantees that unethical behavior from untrustworthy leaders will inflict disproportionate harm. People trust leaders with authority only as long as that power is not abused. Leaders in our culture are duty-bound to uphold that foundational trust through their actions and words.

This updated session is meant for anyone who wonders how trustworthy leadership is even possible “these days”. Don’t despair. Moral courage plus basic ethical wisdom is the answer for all times. Whether you aspire to leadership or not, the information and questions presented in this course will enlighten and encourage.  

This course focuses on the individual taking ownership for their career.  It provides tools and methods to assist and guide the individual to develop the collateral necessary in navigating their career.  It provides a Personal Marketing Plan that can be customized to fit the career objectives and goals of the individual. It also focuses on character self-awareness, crucial for long-tern career success.

In a surprise twist, Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed in short order after secret negotiations were revealed in late July, 2022. Seismic changes in tax legislation is currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this two hour program in order to stay abreast of these developments!  This course will provide a concise look at these hot topics. 

Who should Attend:  This course is suitable for Corporate tax and finance executives, directors, managers and staff, CPAs, CAs Enrolled Agents, accountants, attorneys and business/financial advisors who work with and advise businesses that have these tax implications.  All in-house and public practice tax professionals will benefit from this timely and insightful seminar

**Please Note:  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program (2 Hours only), please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

It's an exciting time to manage a public practice accounting firm! In addition to technical knowledge in tax, auditing, and accounting, we need to understand data analytics and security options in an advisory context. Beyond that, we must manage the practice and people while profitably delivering excellent client service in a competitive environment for the owners. Further, portals, CAS stacks, PBC lists, electronic signatures, Cloud, and robotic process automation are technologies we need to understand beyond our tax, audit, practice management, document management, and workflow systems. This CPA Firm Update session independently covers significant trends and technologies for CPA firms, which will help you understand your current and future choices. With such rapid change, what will your firm do?

This course dives into the powerful, but potentially under-utilized, capabilities of Microsoft Excel.  Designed for sophisticated users willing to approach spreadsheets from a unique perspective, this program encourages users to challenge the status quo by considering opportunities to take acceptable spreadsheets to a new level.

This  session provides HR Professionals with scripts for and tactics for coaching leaders in handling an array of employee relations situations with sensitivity, good judgment, and high confidence.  Topics include employee complaints, personality & attitude problems,  performance counseling, personal hygiene problems, disability-related performance issues, misconduct due to mental conditions.

You will learn how to use a unique process, “Reset the Clock,” that prevents attorneys from taking something leaders did wrong or did not do in the past and using it to support legal challenges in the future.  Liability is replaced with credibility.

Lawsuits are then avoided rather than won.  Financial assets are protected, morale stays high, and bad publicity is averted. HR Professionals avoid hearing from senior leaders:  “You should have anticipated this” after an avoidable legal claim.

This presentation highlights the latest legislative changes affecting depreciation and capitalization rules, including 2023 inflation increases and Section 179 and 168(k) deductions.  Planning and potential pitfalls will also be presented. 

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Inventory is a wonderful place to both hide fraud and commit fraud.  The reasons that inventory is subject to so much fraud is the it is often very large, spread out over a large area, and many people have access to it.  When there are little or no internal controls related to inventory control, you are begging employees to steal it.  No with so many ways to dispose of stolen inventory via the internet, i.e., EBAY, inventory fraud is much more appealing to a lot of individuals.

The more common ways to commit expense fraud and how to cover it up will also be discussed.  Travel and entertainment are some of the favorite areas of committing expense fraud.  In addition, payroll fraud will be discussed.  Although there are many ways to commit payroll fraud, it is very easy to prevent.

This presentation is designed to familiarize the participants with the many ways to commit inventory, expense and payroll fraud, how to detect it, and more importantly, how to prevent it.

We encounter pressure from many varied sources every day. We will focus on one of the more overlooked areas where fraud can be found.  Employees respond to pressure, and sometime the pressure leads to unethical actions. Where should you look and what should you look for? Risk assessment is not something ‘nice to do’, but it is required for internal audits, external audits, and every leader. If you are in a leadership position, learn where to look?

Being consistently ethical is a challenge. Most of us have had to make tough choices.  This session will discuss real world cases involving thorny ethical dilemmas and how to resolve them.

Being ethical is not the same as complying with the law and ethical issues are not always black and white. This session will review different professional ethical standards.  What does integrity mean in the office? If you want to learn lessons from the best in a short time, this session is for you.  Participate in engaging dialogue about how to prepare for the inevitable ethical situations.  These lessons are valuable for every business leader.

Many businesses are being held back by legacy solutions. The old way of doing things doesn't work anymore. Instead, Software as a Service (SaaS) has transformed many mid-market companies. In this new world of cloud-based, workflow-enabled, data-centric, and connected solutions, you can solve existing and future business problems in new ways without being bogged down by paper-centric environments. This session covers integrated and ERP solutions that should work for businesses in the $10 Million to $1 Billion range. If your existing system has been in place for seven or more years, it is time to consider upgrading or replacing it. Leverage your instructor's knowledge of the market to minimize your risk.

Over the last few years, mental health has become more of a mainstream issue. In fact, statistics indicate that approximately one in four adults experience a mental health condition.  Therefore, it is more important now than ever for organizations to make mental health and wellness a priority, given all the rapid changes leading to higher levels of stress and uncertainty in the post-COVID workplace. 

The goal of this course is to outline the signs of mental health challenges in the workplace, such as changes in behavior, mood, or performance, while providing practical strategies for HR Professionals and Business Leaders to build and implement accommodations for a mentally healthy work environment.

This program provides an update to the latest tax developments, rules and regulations affecting individual taxpayers, including a review and integration of late 2022 and 2023 legislation.  The content of the course will include expected late 2023 legislation.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Our guidance on ethics comes from the AICPA and other groups, but it does not fully address the “why” behind ethics. Understanding what motivates people and understanding those people are key to both solving ethical dilemmas and workplace issues that can lead to greater job satisfaction and efficiency. To correct an issue, you need to delve into the root cause – the why?

This program will explain the new rules for deducting travel, meals and entertainment expenses and the TCJA disallowance of business entertainment expenses.  Documentation requirements and planning opportunities related to travel, entertainment, and automobile expenses will also be addressed.

This course explores the increasingly complex features of Excel that facilitate efficient data analysis.  We will introduce numerous analytical methods and techniques by using practical examples to illustrate how to unleash the power of Excel when manipulating, analyzing and reporting information.

Powerful people can choose to undermine or elevate morality in their sphere of influence and authority. Why do some succumb to the dark side of power?

This updated course explores the complex relationship between power and morality in our own times. It illustrates enduring ethical principles through recent examples of prominent leaders who rationalized or ignored their abuses of power and disrespected fundamental ethics. This session uses findings from modern science to explain why and how power heightens self-focus and indulges unethical tendencies. It also demonstrates how the universal law of reciprocity guarantees a countering desire and effort to exact consequences from offenders.

Whether you aspire to be influential or already possess authority, understanding the insidious side of power and influence can help you walk the tightrope of leadership accountability without falling into an abyss of consequences.

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.  

The Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) of the AICPA has been very busy issuing new and updated existing ethics rules. This course will provide an overview of recently issued and soon to be effective ethics rules that CPAs in both industry and public accounting need to know to be compliant. 

Businesses depend on adequate capital and cash flow.  While someone else may handle day-to-day cash management procedures, the CFO must take the lead in strategic cash management.  When a company goes into a growth mode, boards often replace those who can't manage cash strategically.  This webinar will help you to function at the highest level.

Remote work environments have created many new opportunities for cybercriminals and other fraudsters to exploit, and accounting professionals are some of the most commonly targeted individuals. This session is a series of case studies that examine actual criminal filings and news accounts and use them to highlight some of the actions you can take to limit your exposure to similar schemes. Attend this session and learn more about how high-profile control failures occurred so you can be more effective at preventing crimes in your organization.

Welcome to a course that makes the process of M&A easy to understand and easy to implement within your organization or your clients' organization. The course will provide an intensive overview of the M&A process. Focus will be on practical techniques to guide you through the M&A jungle and avoid the traps that have befallen many organizations.

This course helps the practitioner understand not only how to make the portability election, but how it can provide overall tax benefits to surviving spouses and beneficiary of estates that fall below the federal estate exclusion amount.  We will look at who should and can make the election, how the election is made and how to opt out, the requirements for filing Form 706, along with comparing the benefits of electing portability to conventional credit shelter trust planning.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.
 

With over 4.3 employees leaving their jobs as of early 2022, The Great Resignation presents a huge challenge for companies as they attract and retain talent. During this course, you'll learn practical strategies you can implement immediately to ensure you have the right tools in your toolbox to win the war on talent. 

This comprehensive training is designed to get the accountant up to speed quickly with the complex passive activity loss (PAL) rules that apply to certain investments in trades or businesses and rental activities. The cornerstone of the course is the in-depth coverage of the detailed tax law and regulations applicable to passive activities under IRC §469 and how and when the 3.8% net investment income tax under §1411 applies.

**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

Business Intelligence (BI) is perhaps the hottest topic in most professional circles in today’s business climate. Increasingly, organizations of all sizes seek to take advantage of the data available to them to identify previously undiscovered insights and gain competitive advantages thought to be out of reach just a few short years ago. A growing array of tools – from Excel add-ins to dedicated solutions such as Power BI – now allow you to leverage your existing knowledge and skills to create powerful, interactive dashboards and analyses unthinkable until recently. This program will teach you to implement “do-it-yourself business intelligence” using various techniques and tools. First, you will learn to work with advanced Excel data query and summarization features to create Excel-based dashboards. You will then learn how to leverage that knowledge to build even more powerful BI objects using Microsoft’s Power BI tools. If gaining better insights into your data to make better decisions is of interest to you, then join us for a fast-paced look at how you can take advantage of these fantastic tools.

