CPE Catalog & Events

The major topics covered in this class include:The State of Women in Leadership in the United StatesLeadership DefinedVirtue EthicsInternal and External Challenges for Women in LeadershipCreating a Culture of Safety and Caring

Why forecasts and budgets are frequently wrong: behavioral finance; improper goal setting, games, continuing the status quo, traditional budgeting techniques Incorporating strategy into budgets: improving measurement systems; common errors, developing strategies and appropriate measurements Expanding the budgeting framework: rolling forecasts; mission-based budgeting, zero-based budgeting, post-completion evaluations, contingency planning, black swan events, identifying improvements Big data: definition, challenges, goals, current uses/examples, sources of information Analytical tools: ration analysis, benchmarking, Pareto analysis, trend analysis, regression, simulation, dashboards

Cyber risks: prompt injection, drift, model manipulation, data leakage Red-teaming and simulation exercises (CSA, IBM frameworks) Controls mapping: COSO, SOX, and NIST AI RMF Regulatory context: GDPR, CCPA, EU AI Act, SEC guidance Platform security discussion and comparisons

What keeps companies from becoming streamlined?  Behavioral biases Information processing biases Emotional biases How to deal with behavioral biases  Connecting behavioral biases to cost cutting Creating a culture of cost cutting Rules of thumb for cost cutting  Managing headcount Post-COVID common areas of excess cost Budgeting techniques Budget variances Benchmarking Common size financial statements Horizontal analysis Negotiation and contracting techniques Cash flow and the business cycle

Explore from the history of automation to the current landscape of large language models (LLMs) and generative tools to demystify the technology Free, accessible apps to enterprise-grade solutions and specialized accounting software tailored for tax, audit, and advisory workflows Ethical obligations and professional standards that govern AI use, including data privacy, client confidentiality, and the management of "hallucinations" or inaccuracies Through specific use cases and prompting demonstrations, understand how to use AI to draft complex communications, summarize research, optimize Excel workflows, and enhance client advisory services

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Key changes to audit report elements intended to improve the understandability of the nature and results of financial statement auditsEnhanced required by-product communications with management and those charged with governance to promote more reliable financial statementsClarifications related to obtaining sufficient and appropriate audit evidence, including significant unusual transactions, related parties, going concern uncertainty, and accounting estimatesNew definitions and requirements related to identifying and evaluating risks of material misstatementOther important matters contained in SAS Nos. 134-145

Common errors made involving the following: Form 1065 Schedules K and K-1 Schedules M-1 and M-2 Calculating recourse and nonrecourse liabilities Partner inside and outside basis Partner's capital account analysis Sections 704(b), 704(c), 721, 722, 732(b), 734(b), 737, 743(b)

What’s included (and excluded) in a Yellow Book audit Key qualification, performance, and reporting standards under the Yellow Book How single audits differ from financial statement audits, plus core concepts like the SEFA, major program determination, and findings reporting Fundamentals of testing internal controls over compliance and performing compliance testing

The major topics covered in this course include:Securing individual documentsProtecting information resident in the CloudSecuring data stored on or accessed by mobile devices

Each week’s topics will change based on the most critical issues affecting financial professionals

The major topics that will be covered in this course include:Discuss the calculation of basis when the entity is formed including the impact of contributed propertyExplain the importance of shareholder loans to the entityUses a comprehensive example to illustrate the mechanics of the basis determination processSchedule K-1 Basis and Form 7203Discuss how basis is impacted by distributions of corporation propertyExplain how basis is impacted by sale/or liquidation of the S corporation interestDiscuss how S corporation losses impact Form 1040 Schedule E reportingShow how to get from the Schedule K-1 information to the basis calculations

What artificial intelligence is and how it differs from automation Current AI technologies: generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and machine learning How AI enhances accounting financial analysis, auditing, tax compliance, and client advisory services Risks and limitations of AI: bias, data integrity, and over-reliance on automation Data governance, security, and privacy in AI-enabled systems Case studies of how accounting firms and finance teams are implementing AI today Future skills for accounting and finance professionals in an AI-driven environment

