CPE Catalog & Events

Specific topics that will be covered:Understanding the full potential of Microsoft 365 to drive efficiency in your practiceBest practices for deploying Microsoft 365 in accounting, tax and advisory firmsDesign your Teams app setup to meet the unique attributes of your practiceUse SharePoint and OneDrive to organize your files and share them securely with your clientsOrganize your thoughts, meeting notes and other content centrally in OneNoteTrack your client engagements and internal projects efficiently and effectively with the Planner appUse Microsoft 365 to document processes, improve client services and increase productivityStep-by-step guide for deployment of Microsoft 365 in your firm based on best practices

The major topics covered in this course include:Compare and contrast the basis and requirements of preparing financial statements, compilations, reviews, and auditsCritical elements of compilation, review, and audit reportsImpact of special purpose accounting frameworks and other special issuesExercise on designing inquiries and analytics in a reviewCase study differentiating the scope of various non-attest and attest servicesAvoiding litigation risks in accounting services

Should ethical behavior be something that we always do? Is ethical behavior situational? Why being ethical will help you succeed personally and professionally. Consequences of not behaving ethically? Why trust matters? How we can make better ethical decisions in our professional lives.

Performance Metrics Budgets  

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Like-kind exchanges have been hailed as one of the few "legal tax shelters" still available for real property investments, but it is really a result of favored tax policy.These relatively straight-forward concepts can help a company significantly improve cash flow by deferring its tax liability.These concepts will be illustrated by real-life examples that present a novel approach to like-kind exchanges as a useful and practical tax-planning idea.

The importance of professional skepticism The dangers of making assumptions How to listen and understanding the answer to a question Why it is important to leave all of your expectations at home Anticipation and why it’s so dangerous Determining materiality The fraud triangle Thinking about, given a set of circumstances, how you would steal Management and the Tone At the Top

Why we get off balance and how to overcome those tendencies Methods that turbo charge motivation, health and happiness The power of culture and friends to affect our lives The importance of clear intention in order to effect change that lasts

1.    Why people behave as they do, and how you can effectively motivate anyone to cooperate with you How to judge if your communication is effective in motivating someone How to get someone to really hear you How to communicate so that someone will happily do what you want 2.    How to create trust and get people to like working with you The 3 most important keys for getting someone to feel rapport with you Why rapport is so important, and how to use it to profit in your work How to quickly solve problems with people once you have their rapport 3.    How to handle difficult people Why some people are difficult to deal with, and what you can do about it How you can turn a difficult employee or customer into a powerful asset How to easily solve problems with people who are upset at you 4.    Secret techniques that super-successful communicators use How Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton are similar, and how you can tap into their "magic abilities" The three most important keys all successful communicators use

The A&A landscape today New and emerging areas of service Solutions to timely or complex issues Technical accounting, auditing and assurance information Resources and tools update

Major topics covered in this course include:Recognize why internal fraud occursPolicies, procedures, and control measures designed to fight fraud

Review the Basic Concept of Fiduciary Duty Review the Basic Concept of Fiduciary Accounting Use of a Diagram to Distinguish Income and Principal Calculating Fiduciary Accounting Income Requirements of a Simple Trust Problem Example Spreadsheets Reflecting Fiduciary Accounting and Taxation of Simple Trusts as well as how Depreciation is Handled by a Fiduciary Entity Problem Examples Reflecting a Completed Form 1041 using Spreadsheet Calculations for Fiduciary Accounting and Taxation of Simple Trusts

Discuss how productivity strategies may improve work-life balance Understand the state tax consequences that may arise when working from home Identify and discuss challenges unique to financial professionals Review how some organizations are providing support to improve work-life balance Explore the role of alternative work arrangements  Examine challenges unique to auditors versus tax professionals A comparison of work-life balance between public and industry accountants How work-family conflict varies among financial professionals Recommendations for improving work-life balance

Contrasting project management with operations management Reviewing organizational culture and how it applies to project management The various types of project management including Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Critical path, and others Looking at risk management software and its application in different types of project management Managing and leading project management stakeholders

Employees working in multiple states: Withholding issues (when to start and where to withhold) special issues depending on type of tax assessed in the state or locality Emerging sales tax topics: Elimination of the physical presence standard in determining nexus (Wayfair case); economic nexus for remote sellers; assisting remote sellers in determining a plan of action in states that enforce economic nexus Emerging compliance issues in the new sales tax economy Income Tax (and other forms of tax): Economic nexus (taxation without physical presence) Will states shift away from income tax and increase reliance on sales tax after Wayfair? Treatment of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by the states: presence of intangible property; is P.L. 86-272 still valid? Pass-through problems: Nexus issues for interest owners Treatment of the 199A deduction for pass through entities by states: Withholding issues Practical considerations in dealing with multistate taxation: Dealing with state nexus questionnaires When to consider voluntary compliance: Responsibility of officers, members, partners, and shareholders; planning ideas and opportunities; updates on pending federal legislation relative to state tax

Overview of ASC 326, Credit Losses Application of ASC 326 to non-lending institutions CECL transition and disclosures Audit considerations related to the adoption and ongoing accounting for CECL

Examine real-world misappropriations of cash, check frauds, vendor scams, credit card abuse, grant frauds, benefit schemes, inventory thefts, and payroll frauds Consider and develop controls to stop fraud Tailor controls to the size and fit of the government or nonprofit

What are the signs of an ethical versus unethical organization? The need for clear policies Policies should be detailed, clear and unambiguous The importance of ‘doing the right thing when no one else is looking’ How exceptions offer opportunities to the unethical Should exceptions be allowed?

The major topics covered in this course include:Proper documentation as a means of audit qualityFactors impacting the nature and extent of documentationSample workpaper index and other organization tipsUse of audit programs as means of audit documentationChecklist for self-review of workpapers and clearing review notesMultiple exercises on identifying workpaper deficiencies

Best practices for creating Amortization schedules and calculating annual interest payments calculating and summarizing data with SUMIF and SUBTOTAL functions using statistical functions to Analyze data

Inventory accounting GAAP Methods for dealing with variances