Congress was EXTREMELY busy in late December 2022! During this lame-duck session, Congress was able to pass SECURE 2.0, which is essentially the original SECURE Act that was passed in late 2019.  There are over 50 tax-related provisions within SECURE 2.0 which an advisor needs to be able to master.  This course will provide the participant with everything that that they need to know about SECURE 2.0 so that they will be able to better serve their clients’ retirement planning needs.

**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.

Practitioners and members in industry seeking a general business tax update or wishing to review key business tax topics and staff members desiring a business tax overview.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Emerging from the pandemic is a workplace culture governed by values. Far from a soft approach, it can drive significant business results. Organizations that embrace an empathetic culture increase performance and decrease turnover, while their customers report a more positive experience. Additionally, being more “person-focused” strongly correlates with more effective ethics and compliance programs. These insights can provide a roadmap for the "new normal" as the world emerges from the crisis. How employees and management move forward from this experience will shape the workplace for decades to come.

Other people’s negativity, whether it’s from disgruntled customers, grumpy coworkers or challenging family members, can drain our energy and bring us down. Changing other people is hard, but we do have the power to change the situation by how we respond. This dynamic program uses Tina’s proprietary five-step “Immunity to Negativity Formula™” to show people how they can use simple tools to help them stay calm and choose to respond as their best self. This is a key skill we can build to optimize our customer service, teamwork, and relationships while enjoying less stress and frustration.

In a world where employers are struggling to get the talent they need, it’s more important than ever to create a culture that affects everything from job postings to exit interviews. The future of your business depends on it. Recruiting and retaining great talent, efficiency and customer loyalty benefit from the culture you design. Julie Ann Sullivan’s unique perspective, interactive delivery and humor can help you make it happen.

Ethics is complicated, and conflicts of interest are more complicated. What are the various issues involved with conflicts of interest?  What does the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct say? We will discuss several seemingly ordinary, everyday conflicts of interest and how we should be more aware that conflicts of interest are common. We will discuss the ethical priorities of a CPA and how to apply them. What should you do when facing a conflict of interest?  What is the ‘secret weapon’ to help mitigate conflicts of interest?  The key to our profession remaining relevant is to maintain trust. Come and learn more about conflicts of interest and how we all can be even more trustworthy.   

Do you struggle to keep budgets current in the face of an ever-changing business climate?  Do you recognize that actual spending can be far from what a department’s spending should be?  Twenty-first century performance metrics reduce work, reduce politics, provide flexibility and substantially improve the performance management process.  This valuable session will show you how to drive organizational performance using these powerful techniques.

Many entities look to their CPA as a trusted advisor when tackling complex accounting topics. This is more relevant now than ever. The FASB's big three accounting pronouncements involving revenue recognition, leasing and credit losses have placed a magnifying glass on this reality. Practitioners need to exercise caution to ensure they maintain independence as they assist their review and audit clients with such matters, as well as with compilation engagements. This course addresses these issues and explores best practices and guidance provided by the AICPA's Code of Professional Conduct.

This course will examine certain qualities a leader must exhibit to set an ethical tone from the top.

Critics have claimed that traditional managerial accounting is at best useless and at worst dysfunctional and misleading. Most line managers do not trust their management accounting data. 21st Century management accounting develops cost/unit metrics that are useful for budgeting, cost analysis and control. Activity-based costing (ABC) brings truly accurate fact-based costing visibility. ABC does not broadly allocate overhead, but traces costs by identifying cause-and-effect relationships. Such information can provide the ability to reveal true profit margins for products, service-lines, specific sales channels and customers.
The same information also helps reduce costs and improve productivity by reporting unit costs that you can use to monitor cost trends and benchmark against your competition. Removing the barriers caused by your current management accounting techniques can provide huge rewards.

If you do not understand the entity that you are auditing, you won’t know what type of transactions they should be entering into.  As a result, you won’t recognize those transactions they should not be there.  In other words, you will be performing the audit without having any idea of what you should be looking at.  This statement requires that the auditor document their understanding of the entity and its environment that it operates in as well as assessing the risks of material misstatement.

Prior to this statement, auditors often assessed risk at maximum and did not evaluate internal controls.  A big change made by this statement is that, while it allowed the auditor to continue to assess risk at maximum, they now must first evaluate internal controls in order to have a basis for making such an assumption.  As a result, auditors are now required to document their evaluation of internal controls on every financial statement audit.

This presentation is an overview of the many procedures auditors are now required to perform and document on every audit related to their understanding of the entity and its environment and the basis for assessing the risk of material misstatement.

Microsoft Access is an enigma to business professionals, primarily because many try to use Microsoft Office Access as they use Excel. Unfortunately, they fail to understand that the two applications are decidedly different tools, and they become frustrated when they do not realize their intended results. In this course, you will learn about tables and queries – two cornerstone pieces of databases. You will also learn how to link data between multiple tables and why your choice matters. Moreover, you will learn how to design and create a complete database, including one with Forms and Reports. If you're serious about using Microsoft Office Access to manage larger volumes of data, this course is for you.

In this comprehensive course, practitioners gain a deep understanding of strategic planning considerations and potential hurdles encountered when clients face difficult circumstances. Delving into an array of scenarios often classified as "challenging," the course offers tax insights. From divorce and personal bankruptcy to intricate personal relationship matters, participants will equip themselves to adeptly guide clients through these challenging scenarios by understanding the tax implications.

The Enhancing Audit Quality Initiative has identified inadequate or nonexistent audit documentation as one of the most significant issues facing the profession. Over half of the engagements reviewed by the AICPA did not meet the requirements of AU-C 230. This course will look at common misconceptions related to audit documentation and help attendees address these deficiencies with efficient and effective best practices.

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.  

Most small and mid-sized businesses are at least considering cloud-based suites for business management, performance management, and productivity. Unfortunately, many owners and accounting professionals need to learn the difference between using cloud-native tools, employing a managed service provider, and utilizing a desktop hosting provider. This session helps participants understand the differences in the levels of service provided by these offerings and will also highlight some of the regulatory barriers which could create problems for your organization. Attend this session and learn what you need to know before saying “see ya” to your servers.

Storytelling makes wisdom stick.

How you onboard a new employee is critical in ensuring they understand your company culture and are immersed properly in your organization. On the flipside, in the event you are dealing with an employee termination, this too is critical in handling with care and sensitivity.  

As spreadsheets evolve, so must your practices for creating, editing, and auditing them. In this program, you will gain an in-depth understanding of the best ways to work with Excel by learning best practices associated with Excel spreadsheets in each of the following areas: creating and editing Excel workbooks, securing Excel workbooks, collaborating with others in Excel, and reporting on data contained in Excel. Today’s best practices for Excel differ significantly from those used in the past, and you will learn the best ways to work with Excel spreadsheets in this “must-see” CPE program. Course materials include relevant examples to enhance your learning experience. Join us for this program to help you utilize Excel to its fullest potential.

This comprehensive training is designed to get the accountant up to speed quickly with the complex passive activity loss (PAL) rules that apply to certain investments in trades or businesses and rental activities. The cornerstone of the course is the in-depth coverage of the detailed tax law and regulations applicable to passive activities under IRC §469 and how and when the 3.8% net investment income tax under §1411 applies.

**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

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.

Volatility and complexity are the new normal. Most organizations are drowning in data, but starving for information. The finance and accounting function has the opportunity to leverage Big Data and the continuum of analytics – descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive. All are useful for better decision making. Collecting, validating, and reporting data is not the same thing as analyzing information where we can glean valuable, actionable insights. In some ways the finance function is many years behind other disciplines such as marketing, sales, and supply chain managers, in applying analytics. How can the CFO’s function catch up?

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.

Cloud-based options of familiar Microsoft Office applications have been available for over a decade. Moreover, these tools have matured to the point where their functionality rivals desktop-based options. Further, the ease of deploying, accessing, and using these tools is striking.

In this session, you will learn about Cloud-based alternatives to everyday desktop applications and why you should consider adding them to your toolbox. You will also learn about the relative strengths of competitive services available from Zoho and Google and why you should consider these tools. Knowing all your options is imperative in the new cloud-connected world! 

We all make predictions in our personal and professional lives.  We base our decisions to marry, buy a house, launch a new product or hire staff on expectations about the future.  In the past few years, research into improving predictions has advanced. We will look at this research and current best practices in forecasting to help us prepare better budgets and projections. 

Do you find it difficult to interact with certain people at work? Have you noticed tension between certain team members in your department?

This can be a common situation when our approach to problems, our values, and our beliefs differ. When we can understand that we all have our own perspective, shaped by different backgrounds and personalities, we can realize that these differences aren’t bad – but interesting and valuable.

Learning how to broaden our perspective improves our ability to connect, collaborate, and communicate with the people around us. This program uses neuroscience and DiSC personality styles to help people understand their perspectives, and identify and adapt to the perspectives of others.

Tax planning is more than an estimated tax calculation, it's a process.  Where are we now and what can we change?  This timely program will highlight significant 2022-23 tax developments and discuss key tax planning ideas for your clients as you prepare for the upcoming tax season. Don’t wait until late December to start planning for your clients!

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Staff accountants have specific needs when working with Excel – needs that are often not met by their existing Excel knowledge. Chief among these are the needs to quickly summarize data, prepare accurate and aesthetically pleasing reports, and create accounting-centric calculations for elements such as depreciation, amortization, and interest. By participating in this eight-hour session, staff accountants will gain the essential skills they need to maximize their efficiency and accuracy when working with Excel.

This session begins with a quick overview of Excel best practices. It then progresses rapidly into discussions that address PivotTables, sophisticated formulas, Tables, formatting, and working with dates in Excel. Throughout the session, you will learn from accounting-centric examples to reinforce key learning points. In this session, you will learn in a “laptop-friendly” environment, and participants will have access to all the demonstration files used in the session. In sum, this seminar is a “must” for all staff accountants seeking to improve their efficiency and accuracy when working with Excel.

Enterprise Risk Management for SMEs.

The term “automate” has been an industry buzzword for at least a decade. Yet, few organizations have embarked on successful automation journeys, leading to greater efficiencies, reduced errors, and happier team members. In this session, you will learn how to crank up your automation projects and see first-hand how easy and effective automation can be. More specifically, this session shows you exactly how you can work with tools from Zoho, Zapier, and Microsoft to enable powerful routines that will allow you and your team to get more done in less time.

