CPE Catalog & Events

We will begin with a "What would you do?" quiz with five challenging scenarios. You'll be asked to choose among several options in each situation (don't worry, we won't collect the results).Next we'll do a deep dive into the five principles of ethical intelligence:Do No HarmMake Things BetterRespect Others (by keeping confidences, telling the truth, and keeping your promises)Be FairCareComplete a few fun writing exercises (optional) during the webinar. After which, Bruce shows how the principles of ethical intelligence reveal which option in each scenario is best.We'll conclude with a Call to Action so that some of the lessons from this webinar can be put into practice immediately. Even doing one of the things Bruce suggests will enrich your accounting practice and your life.

FASB ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers All recently released updates to FASB ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers

Automatic enrollment requirements for 401(k) plans Change in the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs $2,000 saver’s match Changes in pooled employer plans Multiple employer 403(b) plans Increase in age for required beginning date for mandatory distributions Indexing IRA catch-up limit Higher catch-up limit to apply at age 60, 61, 62, and 63 Treatment of student loan payments as elective deferrals for purposes of matching contributions Application of credit for small employer pension startup costs to employers who join an existing plan Small immediate financial incentives for contributing to a plan Withdrawals for certain emergency expenses Starter 401(k) plans for employers with no retirement plans Improving coverage for part-time workers Recovery of retirement plan overpayments Tax treatment of IRAs involved in a prohibited transaction Clarification of substantially equal periodic payment rule

Technology and workstation arrangements Maximizing productivity Establishing procedures that can be implemented throughout the organization Understanding the relationship between remote work and employee retention Effective communication strategies for staying connected with colleagues and clients The productivity challenges unique to working from home Time management The importance of distinguishing between the “home office” and “home” Data privacy concerns Other ethical considerations that arise when working from home

Understanding Fraud Psychology and Motivation of Fraudsters Detection and Prevention Strategies Real World Case Studies Effective Fraud Management

Overall landscape of the construction industry GAAP and recent changes affecting the construction industry The new Revenue Recognition Standard and its impact on the construction industry The unique relationship between the contractor and the surety The new lease FASB ASC and its impact on the construction industry

Major topics covered in this course include:Introduction to ChatGPT and artificial intelligence chatbot technologiesAutomating frequently asked questions and the onboarding processVerifying and reviewing financial recordsProviding real-time support to clientsGenerating financial reportsAutomating tax return preparation and financial planningProviding guidance on financial decision making

A taxonomy of accounting: tax, financial, managerial A spectrum of direct and indirect absorption costing Fact-based Data with Activity Based Costing (ABC ) Why do we need advanced management accounting techniques, such as ABC? How the ABC cost assignment network structure connects costs to products and sales channels Learn to use ABC to manage product, service-line, channel, and customer profitability Understand two views of costs: (1) process view versus (2) product view Comparing ABC with time-driven ABC, resource consumption accounting (RCA), lean accounting, and other costing techniques Operational Costing to Optimize Process Costs - How driver-based budgets and rolling financial forecasts lead to productivity improvement and cost reduction Applying “Attributes” to assess ”value-added costs” and “costs of quality (COQ)” The Shift in ROI’s Source from Tangible to Intangible Assets Increasing the ROI from information – with Corporate Performance Management (CPM) as a Value-Multiplier Accelerating the Rate of Adoption for Implementing and CPM Understand the barriers that slow the adoption rate of CPM: technical, misperceptions, model design, and social / cultural How to overcome behavioral resistance to change

The major topics covered in this course include:Overview of a risk-based audit processHow the individual elements of the audit risk formula interrelateEmphasis on overall risk, fraud risk, and control riskLinking the assessed risk of material misstatement to the detailed audit planDocumenting risk assessment conclusions and responses

Business Management Organization

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Introduction to Power Query in Power BI: Understanding the interface and basic functionalities.Data Cleaning Techniques: Removing duplicates, handling null values, and data type conversions.Data Transformation: Advanced methods for manipulating data, including pivoting, merging, and appending queries.Data Loading: Efficiently loading data into the Power BI data model.Document the Process Steps: Setting up details for each step in the process so you can document what is happening and why.

What is the significance of the Retirement Plan Beneficiary? Primary vs. Contingent Beneficiaries Is a Trust a "Designated Beneficiary?" Is it an "Eligible Designated Beneficiary?" Why do people want to name a trust as the beneficiary? What happens when the trust beneficiary dies?

Ethics defined Are there business ethics? How to identify ethical issues Deciphering your ethical code Why ethical behavior is good for your business How to make ethical decisions

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Overview of the key Teams appsEverything there is to know about composing messages in TeamsUsing Teams to manage files, email messages and other contentBest practices for structuring your teams and channelsHow to use "private" channelsHow to use Teams as your primary phone systemManaging your Teams settingsEstablishing links to other Microsoft 365 applicationsHosting a Teams meeting from A to Z

Business Management Organization

The major topics covered in this course include:Lightning round review of the following apps, with an explanation and demonstration of what each of them offersTeams - the foundation of all that you do in Microsoft 365SharePoint / OneDrive - secure cloud storagePower BI - the new financial reporting modelStream - the YouTube for your organizationBookings - streamline your appointment scheduling OneNote - get your content organized for quick retrieval Lists - create custom list tracking reportsTo Do - consolidate all your Outlook, Planner and general "to do's" in one appPlanner - manage simple and complex engagements and projects in an intuitive appA quick look at many of the remaining apps

The major topics covered in this class include:An analytical framework for analyzing and opining on reasonable replacement compensation for owner-employees of closely held businesses and professional practices in the context of tax planning, compliance, management consulting and business appraisal assignmentsExecutive compensation components, including the valuation of non-qualified plans and restricted stock units

Risk management Anticipatory leadership Leadership roles in risk management

The major topics covered in this course include:Overview of the Planner app features and functionalityStep-by-step review and demonstration of how to deploy Planner in your practiceCreating a plan from scratch or use a templateCreating tasks with checklistsAssigning tasksScheduling tasksSetup recurring tasksAttach files to a taskMaintain a task activity journalManage task views with buckets and tagsIntegrate plan schedules with your Outlook calendar.Detailed review of plan / task progress reporting featuresUsing plan templates for recurring engagements

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