Funding options for Roth accounts Roth IRA contribution eligibility and income limits Enhanced catch-up contributions and age-based limits The Roth catch-up mandate for employer plans Roth 401(k) contribution rules, including catch-ups Roth SEP and Roth SIMPLE IRAs 529 plan rollovers to Roth IRAs Backdoor Roth strategies and pro-rata considerations The tax impact of rolling a 401(k) to a Roth IRA Who can start the Roth IRA 5-year clock? The 5-year rules for Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s Direct and indirect Roth conversions Direct and indirect rollovers from Roth 401(k) plans Ordering rules for Roth IRA distributions FIFO treatment and when it applies The risk of recapturing the 10% early distribution penalty Case studies and practical cheat sheets to reinforce key concepts

Availability bias Herding Loss aversion Present bias Anchoring Home country bias

The major topics that will be covered in this course include:Introduction to Forensic Accounting: Gain an understanding of the fundamentals, roles, and responsibilities of forensic accountants in uncovering financial discrepancies, fraud, and economic damages.Maintain Ethical Integrity: Learn the importance of ethics in forensic accounting and strategies for ethical decision-making.Expert Report Preparation: Learn the essential components, best practices, and common pitfalls in writing clear, concise, and objective expert reports for legal proceedings.Investigation Report Writing: Explore the methodologies for conducting investigations, gathering evidence, and crafting thorough and accurate investigation reports.Economic Damages Writing: Understand the methodologies and best practices for calculating economic damages, including lost profits, business valuation, and other financial impacts.Reviewing Investigation Reports and Economic Damages: Analyze real-world examples to review and critique investigation reports and damage calculations, highlighting key insights and lessons learned.

The major topics that will be covered in this course include:NotebookLM fundamentals: notebooks, sources, prompts, and outputsTurning financial PDFs into searchable, conversational knowledge basesAudit and assurance use cases: workpaper synthesis and issue trackingTax and regulatory research: comparing guidance across sourcesCross-referencing: tracing claims back to documents for defensibilityDrafting deliverables: memos, client notes, and executive summariesRisk controls: confidentiality, data handling, and “trust-but-verify” habits

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Excel Tables: Master the use of Excel tables for efficient data management, including sorting, filtering, and structured references, to manage  data more effectively.Custom Sorting: Get to grips with custom sorting options to organize data in a way that best suits your needs, enhancing data readability and analysis.XLOOKUP: Discover the power of XLOOKUP for advanced data retrieval, a game-changer for complex analysis, allowing you to extract specific data from extensive datasets with ease.SUBTOTAL: Gain proficiency in using the SUBTOTAL function, a versatile tool for calculating data in visible cells, ideal for analyses that require dynamic calculations.SUMIF(S): Explore the functionality of SUMIF and SUMIFS functions for conditional summing, crucial for precise budgeting, expense tracking, and financial reporting.Array Formulas: Dive into array formulas to perform multiple calculations on one or more items in an array, enhancing the efficiency of complex accounting computations.Data Validations: Learn to implement data validations to ensure data integrity and prevent errors in financial data entry, a critical skill for maintaining accurate accounting records.Slicers: Learn to use slicers for interactive data segmentation in tables and PivotTables, enabling accountants to quickly filter and analyze specific subsets of financial data.Conditional Formatting: Understand how to apply conditional formatting to highlight critical financial data points, trends, and variances, making data analysis and interpretation more intuitive.PivotTables: An introduction to PivotTables, one of the most powerful Excel features, for summarizing, analyzing, and presenting large sets of financial data in a digestible format.

The major topics covered in this class include:Common applications related to initial recognition and measurement, subsequent measurement or derecognition, presentation, and disclosure of cryptocurrency and other digital assetsFeedback from the AICPA's Digital Assets Working Group intended to assist auditors with opining on these digital records

Additional ongoing requirements of SQMS NO. 1 Monitoring and remediation requirements Identifying, evaluating, and responding to findings and deficiencies The required annual evaluation of the system of quality management Evaluating the performance of those with responsibilities Considerations for firms in a network Sole practitioner and small firm guidance

The 20 common law factors in a worker classification audit that are used to distinguish an employee from an independent contractor How disgruntled independent contractors can use IRS Form 8919 against a former employer When and how to use §530 as a defense in worker classification audits What is "industry practice" for §530 purposes Common sense steps that will avoid the recharacterization of workers treated as independent contractors to employees The IRS’s Voluntary Classification Settlement Program — advantages and disadvantages The DOL Final Rule