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. 

Financial Leaders often achieve their position primarily with left brain analytical skills.  They need to develop right brain thinking to evolve to the next level either professionally or as part of their personal growth plan.  This course will help the financial executive and professional focus on where they are currently and help them bridge the gap in leadership skills that will enable them to gravitate to the next level.  This course will guide the financial executive and professional to position themselves as leaders that others will trust and want to follow.  The financial executive and financial professional will walk away understanding a more holistic approach to people and organizations and a transformational leadership style.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, telework in state and local government was not often embraced as a form of employment. As the pandemic continues, governments are beginning to experience the benefits of remote work and are reevaluating hiring practices to offer more telework and hybrid work options, not simply as a result of an emergency. 

This course will review various telework options and best practices for success. 

Whether you are in public practice, a consultant, or in industry – no one wants to lose their clients or their job. But why do so many CPAs treat their clients badly?  Result - the client fires that CPA. What are the four (4) leading reasons why clients fire their CPA or consultant?  Why do these actions alienate clients? Agreed, some of these actions may be unintentional, but the result is the same, the client moves on. Frustrating because it takes a long time to cultivate good clients.   

The discussion focuses on over forty (40) recommendations to strengthen the relationship with the client, to hopefully prevent the client from moving on. You may not practice the Big Four Reasons Why CPAS are Fired, but you probably know others who do. What are the lessons learned? We will discuss proven techniques to effectively retain existing clients, keep you employed and help you gain new clients! 

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.

Negativity hurts performance, productivity and profitability. This program focuses on two key factors that can shift a work culture towards more positivity: work environment and individual perspectives. Tina shares actionable strategies you can use to help employees (and yourself) develop a more positive perspective that leads to greater teamwork, engagement and resilience.

You will also learn the 5 factors needed to create an environment that makes it easier for your people to bring their best. Studies show the importance of these factors for motivation and engagement in the workplace. You will leave with ideas on how you can improve these areas in your own organization.

In order not to perform an excessive number of audit procedures (over audit) auditors must perform procedures in order to determine in what areas are there weak internal controls that could result in a risk that the financial statements would be materially misstated and not be detected.  SAS No. 122, AU 300 – 499, Measuring Audit Risk provides guidance as well as required procedures that must be performed in every audit in order to determine the risk of material misstatement.  No longer can the auditor state that they assess the risk of material misstatement at maximum without having a basis for making such assessment.  As a result, the standards now require that the auditor make such an assessment of a material misstatement of the financial statement on every audit in order to have a basis for such assessment.  This program is an overview of the statement documentation requirements in assessing such a risk.

The annual budgeting process is often criticized as an accounting exercise that is obsolete soon after it is published, prone to gamesmanship, cumbersome, not volume sensitive, and disconnected from the organization's strategy and risk management processes. You can resolve these deficiencies using capacity-sensitive driver-based projections. Driver-based budgeting allows for quick scenario planning and far easier analysis of a growing organization whose future may look nothing like today. The driver-based budgets can be periodically refreshed to create rolling financial forecasts extending well beyond the fiscal year end. Learn how managerial accounting can become managerial economics.

Many entities look to their CPA as a trusted advisor when tackling complex accounting topics. This is more relevant now than ever. The FASB's big three accounting pronouncements involving revenue recognition, leasing and credit losses have placed a magnifying glass on this reality. Practitioners need to exercise caution to ensure they maintain independence as they assist their review and audit clients with such matters, as well as with compilation engagements. This course addresses these issues and explores best practices and guidance provided by the AICPA's Code of Professional Conduct.

Join us for an in-depth webcast on Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) and the essential aspects of preparing Form 5227.  This course will provide a comprehensive overview of CRTs, including their purpose, benefits, and practical considerations. Moreover, we will delve into the intricacies of Form 5227, the informational return for charitable remainder trusts, ensuring you have the necessary knowledge to accurately complete and file this crucial document.

During this webcast, Art Werner will guide you through the fundamental concepts of Charitable Remainder Trusts, illustrating how they can be utilized as a strategic tool for tax planning. We will explore various types of CRTs, their formation, and the different scenarios in which they are most beneficial.  A significant portion of the webcast will be dedicated to Form 5227, the reporting requirement for charitable remainder trusts. We will provide an in-depth analysis of the form's components, line by line, ensuring you gain a comprehensive understanding of the information it requires. From trust assets and income to distributions and charitable beneficiaries,
we will cover each section, discussing common pitfalls and best practices for accurate reporting. Mr. Werner will address the recent updates and changes to Form 5227, enabling you to stay up to date with the latest compliance requirements.

This course will review focus areas for peer review for Single Audits and Yellow Book engagements. We will review the requirements for major program determination, testing compliance, testing internal controls over compliance, sampling, and reporting for Single Audits. We also address Yellow Book CPE and independence requirements. This course will provide an overview of common deficiencies found during peer review and how entities can effectively and efficiently avoid these issues when performing these procedures.

Have you ever found yourself wondering why people won't just listen to you? Or maybe you have found yourself surrounded by people that make your jaw clench...you know the people...the challenging people. 

HR Professionals walk a tight rope of being strong, but not aggressive, polite, but not a push over. It is exhausting!

In this session, you will uncover the secrets to working with (and overcoming) challenging people derived from the decades of experience Summer brings from her time on the frontlines and as an HR Professional working with companies such as Walt Disney World, H-E-B and even a dude ranch.
 

Often times as HR professionals, we can get caught up in the laws, the processes, the paperwork, and the “rules”. How do we keep the HUMAN in HR and have heart, all while respecting the law, the processes, and the paperwork? In this session, we’ll talk about dealing with difficult employee relations issues while balancing the need for process and procedures. How do you deal with an employee who walks into your office and tells you they’re diagnosed with cancer? How do you handle an employee who just lost a loved one and is grieving in the workplace? What is appropriate and not appropriate to say to someone who is dealing with a difficult situation? What are some practical, tangible, and helpful ways to help employees during crisis and keep the HUMAN and the HEART in HR? Learn how to walk away with strategies that you can implement in the workplace right away.  

This program will address recent legislation, rulings and developments affecting individual taxpayers and provide practitioners with a comprehensive update for the upcoming tax season.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Have you ever met an accountant who exhibits solid technical prowess but possesses lackluster communication skills? It is not unusual to meet a savvy accountant who is a technical expert, but could enhance the delivery of written and spoken words. This course is designed to help CPAs improve their written and verbal communication skills. Participants will learn how to tailor communication to their audience, with particular emphasis on techniques for crafting a message that effectively conveys technical information in an engaging manner. The course’s author will share personal success tips gleaned from more than two decades of experience communicating myriad topics to a variety of audiences.

One of the three major forms of occupational fraud, along with corruption and asset misappropriation, is financial statement fraud. 

From improper asset valuation to fictitious revenues, this course will review financial statement fraud red flags and examine real-life examples. 
 

Employees, now more than ever, are experiencing stress, anxiety and other mental health challenges and all of those come with them each day to the workplace. In order to ensure the safety and security of their workplace, employers need to address these issues and support their employees. Join us to discuss the challenges to providing mental health support to employees, the potential risks of deprioritizing mental health, and tangible actions employers can take to support the mental health of their work group. The cost of providing mental health resources and support pales in comparison to the cost of NOT providing it. Make a plan. Be ProActive.

When performing a financial statement audit, auditors have always been responsible for the detection of anything that would cause a material misstatement of the financial statements whether caused by error of fraud.  However, in the past the audit profession focused on material misstatements due to errors and more or less ignored the possibility of misstatements due to fraud.  Now, SAS No. 122, AU 240 requires significant documentation as to what the auditor did in order to determine if there any material risk of a misstatement of the financial statements.  This presentation is an overview of what the auditor is to document in there working papers on every financial audit as to the procedures they performed in order to determine the risk of a material misstatement.  If a material risk is discovered, they are then required to document what they did in order to determine if the financial statements were misstated.

How do you engage a workforce that is diverse in culture and location?
Julie Ann’s unique perspective brings you strategic ideas to implement regarding the relationship between intention, purpose and closure in the workday. This trifecta can be utilized with every member in your organization to boost engagement, productivity and retention. 

Do you often hear people complaining about coworkers or other departments? Do you have talented people with the right skills who struggle to collaborate and cooperate as a team? You’re not alone. This can be a common situation when people’s values, beliefs and their approach to solving problems differ. The key is to help everyone understand that our differences aren't bad – they’re interesting and extremely valuable. 

In this course, Tina guides you through tools and activities you can use to help your people (and yourself) broaden their perspective so they can more easily cooperate, collaborate, and communicate with the people around them. This program explores ways to help them connect, from personality assessments to team building activities. When coworkers or team-members understand each other better, it's easier to appreciate their differences.
 

This session provides insight on the realities of internal audit management roles, and the elements needed to build a strong internal audit department to provide the most value for your company.

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) has done a tremendous job raising the profile of the auditing profession. As auditors, we strive to abide by the standards and guidelines. But have you ever asked management within your company if they knew such standards existed? Do they truly understand the concepts of risk-based auditing, independence and obligations to the board or charter requirements? It is surprising how so many of these basic concepts are taken for granted by auditors and that we assume management is aware.

Individuals considering an internal audit management role should understand the challenges as well as benefits that may be presented to them within this role. It is critical that certain elements of the job be well understood by those holding the positions. This session is designed to step into the reality of the internal audit management role and discuss some of the concepts that aren’t always openly discussed within organizations…but are important concepts the internal audit manager should ensure they can clarify with management and be prepared to address on the job.

We will cover the steps for preparing a Federal grant application budget and budget narrative.  We will go through a complete, sample application budget that includes the SF 424 summary, detailed backup for each line items budgeted, and the associated budget narrative. The session will include best practices in the development of a budget as well as monitoring tools.

