CPE Catalog & Events

Many partnerships and S corporations are now required to complete the voluminous Schedules K-2 and K-3 to report foreign-related tax information. Updated for the 2024 tax year, this course is an essential guide for tax preparers on how to identify which entities need to complete these schedules and how to identify which parts are applicable to a given taxpayer. The filing requirements are broad and often not very intuitive, catching many practitioners unaware that more schedules and parts are applicable to more taxpayers than anticipated. This course includes a deep dive into the domestic filing exception, a discussion of filing requirements of each part of Schedule K-2, and numerous examples of common taxpayer scenarios. Please note: Surgent also offers a companion course, "Schedules K-2 and K-3: Preparation of Forms" (KPF2).

Even though they have been around for several years, the tax laws pertaining to S corporations remain some of the more difficult areas of the Internal Revenue Code. In this course, we will examine how S corporations break away from the normal tax rules for flow-through entities. We will explore which employee benefits are disallowed for S corporation shareholders, as well as which taxes are assessed at the entity level. Finally, we will discuss how state level taxation may have changed permanently with the addition of PTE elections.

With the AICPA's heightened focus on enhancing audit quality, increased oversight of the peer review process and the auditor's overall responsibility to provide high quality services, the focus on compliance with professional standards has never been greater. Add to that the requirement to implement the revised risk assessment standards (SAS 145) and it's easy to see why it's more important than ever to ensure that auditors have a good understanding of the requirements and comply with documentation standards. Recent peer reviews have indicated that auditors are often failing to perform and/or document certain critical components of an audit such as the auditor's assessment of risk and linking the results of the assessment to substantive procedures performed. In addition, auditors are not adequately documenting their consideration of fraud, expectations in analytical procedures and the appropriate level of work needed to understand an entity's internal control. The AICPA issued its Quality Management Standards in 2022. Firms are required to implement the standards by December 15, 2025. And the firm's evaluation of the System of Quality Management is required within one year after that. This is not just a matter of tweaking the firm's existing QM document, the standard requires a risk assessment process to identify risk. The objective of the course is to provide the insights necessary to help auditors and accountants improve not just the quality of their work but also the perception of the accounting profession as a whole. We will focus on the most significant items resulting in deficiencies identified in the peer review process. We will also discuss the applicable audit standards, documentation requirements, and best practices. We will address the new QM standards.

An audit is an investment in reliable financial reporting and compliance, and an increased return on those dollars can be achieved by hiring the right auditors. This course will provide key factors for you to consider when evaluating whether you are getting the most quality and insight from your auditors, to enable them to perform the most value-added audit possible in the given circumstances - while retaining the trust of a CPA. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Modern data governance requires a holistic approach across finance, risk, IT and other departments. Although it can seem daunting, the right methodology and a value-focused approach can break it into manageable phases that deliver ROI at every step. This webcast is a rebroadcast from the 2024 AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE conference.

This is a two-part series that discuss new trends and concepts the financial controller should begin to execute in order to truly become a valued member of the senior leadership team. The rapid pace of the evolving technological landscape has promoted changes in how accountants and financial professionals focus attention on strategy and modernize their roles to leverage digital technology. There is increased demand for enhancing flexibility into finance cycles and initiating real-time reporting and insights. These are the core attributes that will assist in transforming the work that controllership function performs. Is the financial controllership prepared to meet future business demands? The IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) and Deloitte’s Center for Controllership aimed to better understand the current state of controllership and expectations of future demands for controllers and accounting professionals. They conducted a survey in late 2022 and identified several trends. The survey takes a look at how prepared controllership is to meet future business demands. It also highlights some insights for leaders to consider that may increase their preparedness. It also identified areas of additional insight and questions to answer on the controllership transformation journey. In this segment one, we go through numerous concepts in detail and the remaining concepts will be covered in segment two.

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.

The new Global Internal Audit Standards were released on January 9, 2024, and will become effective January 9, 2025. The previous version, the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, released in 2017, remains approved for use during a one-year transition period. The Global Internal Audit Standards guide the worldwide professional practice of internal audit. They serve as a basis for evaluating and elevating the quality of the internal audit function. The Standards use 15 guiding principles with five separate domains that enable effective internal audit implementation and examples of evidence of conformance. The Global Standards are organized into five domains. Domain I: Purpose of Internal Auditing Domain II: Ethics and Professionalism Domain III: Governing the Internal Audit Function Domain IV: Managing the Internal Audit Function Domain V: Performing Internal Audit Service