Conflict is inevitable whenever you have more than one person working together. But conflict doesn't have to be a bad thing. In fact, it's through conflict that some of the most productive conversations, changes, and innovations can occur in organizations...when they're navigated through effective communication. This workshop is designed to help you more strategically approach difficult conversations in the workplace and will arm you with both an understanding of how our minds approach these tough conversations and tools that you can use to approach these conversations more impactfully.

Much has been written recently about value pricing with some authors implying that understanding your product's value is the most important and perhaps only requirement for superior profitability.  While every company should understand product value, understanding cost, competition, and capacity utilization are far more important for most organizations.

Left unchecked to "value price" products, incentive programs usually motivate sales personnel to set price at the lowest allowable number.  Finance can influence profit in a big way by getting involved in pricing.  This session will show you how.

Social media has become a ubiquitous phenomenon in our business world. However, just because it exists is not a good reason to use it. This workshop is designed to give you an overview of the social media landscape to help you decide if you want to engage with and on social media and, if so, what channel(s) are most strategic for you and your business. The workshop ends with a simple framework to help you use social media as a credibility strategy for your business, giving you a strategy for creating a year's worth of social media content in a single day.

How do you raise your skills to the next level to master the Controller or CFO role?  Welcome to a course that provides insights that align the CGMA Competency Framework. The course will examine each of the areas: Technical, Business, Leadership and People to increase your competency. 

• How are your technical skills?  Are you a traditional accountant or have you learned to expand your technical skills to go beyond “what are the financial numbers?” to “why did these financial results occur?”  Are you able to use ratios to understand the business dynamics and the implications to change course or take corrective action?  Are the systems that you implement and operate best practices or merely stop-gap solutions?
• How are your business skills?  Can you set a vision? Can you develop a strategy?  Do you understand the macroeconomic environment of your organization?   Can you lead a major project to a successful conclusion?  This session will explore the role of business as opposed to tracking the results of the business.
• How are your people skills?  How good is your ability to influence others? How are successful are your negotiation skills?   How well can you communicate?  Are you a collaborator or a partner?  This section will help accountants understand that it is people skills that drive the overall success of the accounting operations.
• Finally, how are your Leadership skills?  Do you inspire staff or make them angry?  Do you know why your staff work for your company and you?  Do you understand what employees want from their position?  Do you know how to deal with a difficult staff person?  Can you lead difficult change?  This session will help you recognize what leadership truly is as opposed to what passes for day to day management.

Excel is the accountant’s tool of choice for analyzing and reporting financial data, yet many use time-consuming and error-prone processes to complete everyday tasks. Regardless of your level of experience, if you use Excel, you need this course to learn more efficient and effective ways to work with Excel. In this course, you will discover countless tips, tricks, and techniques to improve your general level of productivity, reduce the amount of time you spend on mundane tasks, such as formatting, and customize Excel for greater accuracy and efficiency. You will also learn valuable formula-building skills, best practices for linking Excel data from other worksheets and workbooks, and how to streamline report generation and printing processes.

Your K2 instructor will reinforce key learning points throughout the program with practical, real-world examples that will improve your understanding and comprehension of the topics presented. This highly acclaimed course draws on over twenty-five years of experience in delivering spreadsheet training to accounting and financial professionals, which assures you of the relevance and usefulness of the information and guidance provided during the program.

American businesses report losing $400 billion a year to unclear writing that wastes time, kills contracts and turns off customers.  Optimize your time spent in communications as a writer and a reader.  Prevent your readers from deleting your email or sending your document to the circular file because they are too much work to decipher.  Write with clear purpose and enjoy the results and time saved.

Be part of the solution, not part of the problem – write it right the first time.

This course will review the Federal Trade Commission's proposed rule banning non-competes. It will also briefly go over the rule making process and timeline for the proposed rule to go into effect. In the second half, the presentation will review the patchwork quilt of state laws that have curtailed enforcement of non-competes, as well as best practices for businesses to consider when implementing non-competes in the workforce. 

How you say what you say is more important than what you say. According to a UCLA study, 93% of a communicator’s effectiveness is based on non-verbal cues. This foundational program include a focus on the verbal, vocal and visual delivery techniques appropriate for the business environment, which can improve a speaker’s credibility, influence and impact. Depending on the course length other topics include; managing fear, organizing your presentation, increasing attention and interaction, handling questions, infusing humor, creating impactful visuals, and more.

Microsoft 365/Office 365 continues to grow and evolve, yet most utilize only a fraction of the tools available in their subscription. For example, powerful resources such as SharePoint Online and audio and video conferencing can change how your organization communicates and collaborates. In contrast, more personal apps such as Teams, Planner, Flow, and Sway allow individuals to work more efficiently and effectively in virtually all facets of their jobs. Further, security enhancements to Office 365 mean that your organization can take advantage of all these features in a highly secure environment. 

Isn’t it time you learned how to move beyond the traditional Microsoft 365/Office 365 applications such as Excel, Word, and Outlook and unleash all your subscription offers? Join us in this fast-paced and highly interactive seminar where you will learn what you need to know to succeed with Microsoft 365/Office 365.

Stay up to date with the ever-evolving realm of individual income taxation in this essential course tailored for tax practitioners seeking to enhance their knowledge. This course offers an in-depth review of the complexities surrounding Form 1040 for the current tax year. Delve into the recent changes and updates within the tax code, providing you with a comprehensive understanding of the shifting tax landscape. Our course ensures you are well-prepared to assist your clients by navigating the most recent tax changes, regulations, and guidelines.

Seismic changes in tax legislation are currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this 9 hour program in order to stay abreast of these developments.  This program will cover new court decisions, recent IRS publications, and the latest tax legislation that will impact individuals.  The remaining time will be spent on IRS procedure and other issues. This course will provide a concise look at the hottest topics affecting every tax practitioner.  

**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

Professional Codes of Conduct make Ethics seem easy and clear cut. However, this is not so in real life. This session discusses five cases where the ethics is not so clear cut.  What should be considered?  We will explain how you can be more diligent and maintain awareness of ethical issues to become more effective and enhance the reputation of the profession.    

What if being nice, or specifically being a positive best version of yourself, made you a more effective leader?  Ethical leadership, is effective leadership. That’s what Dr. Cohen, noted psychologist, transformational speaker, executive coach, and author of Be The Sun, Not The Salt, has been teaching organizations to do for years. Dr. Cohen’s work is based on scientific studies of human behavior broken down into simple, easily digestible pillars structured around the Heliotropic Effect. In this webcast we will discuss Dr. Cohen’s path to this work, what the Heliotropic Effect is, and how Be The Sun, Not The Salt is the perfect reminder to Do More of That every day.

Financial managers and executives need to create cash projections that are relevant, current, and accurate. Too often cash planning is reactive, leading to inefficient, chaotic, and unreliable forecasts. Organizations never want to find themselves short in the availability or timing of cash.  Proper cash forecasting and planning can avoid such cash shortfalls.  This session will explore proactive approaches to cash forecasting.  

If sales increase, so should profits.  Yet, the opposite result often leaves executives 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 underprice difficult, low-volume work. 

This session discusses how to use activity-based costing data to build accurate costing models that consider far more than just the labor and materials necessary to provide goods and services.  

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a theoretical concept! Instead, AI is a practical tool available today to help you address and solve real-world problems. In this course, you will learn about the fundamentals of AI and how you can put this amazing technology to work today to help you and your team work more efficiently and effectively. Participate in this course to learn about the fundamentals of AI and specific types of problems AI can help you address. You will learn about AI features available in everyday applications – including Excel – and how you can use these features in situations such as detecting fraud and identifying potential errors in transactions. You will also learn how AI is changing how accounting and financial professionals work, both today and in the future.

PivotTables are widely considered the most powerful feature in Excel, yet most accounting and financial professionals do not use them in their day-to-day activities. If you are ready to learn how to take advantage of PivotTables or how to extend your existing knowledge of PivotTables, then you should make time to participate in this course. In this program, you will learn how to build PivotTables, how to group data inside PivotTables–including grouping options for fiscal periods–and how to create user-defined calculations in your PivotTables. You will also learn advanced PivotTable techniques, including building PivotTables that consolidate data from multiple data ranges and PivotTables dynamically connected to external databases and financial accounting systems. Additionally, you will learn how to take advantage of other Excel features associated with PivotTables, including Slicers, Power Query, and Power Pivot. At the end of the day, you willbe a master of Excel PivotTables!If you have been leery of working with PivotTables or have struggled to realize their many benefits, this course is for you. With abit of information, guidance, and coaching from your K2 instructor, you will be ready to use PivotTables to analyze and report on extensive data sets in a fraction of the time you are spending presently to complete such tasks.

Every professional faces situations and scenarios where they feel their independence and objectivity related to an issue is impaired. They may feel pressured by management to minimize their report findings or, in some cases, look the other way. When these situations occur, professionals are faced with the dilemma of "what do I do?" or "how do I handle this situation?". These are the types of scenarios for which our university programs and business schools do not adequately prepare us. Experience can often be a good teacher. However, all individuals should be armed with some basic concepts that will prepare them to choose the right path when such difficult situations occur.

This course is designed to prepare professionals for those difficult situations by sharing key concepts to maintaining objectivity. After completing this course, you should understand how to ensure your work can be represented as independent and objective, and ultimately provide the greatest risk mitigation to your company.

Overview of the most important labor and employment policies and practices that every business should have. The review will go over confidentiality agreements, arbitration agreements, restrictive covenants, training, and severance agreements, as well as compliance issues related to each of them. 

The QuickBooks platform is a robust environment with features and capabilities that many users are unaware of or do not know how to utilize effectively.  This course helps you get more out of QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online and resolve the issues that even experienced QuickBooks users struggle with, such as locking down prior periods.  This program starts fast with a chapter covering the top issues accountants face with QuickBooks.  The day continues with practical guidance and solutions designed to help accountants get the most out of QuickBooks for themselves or their clients. You will learn about issues, such as setting up a new company, configuring and customizing QuickBooks preferences, and enabling system security and password protection features.  Also, you will learn how to lock down transactions in prior periods, the audit trail, customizing reports, exporting reports to Excel, and extending QuickBooks’ usefulness with tools such as the Fixed Asset Manager and Loan Manager.  

PivotTables are widely considered the most powerful feature in Excel, yet most accounting and financial professionals do not use them in their daily activities. If you are ready to learn how to take advantage of PivotTables or how to extend your existing knowledge of PivotTables, then make plans to participate in this course. 

In this program, you will learn how to build PivotTables, how to group data inside PivotTables, and how to create user-defined calculations in your PivotTables. You will also learn advanced PivotTable techniques. Some of these techniques will include consolidating data with PivotTables and linking data from external data sources into PivotTables. Additionally, you will learn how to take advantage of many other features associated with PivotTables. Among them are Slicers, Power Query, and Power Pivot. At the end of the day, you will be a master of Excel PivotTables!

If you have been leery of working with PivotTables or have struggled to realize their many benefits, this course is for you. With a little information, guidance, and coaching from your K2 instructor, you will be ready to use PivotTables in no time at all. And with just a little practice, you will be able to analyze and report on very large data sets in a fraction of the time you are spending presently to complete such tasks.

Many organizations unconsciously fail to exhibit diversity, inclusion and belonging.  This session provides an opportunity for leaders to  understand diversity language and definitions, build awareness of biases and stereotypes, recognize how our own actions protect our awareness gaps, and find a level of understanding concerning where we are and where we want to be in the future. 

The U.S. taxation system requires the inclusion of income on a worldwide basis. This also entails that U.S. taxpayers report foreign assets such as bank and investment accounts, foreign trusts, mutual funds, foreign pensions, ownership in foreign companies, gifts, and in some cases ownership of rental real estate activity, etc.

Advisors must be aware of these reporting requirements to prevent the imposition of harsh penalties which generally start at $10,000 USD. This webinar provides a roadmap to any tax preparer that will assist in detecting assets to be reported and how to report them.

This course is designed to provide learners with an understanding of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Cybersecurity Checklist and how it can be used to protect taxpayer data. The course will cover the basics of cybersecurity, including threats, risks, and vulnerabilities. Learners will be introduced to the IRS Cybersecurity Checklist, which provides a framework for organizations to assess and enhance their cybersecurity practices.

The course will cover the various elements of the IRS Cybersecurity Checklist, including access control, data protection, and employee training. Learners will gain an understanding of the importance of each element and how it contributes to the overall security of taxpayer data. The course will also cover best practices for implementing each element of the IRS Cybersecurity Checklist.

Throughout the course, learners will be presented with real-world examples of cybersecurity threats and breaches, highlighting the importance of effective cybersecurity practices. Learners will also be given practical exercises and assessments to reinforce their understanding of the IRS Cybersecurity Checklist.

How good are you with the technology you use daily?  What new technology tools are available that could save you time and make you more effective?  Technology continues to accelerate rapidly, and the need to keep pace is essential. If you are not an information technology (IT) expert but need a technology update to maintain and improve your skills to serve your companies or clients more efficiently and effectively, this course is for you!

In this fast-paced, update-style course, you will survey today’s IT environment, learning about computer hardware, software (including Microsoft Office), operating systems (including Windows 10), and what they mean for you, and peripheral devices. You will also learn about significant trends in information technology and how to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these trends.  Examples include the latest Excel features, working with PDF files, and security and privacy issues. Additionally, you will learn how to improve the overall performance of your IT investment, thereby increasing your return on investment.

Throughout this program, you will learn from real-time demonstrations of practical applications of the latest tools, which can provide you with the knowledge you need to harness the power of technology, both now and in the future. Register now for this “don’t miss” opportunity to get the skills required to enhance the value of your IT investment.

In the last year, our country has seen the passage of multiple federal laws impacting the enforceability to common employment documents. Several federal agencies have also issued opinions that could impact common employment documents. This presentation will review those new laws and opinions and discuss the potential impact they may have on arbitration agreements, severance agreements, confidentiality agreement, and non-disparagement agreements.

The Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) is revised effective November 12, 2020. The Uniform Guidance provides the rules for grants and cooperative agreements funded by the U.S. Government. The revision reflects a foundational shift to focus on enhanced results-oriented accountability for grants and cooperative agreements based on performance. As a part of President’s management agenda, the revision will improve stewardship and ensure the American people receive value for Federal funds spent on various grant programs. This update will provide an example of performance initiates by demonstrating performance-based payments using unit cost rates in lieu of cost reimbursable invoicing.

Award winning and entertaining discussion leader, former state accountancy board chair, and lifelong tax practitioner Mark Hugh will review ethics for tax professionals: the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and interpretations; the Statements on Standards for Tax Services; the rules for practice with and before the IRS, including IRS Circular 230; other tax preparer requirements; new developments in regulation at the national and state level; and discuss examples of best practices and case studies.

Various legal tests are used to evaluate whether a worker should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor. There is no uniform standard or bright-line rule for determining whether an individual is properly classified as an independent contractor. Instead, the inquiry is always fact-intensive, and the analysis can vary based what body is performing it, i.e. the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), Department of Labor (“DOL”), various state agencies, or the courts. This presentation will review the various tests and highlight some of the common, most important factors for consideration. 

This course provides an in-depth exploration of Form 1120S, the tax return form used by S corporations. Students will learn the intricacies of preparing and analyzing this form, including how to determine the taxable income of the S corporation, how to properly report and allocate income, deductions, and credits, and how to calculate the shareholder's basis in the S corporation.

**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.

The globalization of business, ongoing changes in technology, increased attention of shareholders and stakeholders and the continuing demands of the Audit Committee and senior management require a dynamic framework for managing today's internal audit department.

This session, designed by a past Chief Audit Executive with significant exposure to a multitude of industries and internal audit frameworks, explores the key competencies and responsibilities of today's internal audit management and methods for meeting the requirements of the internal audit profession. We will also discuss some of the greatest challenges of the role and how to address those challenges.

HR Professionals are business leaders who, regardless of their level of experience, are responsible for maintaining a high level of interpersonal proficiency in their job function. The willingness to gain a genuine understanding and respect for diversity and the incorporation of a safe and inclusive environment of employees in the workplace, is a strong measure of the HR Professionals’ efficacy in this area. This training is geared towards improving and/ or elevating the HR Professionals’ knowledge of cultural competence in the workplace and what it means to truly adopt a culture of diversity and inclusivity. When HR professionals take responsibility for teaching others about the differences and benefits that multiple cultures and diverse backgrounds bring to the organization, research shows that companies are more likely to win top talent and yield improvement in customer orientation, employee satisfaction and decision making, as well as a cycle of increasing returns.

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.

Poorly handled conflicts can lead to break downs in communication, reduced morale, and higher turnover. However, when managed well, conflict has the potential to bring value to the organization and the team. Conflict is a costly and often mishandled occurrence in the workplace. Successful conflict resolution occurs by listening to and providing opportunities to meet each side’s needs, and adequately addressing their interests so that they are each satisfied with the outcome. In this you will learn the different conflict modes, how to choose the appropriate strategy for your situation, and how relationships impact your ability to promote the positive outcomes and minimize the negative outcomes of conflict.

How do you keep your team connected with the limitations of virtual meetings? Suddenly, it’s more important than ever for each member to understand and appreciate their differences; to see beyond the screen and see each other’s human-side to maintain trust. In this session, Tina Hallis, Ph.D., will explore the neuroscience of trust and why it’s critical for optimum teamwork. But more importantly, you will leave with specific strategies and tools that you can choose from to use with your people. 

The Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) is revised effective November 12, 2020.  The greatest changes occur to the procurement standards and particularly he methods of procurement.  A delineation between the informal and formal procurement processes is the threshold for competition.  The ability to increase the Micro Purchase Threshold (MPT) and limitation on the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) requires a careful look at this OMB update to the Uniform Guidance.

When you're working with clients, it's not always smooth sailing (though we wish it was). Often we need to have difficult conversations. Whether it's to overcome objections, negotiate a new contract, or manage a conflict, these conversations can be navigated successfully with the right tools. This workshop gives you those tools and an understanding how how the human mind works when it comes to processing communication in difficult situations.

The GASB has been working on some big projects lately. This course starts with a look at the GASB standards effective this year, including GASB 94, Public Private Partnerships and GASB 96, Subscription Based IT Arrangements. We will include practical applications in the form of case studies to apply the topics. We will then switch gears to the GASB standards coming down the pike, including the major projects of the GASB.

Seismic changes in tax legislation is currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this eight hour program in order to stay abreast of these developments.  This program will cover new court decisions, recent IRS publications, and the latest tax legislation that will impact businesses and individuals.  The remaining time will be spent on IRS procedure and other issues. This course will provide a concise look at the hottest topics affecting every tax practitioner. 

**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 session explores the nature of analytical procedures, with significant emphasis placed upon professional standards involving the use of analytical procedures in audit and review engagements. Practical examples to illustrate the application process will also be given.

This presentation highlights the latest legislative changes affecting depreciation and capitalization rules, including 2023 inflation increases and Section 179 and 168(k) deductions.  Planning and potential pitfalls will also be presented. 

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Leaders Eat Last

Don Minges, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

Trust is essential, because without trust, there can be no teamwork.  Trust is like oxygen, when it is gone - we suffocate.  This session provides a 15-step action plan to gain commitment from your team members, build trust, hold each person accountable and create results for your organization. 

PowerPoint has become a ubiquitous tool in virtual and in-person meeting rooms around the world. However, it's a tool that is often misused, leading to boredom and frustration for audiences. A bored and frustrated audience will not receive your message, and you – the presenter – will not achieve your desired results. Many speakers know their slides are ineffective but don't know a better way. Well, here it is!

This workshop is interactive, incorporating activities and exercises in order for participants to be able to apply the principles of effective communication of their ideas to real life situations. 

The workshop is based on current research and covers the basics of effective PowerPoint design that works for you, not against you. 

The Corporate Transparency Act requires mandatory disclosure of the beneficial owners of existing and newly formed entities. This legislation imposes new compliance requirements for existing business entities.  Knowledge of this legislation and the new reporting requirements is critical for any person involved in the creation of a new business entity or advising existing business entities. More importantly, advisors must be aware of the new reporting requirements to prevent the imposition of harsh penalties.  This course will provide the attendee with both knowledge of the legislation and knowledge of the exceptions to the legislation. 