Please join us for a discussion on like-kind exchanges (LKE), known as one of the last great tax legal “shelters” available to those buying and selling real property.  We will be covering the basic structure of a LKE, and ways a taxpayer can utilize qualified third party intermediaries (QI), tenancy-in-common structures including Delaware Statutory Trusts (DST).   We will also explore creative solutions to sticky situations a taxpayer may find itself in obtaining replacement property. **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  

Stay ahead in the evolving landscape of employee benefit plan (EBP) audits with this essential 2025 update. This course covers key regulatory changes, including the SECURE 2.0 Act, newly effective accounting and auditing standards (SAS 145 and Quality Management Standards), and insights from the Department of Labor's latest findings on audit quality. We'll also dive into emerging hot topics shaping the EBP audit environment, equipping you with the knowledge to enhance compliance, mitigate risks, and deliver exceptional audit quality. Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to EBP audits, this session will provide actionable insights to keep you confident and prepared.

An advanced guide to prompting techniques that maximize AI efficiency and precision in everyday business research, operational due diligence and accounting tasks. Designed for accountants with no prior AI knowledge, the session explores how simple language and strategic prompting can unlock powerful, layered responses from large language models (LLMs). Participants will learn to overcome the "lazy" defaults of AI, using specific techniques to enhance detail, accuracy, and contextual understanding in their queries. By understanding prompt engineering's role, attendees will discover how to guide AI to provide practical, relevant, and analytical insights suited to complex financial scenarios, without needing extensive technical expertise. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

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! 

Realistic Excel training for skill development Shifting from manual inputs to automated formulas in Excel can help enhance data efficiency. Understanding that Excel can handle date and text values broadens the potential to improve efficiency when managing data in Excel. This webcast will focus on the following essential functions: EOMONTH MONTH and YEAR DATE CONCAT SUMIFS with CONCAT Practical hands-on Excel learning exercises taught by a highly engaging expert In this webcast, you'll develop your skills and implement Excel techniques that will boost the effectiveness of conditional summing functions using comparison operators. Additionally, you'll gain in-depth knowledge of the following: Adding helper columns Distinguishing key function differences Combining values *Session 7 is one of eight sessions that is available as an individual session. Each session builds on the prior sessions, so you'll want to consider watching [Session 8: Dynamic headers, mapping tables and error check] (https://www.aicpa-cima.com/cpe-learning/webcast/excel-for-accounting-professionals-session-8--dynamic-headers-mapping-tables-and-error-check) to further prepare to tackle real-world issues and build powerful workbooks.*

This 8-hour program covers recent promulgations of the FASB and AICPA. In addition to the latest ASU, SAS and Ethics interpretations, the course includes the 2-hour SSARS Highlight Reel and 2-hour SQMS programs available as stand-alone courses.

Gain hands-on knowledge while focusing on the trust administration process on the death of the single settlor and the first spouse in a joint settlor trust. In today's estate tax environment, with a change of the exemption in 2026, the answers to core questions concerning whether to file an estate tax return, make a portability election or make a QTIP election may surprise you. Learn what clauses to look for in the trust; when and how to make portability and QTIP elections; when to use the "Delaware Tax Trap" in place of QTIP election; how to educate the client concerning trust administration; and how to deal with assets outside the trust. Using checklists and forms, understand how to create a practical system for administering the living trust after death.

Clients believe that estate planning is only for the wealthy who will owe Federal estate tax. This isn't the case. Perhaps as a result of the 2020 pandemic, estate planning has a renewed focus. All practitioners should be familiar with the vernacular, acronyms and techniques. Estate planning involves personal issues that affect everyone, whether or not the estate tax will apply. Learn strategies to pass assets to future generations; provide education benefits; distribute retirement benefits, and provide a charitable legacy.

This two-day training course provides a comprehensive understanding of the Federal income tax laws applicable to partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and their owners. The cornerstone of this course is the integration of the most recent tax laws and theories into real-world case scenarios that teach the preparation and review of IRS tax forms and schedules. Attendees will receive a comprehensive partnership/LLC income tax reference manual that includes practice aids, real-world examples, new Federal income tax forms and schedules, and Pat Garverick's Quick Reference Chart.

The AICPA has identified risk assessment as an area of focus for its Enhancing Audit Quality Initiative as deficiencies in auditor's risk assessment procedures continue to be a common issue identified in peer review. SAS No. 145, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, was written to improve the quality of risk-based audits. While key concepts do not fundamentally change, the standard works to clarify and enhance certain aspects of the identification and assessment of the risks of material misstatement to drive better risk assessments and hopefully overall enhance audit quality. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

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. 

Procurement is a critical component of successful government operations. While there are challenges in public procurement, there are a number of guidelines and requirements that will help lead you to success. This course will offer guidance on how governments can meet complicated procurement needs and develop best practices that protect public and Federal funds.