Every presenter has to deal with a difficult audience or audience member at one time or another. Professionals, however, because of topics or situations that are inherently uncomfortable, or because of mandated/resistant audience members, will face these audiences more frequently.

It can be difficult to get a resistant audience/member to resonate with your message, but if they leave angry, uninspired, unmotivated or unlikely to act on your call to action, you don't get the results you need or want.
 

Appreciation affects your bottom line and your workplace culture. Don’t think so? Think again! Your customers, clients, and co-workers want and need to know they are appreciated. How do you show them appreciation? You show them in their preferred appreciation style. 

You have a bias for how you like to receive appreciation, and so do the people with whom you work.

In this program, we will build on the research of Gary Chapman and Paul White on appreciation languages – words, time, service, and gifts. 

Appreciation is a skill and practice that promises to influence your work life positively. You will experience strategies you can employ in your day-to-day lives to improve your team culture and manage work relationships.

We know that effective communication is essential to growing a career and a business. But we often don't take time to think through, concsiously, about how we communicate and how small changes could change the trajectory of our messages. This workshop is designed to give you a survey of multiple communication strategies and mistakes to avoid. We start by discussing how people make decisions--which is important to understand in the context of business communication and communication in the workplace. We then transition into common communication mistakes and actionable tools and tactics that you can use to overcome and avoid these mishaps.

In the world of “Big Data,” virtually all business professionals have become data analysts, at least to some extent. However, that is particularly true in the field of auditing, where internal and external auditors are increasingly turning to data analytics to identify situations requiring follow-up and investigation. Those who understand how to take advantage of various tools to assist in these efforts benefit by conducting more thorough analyses and achieving superior results in less time.

In this session, you will learn about various tools and techniques you can use for more thorough data analyses. The discussion includes Excel as a data analysis tool, multiple Excel add-ins, and Microsoft’s Power BI application.

This program addresses the most recent developments impacting partnerships operating as LLCs, with a focus on legislative, administrative, and tax form changes.  Emphasis will be placed on partners “tax basis” capital accounts – now required for tax form reporting, as well an overview of K-2 and K-3 reporting requirements and effective dates.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

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. 

Good people believe everyone else is just like them. They cannot imagine someone could con them or their company and have no guilt or remorse about what they have done. Lack of guilt and empathy are key traits of a psychopath. Most of us envision psychopaths to be cold-blooded serial killers who are locked away in prison. However, experts estimate that 4% of corporate executives are psychopaths who may initially appear to be more normal than the rest of us. Psychopaths may present a convincing picture of virtue while helping themselves to money, status and sex while leaving a path of shattered expectations, empty wallets, and broken hearts in their wake. Learn how to recognize and deal with others who have no conscience. 

In this course, participants will gain a broad understanding of the various anti-fraud preventive and detective tests available to practitioners and take initial steps in building their own library of tests unique to their business or industry risks. Specific discussions and examples will include vendor analysis to look for potentially improper payments around conflicts of interests, fake vendor schemes, bribery & corruption, sanctions and trade compliance, anomalous payments, segregation of duties, among other risk categories.  Participants will also explore tests around customers or distributors that include margin analysis, free goods, discounts and revenue recognition. Further, we will explore employee related test to mitigate travel & entertainment expense abuses. We will also point out various online and public resources for participants to start building their own library of tests to support both reactive investigations as well as proactive prevention and detection.

This course explores the increasingly complex features of Excel that facilitate efficient data analysis.  We will introduce numerous analytical methods and techniques by using practical examples to illustrate how to unleash the power of Excel when manipulating, analyzing and reporting information and dive into the powerful, but potentially under-utilized, capabilities of Microsoft Excel.  Designed for sophisticated users willing to approach spreadsheets from a unique perspective, this program encourages users to challenge the status quo by considering opportunities to take acceptable spreadsheets to a new level.

Financial accounting for trusts and estates is one of the least understood branches of accounting. It is not particularly concerned with recording income and expenses but is obsessed with determining whether receipts and expenditures are assigned to income or principal/corpus. This course will dive into this tricky area and provide a reporting guide for fiduciary accounting.

Financial Acumen for the HR Professional is a part of the series "The HR Professional's Guide to Evolving Business Strategy, Finance and Development." This course identifies how HR Professionals can increase their financial understanding to participate more effectively with management as well as understand the financial results and implications for the business.

In this five part master series, class participants will gain a comprehensive view into the world of forensic data analytics (FDA). From understanding practical use cases of FDA in the audit, internal audit, investigations and proactive monitoring to understanding necessary data sources, validation proceudres, success factors and pitfalls to avoid. We will also explore hundreds of leading anti-fraud tests around corruption, conflicts of interest, fake vendor schemes, segregation of duties, revenue recognition and sales abuse, among dozens of other schemes.  Participants will develop their own library of anti-fraud tests from various open source locations and apply them in relevant contexts such as the COSO Fraud Risk Management Guide. Finally, participants will also peek into future innovations in FDA and how technologies such as ChatGPT, data visualization, machine learning, AI and cryptocurrencies are all impacting the discipline.  We can't promise you'll be a programmer after this course, but you will certainly be armed with the information needed to project manage an FDA project and "direct" the programmers to accomplish your fraud risk / FDA objectives.  

Government leases are getting an overhaul. GASB Statement 87 was issued in 2017 and provides an update on the proper accounting for leases from both the lessee and lessor point of view. This course will help attendees understand the nuances of the updated definition of a lease as well as other significant changes to terminology. Attendees will discuss the impact of the changes to financial reporting as well as the key challenges that governments and auditors will need to consider to properly implement the new standard. This interactive course includes the preparation of journal entries to assist in understanding impact.

Protecting yourself from ransomware requires more than just anti-virus software. Additional technology protections are necessary. Further, business continuity, legal and regulatory, and cybersecurity insurance considerations should all be a part of your risk abatement strategy. Attend this session to determine if your current level of ransomware protection reduces your risk to an acceptable and identify ways to ensure that you are protected.

This course initially explores actual fraud circumstances through the lens of potential prevention. We will examine how selected frauds were accomplished and consider what internal controls may have prevented fraudsters from achieving their nefarious acts. Then we will switch gears to an interactive, case-based discussion that asks participants to reach their own conclusions by analyzing facts in concert with the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and other sources of ethical guidance. This course ultimately provides practical, action-oriented insight that can be implemented by accounting professionals in both public practice and industry.

When a company has poor financial performance, the financial person is often the first to go.  Proactive efforts by financial managers can prevent the need for a company to “catch up.”  

We all want to be successful and deeply fulfilled, but most of us have not learned what really leads to a life of abundance, happiness, purpose, and great relationships.  In this seminar, you will learn the most effective methods for creating the life you really want.  In his interviews with such people as Oprah, the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, Ted Turner, and dozens of others, Jonathan has learned what really works and what does not.  In this seminar you’ll learn the best personal and professional growth techniques he’s acquired over his career.  Once you know these great ideas and methods, you'll be able to take your life and career to a whole new level. 

Over the next decade, the area of “Advisory Services” has the greatest potential for growth in your practice.  Complexities within your clients’ financial, estate, and asset protection plans coupled with the ever-changing Internal Revenue Code has created an opportunity for the CPA, the EA, and other advisors to expand their client offerings. This course provides the practitioner with the framework for practice expansion as well as an understanding of a variety of necessary issues and techniques.

In today’s real estate market, IRC §1031 tax-deferred exchanges can be one of the most important planning tools available to the real estate investor. The use of this technique is filled with pitfalls and traps. This new course will assist the practitioner in understanding the mechanics of a tax-deferred exchange and the value of a tax-deferred exchange in both tax and financial planning.

Updated August 2022

This ACPEN four-hour, CPE course addresses the various tax issues flowing from the “Clean Car Tax Credit”  Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Internal Revenue Code Section 30D that affect prospective clean vehicle purchasers, current vehicle owners, car dealers who sell and lease these vehicles and CPAs and tax preparers who represent clients considering these vehicle purchases or who are asked to prepare federal income tax returns for purchasers.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 made numerous changes to the tax credits provided for qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles. Various publications and alerts have set forth general advanced information that have created some misconceptions regarding the various rules about the tax credit. Beyond the general guidelines, there are multiple complex limitations, qualifications, restrictions, etc. that prospective buyers, clean vehicle owners, clean car vehicle dealerships and tax preparers may not fully understand.

This course will provide clarification of the rules relating to the credit and produce better informed buyers and current owners and car dealerships and tax practitioners that will enhance the quality of service they provide to their customers and clients. Our panel will also identify the areas that seem to be unclear, in light of IRS guidance to date. 

Penalty abatement is a technique that tax practitioners can utilize to help their clients reduce penalties and interest they owe to the IRS if the taxpayer can prove “reasonable cause.”

This informative and insightful webinar will provide you with some insider tips, practical steps and effective strategies to help your client manage IRS tax penalties and interest. Learn about various types of penalties that you may face and the various forms and procedures used for requesting penalty and interest abatement, including First Time and Reasonable Cause abatement. Plus, learn about the procedure to follow when requesting refund of paid penalties.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.
 

A burning question on the minds of many is, “What features should I use in Windows 11?” Presented with end-users in mind, in this session, you will get the answer you need to that question and others, all delivered in the context of improving productivity and security.

Among other topics, you will learn about improvements in virtual desktops, changes to the user interface, customization options, and more. If you’re using Windows 11 now or plan to upgrade soon, this is a must-see session to help you make the most of your upgrade.

Financial Leaders often achieve their position primarily with left brain analytical skills.  They need to develop right brain thinking to evolve to the next level either professionally or as part of their personal growth plan.  This course will help the financial executive and professional focus on where they are currently and help them bridge the gap in leadership skills that will enable them to gravitate to the next level.  This course will guide the financial executive and professional to position themselves as leaders that others will trust and want to follow.  The financial executive and financial professional will walk away understanding a more holistic approach to people and organizations and a transformational leadership style.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) has become a hot topic among standard setters. This session will look at the work of the FASB, GASB, and AICPA in the areas of ESG. We’ll also look at the types of engagements CPAs can provide to entities who want assurance around their ESG reporting.

For many business professionals, accessing and managing data in Excel is one of the biggest stumbling blocks when creating reports and analyses. Common practices include far too many manual processes and formulas, including never-ending manual processes needed to update your data and related reports.

Make plans now to join us in this session to learn best practices for accessing and managing data using Excel. In this session, you will learn how you can use Power Query and other Excel tools to quickly access and manipulate your data and generate reports in record time! This is a “must-see” session for any business professional working with Excel!    

If a great leader is someone we are willing to sacrifice for – what do those leaders do that makes us want to do more? Many of us work in dysfunctional organizations that want followers, but have no leaders that lead. What makes a leader effective? True leaders sacrifice, they are trustworthy and they empathize. We discuss the steps to take so you can become a true leader: including, integrity, humility, communication, self-control and self-awareness. With diligence, you can become a better leader and we will discuss how.  

No matter what role you play in your professional life, being able to command an audience--whether of one or of thousands--is an important skill. Public speaking, no matter how you slice it, is a practice that is worthy of attention. This workshop teaches you approachable strategies to improve your public speaking and presentation skills, recognizing that everyone comes with different comfort levels and experiences. There is no one-size-fits-all speaking style, and trying to force yourself into a specific presentation persona can be more harmful than helpful. Learn actionable tips to help you be more confident next time you need to take the proverbial (or literal) stage.

A detailed analysis of the calculations related to determining a shareholder's tax basis for S corporation shares and loans. How to use the Form 1120S, Schedule K-1 information for basis determination, as well as an update on Schedules K-2 and K-3. An illustrative example demonstrates how the process works, as well as the many 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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

The Secure Act 2.0 was passed in a flurry of year-end legislation. This one hour program will cover the important changes that individuals need to know about contributions to accounts and new ways of accessing these funds.  This course will provide a concise look at these hot topics.  

**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 anne.taylor@acpen.com.

Federal grants and cooperative agreements are high risk agreements because they involve mandatory time and effort reporting. We will discuss what is involved with
timekeeping for Federal awards. Specifically, what are the rules prescribed by the Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200. We will identify a hidden minefield of labor costs based on time reports as they become a part of a “claim” to the US Government. An actual “war story” will back up our assertion. Our presentation includes a practical interpretation of the regulations, best practices and sample forms.

This course focuses on the key federal tax issues affecting businesses from the internal accountant's point of view, with a focus on recent tax legislation and developments.  Planning alternatives and the potential risks associated with those strategies will also be discussed.   

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

In this introductory course, you'll learn the fundamentals of integrating forensic data analytics into your anti-fraud risk management program. We will cover key definitions, use cases, methodologies and some of the leading innovations and techniques driving this ever-evolving field of "finding hidden money."

Using Outlook for email management is routine for most business professionals these days. But unfortunately, using this tool for so long may cause some to perpetuate bad practices and habits when working in Outlook and exploring new options Outlook offers. In this session, you will discover ten valuable tips to take you to the next level of your email and work management.

Business ethics is not just something “nice to do” but can mean the difference between success, failure, and survival in today’s increasingly competitive environment.  This seminar outlines steps to create an ethical business culture and provides specific ways for financial managers to make better ethical decisions.

We encounter pressure from many varied sources every day. We will focus on one of the more overlooked areas where fraud can be found.  Employees respond to pressure, and sometime the pressure leads to unethical actions. Where should you look and what should you look for? Risk assessment is not something ‘nice to do’, but it is required for internal audits, external audits, and every leader. If you are in a leadership position, learn where to look?

The new field of Positive Psychology offers many methods and ideas for helping people be happier, healthier, and better at what they do.  Nowadays, the ability to be at your best and get clients to enjoy working with you is critical to growing your business or getting ahead.   Studies show that happy people make $750,000 more over the course of their life than unhappy people, have half the number of sick days, and live 9 years longer.  In this fun and fascinating seminar, you’ll learn how to not only be happier, but help your clients be happier in working with you.

This course highlights significant updates that affect financial reporting and related attestation services. We will explore novel FASB pronouncements while examining the enduring impact of lease accounting and revenue recognition standards. This course will provide reminders regarding both GAAP and non-GAAP financial reporting alternatives for closely held entities. We will also explore selected guidance regarding audit, review, and compilation engagements.

If you are efficient and want to learn lessons from the best in a short time, this seminar is for you.  Popular speaker Don Minges will review the key lessons from five fantastic business books that will help you become more effective.  The topics are; leadership, how to create a valuable business, how to turnaround a business, how to make terrific presentations and how do humans think?  These lessons are valuable for every business leader. 

Emotions get us every time. We all feel emotion. It’s what we do after we experience them that defines us. Emotional intelligence is critical in moving you, your teams, and your life forward. It’s all about your awareness and relationships with people. 

In this course, you will learn what emotional intelligence is and why it is one of the essential factors in determining your success in your career and your life. You will apply the four key areas of emotional intelligence and strategies you can immediately use to increase your emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is a skill and practice that promises to influence your life positively. You will learn the value it brings to how you approach your work and your relationships with co-workers, clients, and customers.

This program will provide a detailed analysis of the real estate professional passive activity rules, including forms reporting examples, and integrates those rules with when real estate is considered a "business" under the Section 199A flow-through entity deduction, A detailed analysis of the self-rental passive activity rules will be given, including forms reporting examples and integrates them with the flow-through entity rules related to self-rental.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Before the Uniform Guidance (UG) was promulgated, guidance for subrecipient monitoring was only known to auditors in Requirement M of the compliance supplement. Sub-recipient monitoring is a critical requirement for Pass-Through-Entities (PTE) to ensure programmatic and financial compliance with a particular Federal program. The UG has devoted only 2 sections to sub-recipient monitoring. Consequently, it is important that this session provides an abundance of practical experience through best practices to fill in some of the gaps.

Getting rich requires many things.  First, you need to know how to overcome previous limitations you may have had about making a lot of money.  Second, you need to know and use the best financial strategies for becoming wealthy--including the latest investment and marketing strategies.   And third, you need to be able to enjoy your lifestyle, and look at what obstacles get in the way of you being rich and fully contented.  By exploring the latest methods for achieving financial and personal success, you'll be able to make a lot more money and have a great time doing it.

In this course, we will explore the various types of data - both structured and unstructured - used in conducting fraud risk investigations and proactive monitoring. We will explore the various tools available on the market and techniques to confirm completeness and accuracy of the data before the analysis begins.  The course will cover the process for selecting the right data sources to align with the various risks as well as pitfalls to avoid when preparing the data for analysis. 

In this course, participants will learn about key trends and innovations impacting the field of forensic data analytics.  From generative AI to ChatGPT, machine learning and transaction review, data sharing consortiums and cryptocurrency trends, this course is for the futurist who wants to be leading edge in compliance and anti-fraud technology innovation. 

The Uniform Guidance identifies COSO and Green Book as best practices in internal control. This course will cover the background on COSO and its 2013 update. We’ll also review the application of COSO to Green Book. Attendees will learn how to leverage Part 6 of the Compliance Supplement for documentation of internal controls.

Most business professionals have used Excel for years, often without the benefit of any formal training. Thus, they don't know about key features in the application and, therefore, don't use them. Of course, this leads to inefficiencies and errors. Isn't it time to stop this madness? This session is for you if you're ready to become more efficient and effective with Excel! You will learn ten critical features that can help you get more work done in less time and improve your accuracy. We encourage you to make plans to join us for this session to learn the best ways of working with Excel!

This course reviews and discusses the latest items on the FASB agenda, focusing on recent updates to revenue recognition and lease accounting standards.  A Special Purpose Framework overview will be provided, which may reveal salient alternatives to U.S. GAAP for certain entities. We will also explore significant elements of the FASB’s technical agenda.

This course explores the tests used to determine whether a worker is properly characterized as an employee or an independent contractor for tax purposes, with a focus on the cost of getting it wrong and possible Section 530 relief.  The game changing impact of the Dynamex case and AB5 will also be discussed. 

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Are you looking to take your PivotTables to the next level? Many experts consider PivotTables to be Excel’s most powerful feature. Yet, most who create and work with them barely scratch the surface of all that PivotTables can do. In this session, you’ll learn eight powerful features you may have missed. From user-defined calculations to consolidating reports and adding KPIs, we’ll show you how to get the most out of your PivotTables. These are just some examples of the great things you can do with PivotTables, and in this session, you will learn these and other techniques to make your PivotTables even more powerful.

In a competitive economy, CPA's  and their firms need a way to stand out. The best way to do this is to give outstanding service to your clients. In this experiential workshop, you’ll learn skills that lead to dramatic client satisfaction. In addition, you'll learn several specific ways to guarantee you'll get a lot of word of mouth referrals that will lead to a dramatic increase in your number of clients.

Most organizations manage their income statement, but many virtually ignore the balance sheet until balance sheet problems create seemingly insurmountable emergencies. This session discusses how to analyze and manage your financial statements more holistically, allowing you to identify and correct balance sheet issues early. How do you choose whether to raise debt or equity? What are the key considerations and the advantages of each? What is the cost of capital? What are the ‘hidden’ balance sheet risks? We will also examine several crucial ideas you can incorporate into your analyses to enhance performance and reduce risk. If you want to enhance your corporate finance skills, this session is for you.

Many people, when they hear about feedbcak in organizations and the workplace, think immediately of performance reviews. But feedback should not be isolated to these formal structures. This workshop is about the more informal methods of feedback that managers and coworkers can use to have more productive conversations that drive behavioral change. Through understanding the importance of dialogue, strategic questions to drive conversation, and mistakes to avoid, you'll be able to have more productive feedback conversations in your workplace (and maybe even at home, too).

The IRS has recently increased the pressure on how to calculate and report partner and shareholder basis.  Changes in the forms reflect these developments.  This program provides a detailed analysis of the calculations related to determining tax basis for a partnership interest and S corporation shareholder shares and loans. How to use the Form 1065, Schedule K-1  and Form 1120S, Schedule K-1 information for basis determination.  Illustrated examples with filled in forms will demonstrate how the processes works and their many 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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Tax compliance issues in estate and gift taxation are sometimes confusing to practitioners because many lack experiences in this area. This course, the second part of a 2-part series (6 CPE hours in total), provides the practitioner with a “hands-on” understanding as to how to prepare both the Federal Form 706 (Estate Tax return) and the Federal Form 709 (Gift Tax return). The participants will be shown how to properly prepare these returns “line-by-line”.    Mastering this course will allow the practitioner to gain confidence in preparing these difficult tax returns.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Tax compliance issues in estate and gift taxation are sometimes confusing to practitioners because many lack experiences in this area. This course, is a the entire 2-part series (6 CPE hours in total).  It provides the practitioner with a practical understanding of Federal estate and gift tax law, as well as provide the practitioner with a “hands-on” understanding as to how to prepare both the Federal Form 706 (Estate Tax return) and the Federal Form 709 (Gift Tax return) line by line.  Emphasis will be given on the various of the Internal Revenue Code Sections that deal with this topic (income taxation of estates and trusts).    Mastering these sections of the Internal Revenue Code areas will allow the practitioner to start their understanding of tax compliance in preparing Federal Forms 706 and 709 and gain confidence in preparing these difficult tax returns.

**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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

In this course, participants will learn about the five principals of COSO's Fraud Risk Management Guide and the linkages each principal has to the use of forensic data analytics to measurably demonstrate effectiveness and ROI.  We will also explore key elements to a successful program that is sustainable as well as pitfalls to avoid. Finally, we will cover several case studies that demonstrate the key concepts discussed. 

The standard audit report will soon receive an overhaul. This course investigates major changes to the contents and format of audit reports for private entities while exploring the influence of changes to audit reports for public companies. 

What are my best technology choices, and how do I keep up? Even informed accounting professionals will find multiple ideas they can apply daily. This visionary session provides insights, options, and recommendations to help you decide which technologies will affect your business and which will give you a competitive edge. Included in Tech Update are emerging and evolving technologies important to accounting professionals. We will cover the benefits and risks of adopting recent technologies, ranging from software applications to hardware devices. You will also learn how to develop a balanced technology strategy that includes current, emerging, and future technology choices for your firm or business.

SAS 145, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, was issued in October 2021. This audit standard amends AU-C 315, making many changes to address common audit deficiencies. This course will provide an overview of SAS 145 and its changes to AU-C 315.

This presentation will provide a detailed analysis of the Circular 230 rules for conduct of a tax practice, with a review of the political, legislative and regulatory rules impacting every accounting and tax professional. Best practices and guidance provided by the AICPA’s Code of Professional Conduct will be discussed.

The budgeting process can be a time consuming and frustrating process for accountants.  The constraints and pressures can lead to poor decisions in both the technical and human components.  This session will cover:

Budgeting:  Presenting and Communicating your Numbers

•    Now that the budget is complete, how we communicate our plan is critical.  this session reveals some key guidelines in budget presentation and will identify key problems in how people often communicate financial plans. 

Internal Controls (IC) are in place for a reason. They help maintain the control environment and establish efficient and effective processes. They also serve as a mitigation technique for identifying when processes have changed and when procedures need to be adjusted. In today’s business world, all personnel must understand the concept of internal control, how they should be utilized and their benefits.

The purpose and value of internal controls are often misunderstood and misapplied by management. Internal controls should be viewed as a value-oriented activity that assists the organization in the effective execution of its objectives. Properly designed and executed controls are the key to ensuring this view.

A previous course “The Manager’s Responsibility for Internal Control," addressed these concepts at a higher level. This course further explores the types of ICs, how they can be properly utilized and the cost benefit considerations for implementation.

Internal control is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following areas:

• Effectiveness and efficiency of operations
• Reliability of financial reporting
• Compliance with applicable laws and regulations
• Safeguarding assets

Organizations that use primitive costing methods make predictable mistakes. They allocate too much cost to easy, high-volume "gravy" products and too little cost to difficult, low-volume "dog" products. This puts the organization with inferior information at a significant disadvantage against a competitor who has a better cost model. The secret to having a great cost model is learning how to deal with overhead.
This webinar will show you how to assign 16 key categories of overhead. Whether you work in a wholesale, retail, health care, service or manufacturing business. This session will give you important insights into how to handle overhead. If you get your costing right, you will be able to give the "dogs" to your competitors and keep the "gravy" for yourself.

This two-credit Yellow Book Update will cover some of the recent guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office. We will review the 2021 Technical Update to the 2018 Uniform Guidance as well as the GAO guidance on data quality. We'll also cover the GAO's identification of the most high-risk areas in government. The course will close with a look at Yellow Book independence requirements, which is frequently cited as an issue by Peer Review.

This course focuses on the individual taking ownership for their career.  It provides tools and methods to assist and guide the individual to develop the collateral necessary in navigating their career.  It provides a Personal Marketing Plan that can be customized to fit the career objectives and goals of the individual. It also focuses on character self-awareness, crucial for long-tern career success.

Fraud continues to be a pervasive problem for organizations of all sizes and in all industries. And it can happen to your organization. Accountability professionals are the first line of defense against fraud. Accordingly, accountants, internal auditors, external auditors, and risk management professionals need to develop the skills needed to prevent, detect, and deter fraud.

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) 2022 Report to the Nations:

• Certified Fraud Examiners estimate that the typical organization loses about 5% of its revenues each year due to fraud. 
• The median loss per fraud case is $117,000; the average loss per fraud case is $1,783,000.
• 42% of frauds are discovered by tips, usually from employees.
• Asset misappropriation schemes are the most common (86%) but least costly ($100,000 median loss).
• Financial statement fraud schemes are the least common (9%) but most costly ($593,000 median loss).
• Corruption is the most common scheme in all global regions.

These statistics are alarming and should be a wake-up call for all business and government professionals. The impact of fraud is almost always devastating and can be catastrophic.

The 2023 Business Fraud Update is another fast-moving seminar that will provide a comprehensive look at the latest developments about fraud from the technical, legal, and operational perspectives and update participants on the most recent legal and regulatory developments in this important area of professional responsibility.  

In addition, attendees will watch a unique and specially designed simulated case of fraud in a corporate setting and watch as the panelists, in their roles as characters in the simulation, respond to the emerging situation and deal with it as a corporate and legal matter to determine the fraud, identify the perpetrators, respond as an organization and deal with criminal and corporate fallout. Following each stage of the fact situation the entire panel will discuss the developments and consider how damage to the company could have been avoided and how it can be mitigated!

Unhealthy behavior in the workplace can create a drama-laden, hostile work environment, negatively impact productivity and increase turnover. When team members are focused on how they can one-up their counterparts or are fearful of their co-workers/leaders actions towards them – they are NOT focused on reaching your company’s goals. 
 

The budgeting process can be a time consuming and frustrating process for accountants.  The constraints and pressures can lead to poor decisions in both the technical and human components.  This session will cover:

Building Flexible Budgeting Models: Walking Through and Crunching The Numbers

•    We can all learn from others and improve our budgeting process by listening to our colleagues’ wisdom and experience.  This session takes a unique review of the fundamental budget issues faced by all and walks through a detailed modeling process intended to generate discussion and best practices to improve your organization’s financial planning. 

The objective of corrective action is to change conduct through teaching.  Corrective action may be sequential, out of order, repetitive, or not appropriate to take at all.  The action selected should reflect the type, frequency, and severity of the misconduct.  Changing conduct through teaching requires effective employee relations skills. This course provides practical knowledge and scripts for handling a wide array of sensitive misconduct situations with good judgment, such that personal and employer liability is avoided.

Need to strengthen your inventory accounting skills?  This session will help you get there quickly!  The session focuses on the basics: inventory GAAP, inventory software, and methods for dealing with variances. Join inventory accounting veteran John L. Daly for this informative session.

Combatting today’s cybercriminals takes everyone working together. The Internal Revenue Service works with state tax agencies and the tax industry to fight these 21st-century identity thieves. Unfortunately, data thefts at tax professionals’ offices are on the rise. Online providers also must follow the six security and privacy standards in Publication 1345, Handbook for Authorized IRS e-file Providers of Individual Income Tax Returns. In addition, you fall under the PTIN and 4557 mandates if you prepare tax returns. Learn how to fulfill your obligations by participating in this session.

Regardless of size, most public accounting firms are mandated to have a written security plan in place. Failing to have such a plan in place can lead to substantial fines. Join us in this session to learn what your security plan should include and how to implement it.

This course explores the coaching principles, concepts, frameworks, techniques and competencies that will lead to a management style that  emphasizes coaching as a style in lieu of a more autocratic or even more participative approach.  The course illustrates how a coaching style leads to a highly desired company culture.  This process takes the attendee through a coaching process that can be applied to various situations.  Results from coaching are covered as are measuring the success of coaching.  The attendee will walk away with the skills necessary to begin leading their company towards a coaching culture that will leave employees motivated and driven to higher levels of innovation from the empowerment of the new coaching culture.

Professional Codes of Conduct make Ethics seem easy and clear cut. However, this is not so in real life. This session discusses five cases where the ethics is not so clear cut.  What should be considered?  We will explain how you can be more diligent and maintain awareness of ethical issues to become more effective and enhance the reputation of the profession.    

What if being nice, or specifically being a positive best version of yourself, made you a more effective leader?  Ethical leadership, is effective leadership. That’s what Dr. Cohen, noted psychologist, transformational speaker, executive coach, and author of Be The Sun, Not The Salt, has been teaching organizations to do for years. Dr. Cohen’s work is based on scientific studies of human behavior broken down into simple, easily digestible pillars structured around the Heliotropic Effect. In this webcast we will discuss Dr. Cohen’s path to this work, what the Heliotropic Effect is, and how Be The Sun, Not The Salt is the perfect reminder to Do More of That every day.