CPE Catalog & Events

New features in Excel provide tremendous opportunities to improve Excel-based operational and financial reports. For example, Data Models, Power Query, Data Analysis Expressions, Power Pivot, and many others can help you create more powerful summaries and schedules in less time than ever. Bundle these tools with some of Excel’s “legacy” features, and you have significant new opportunities to improve your Excel-based reporting environments. In this fast-paced seminar, you will learn about the importance of using Power Query to link data into Excel data models and how you can manage these data models to facilitate better and more efficient reporting. Additionally, you will learn how to incorporate Key Performance Indicators, Slicers, and Timelines into your reports to enhance the analytics and understandability of the data. Further, you will learn best practices to quickly and easily format your spreadsheets to give them a polished and professional appearance. This course should be at the top of your professional development list if you use Excel for any reporting process.

FASB ASC 842, *Leases*, standards decoded By learning essential information about lease accounting requirements, you'll understand the core principles of the standards and how to apply them. You'll explore topics, such as: Identification Recognition Measurement Presentation and disclosure requirements Deliberate application of lessee accounting model You'll also learn about classifying leases, the amortization of the right-of-use asset, and the interest on a lease liability. Additional topics include: Short-term leases Purchase options Variable lease payments Sale and leaseback transactions Leveraged leases

Specifically designed for preparation, compilation, and review practitioners, this course will provide you with a comprehensive review and hands-on application for performing financial statement preparation, compilation, and review engagements. You will learn the ins and outs of applying SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, as well as the additional guidance related to SSARS engagements through the issuance of SSARS Nos. 22-26 by the ARSC. In addition to SSARS 26, the entire suite of quality management standards is discussed. However, knowing the standards is not enough. You need to be able to effectively apply them. To support this, the course will review recent peer review feedback on SSARS engagements, providing insights on how to successfully apply this guidance. Not only will this course bring you up to date on SSARS requirements and guidance, but more importantly, it will provide you with practical examples and illustrations to help you effectively and efficiently perform these types of engagements. This course is intended to be your go-to reference for training your staff and managing your SSARS No. 21-26 services in compliance with professional, ethical, and technical requirements.

Most review techniques developed by professionals are self-taught and fine-tuned via experience. Yet how does one start? The purpose of this course is to give both new and seasoned reviewers additional and advanced procedures via a multitude of checklists to thoroughly review various tax returns. Its emphasis is not planning; rather, it is to develop a strategy to properly review a return effectively and thoroughly. The course includes dozens of practice tips for new reviewers and is updated for impacts of newly enacted legislation.

A beginner's guide or a refresher on the essential elements of partnership and LLC taxation.

In this continually revised course, tax advisors will be fully updated on the most recent enacted legislation and IRS guidance, as well as major trends on the horizon with a view toward planning considerations. This update course is designed for all practitioners, both those working in public accounting as well as those in private industry, who need the latest information on tax changes. Please Note: Due to content overlap, it is recommended that this course NOT be taken together with BITU.

This course fills an important need for both financial managers and accountants in the practice of public accounting by offering the tools to help ensure the future success of a business. Practical guidance for the effective use of benchmarking and analytical procedure is also provided. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This Masterclass is a one-hour training to show accountants how they can grow their practice this year through CFO and business advisory services. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

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.

The tools for managing performance and addressing misconduct are not identical. The failure to point this out to leaders has often resulted in the use of the wrong tool. Reinforcing good performance and securing improvements in performance requires skill in coaching employees, making effective requests, and providing effective feedback. This course provides practical knowledge and scripts for setting, communicating, and enforcing performance expectations, such that personal and employer liability is avoided.

Periodic FASB checkups are critical for accountants who deal with financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. This course introduces recent FASB pronouncements and revisits selected existing standards that are likely to be salient for private entities. This session also offers a preview of coming attractions by examining significant elements of the FASB's technical agenda.

Why do some companies fail while others grow and succeed for generations? Common perceptions often attribute organizational success to great leadership, timing, or unique ideas. Although these traits certainly play a role in helping companies grow, research shows that corporate success often hinges on whether a company is value driven. Such companies have core ideologies that drive almost every major decision. In this course, we look at empirical data on why some companies succeed while others fail. By looking at companies that were created prior to 1950 (e.g., Disney, Marriott, or 3M), we can understand why certain organizations have been able to grow and achieve exceptional success through many different eras in the American economy. The lessons learned from these visionary companies can be broadly applied to organizations of all sizes, including accounting and financial service firms.

Many business owner clients wish to minimize their Social Security and self-employment tax liabilities. This course provides tax practitioners with the background to understand what kinds of income constitute self-employment income and earned income. It covers strategies that can be used to reduce clients' exposure to the self-employment tax and Social Security tax.

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.  

Recent new auditing standards are designed to improve overall audit quality. The course will address the most common misapplied audit concepts in planning and performing effective and efficient financial statement audits. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This session is designed as a primer to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) and to discuss how it will impact accountants as they work. The material will briefly explain what AI is and then focus on ways that it is already serving those in the accounting realm. It will close with a look at future AI-centric developments that will have great potential to positively impact the accounting profession. Those wishing to gain an understanding of what artificial intelligence is and how it will be used by accountants should consider attending this session. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Privacy should be everywhere, yet every day seemingly brings a new story about a privacy violation. While it can be frustrating and sometimes scary to think about mishandling our personal information, it’s important to remember that we can take steps to protect our privacy. This session will teach you where your critical threats are and what information you may already have at risk. More importantly, you will learn how to manage and mitigate privacy risks. In an era of increasing connectivity – and by extension, risk – this session should be high on your list to take as soon as possible.

This is the beginning of a series that will cover major aspects of the Controllership function. Controllers are essential to the day-to-day accounting for organizations. Yet, the role is not often readily understood. In today’s world of acronyms such as CFO, CEO, COO, CAO, etc., the Controller function may get lost in the shuffle. However, they are a critical group of professionals who ensure the adequacy and transparency of accounting and financial reporting information. A Controller is an individual who has responsibility for all accounting-related activities including high-level accounting, managerial counting, and finance activities within a company. The duties of a Controller include assisting with the preparation of the operating budgets, overseeing financial reporting, and performing essential duties relating to payroll. However, in today’s evolving world, the Controller function can provide much more in-depth value to their organizations. This series is dedicated to exploring the traditional Controller role and stepping out of the box to identify areas where the Controller can add strategic value to their organizations. In this first course we focus on the typical Controller function and begin to identify ways to elevate the function.  

In forensic accounting, interviewing is used to obtain important information from witnesses and suspects. An important aspect is the ability of investigators to obtain accurate and reliable information from victims, witnesses and the suspects or any interviewee. The interview process is an essential part of information gathering for any investigation. The importance of improving the quality of the interviewing with the potential for visual recording of all interviews should be placed high on the agenda of all organizations across the globe. A properly conducted forensic interview can result in an extreme benefit regarding collection of information. The interviewer’s role is to develop a full understanding of the facts. There is a distinct difference between a forensic interview and a criminal interrogation. Typically, forensic auditors will not be involved in interrogations. The Canadian or U.S. forensic accounting profession does not have a standardized interview model to truly equip its professionals with the interview tools required to elicit confessions ethically. Majority of their skills are developed through experience, and not through a standardized model of training.  This session focuses on various interview concepts and methods.  

We've got you covered! Every year, there are several significant tax developments warranting a deeper dive than allowed in the 8-hour update courses. This session will recap any last-minute changes and address the most common questions that came up during the tour. We'll cover various topics in greater detail, allowing you to be certain of the requirements of various tax forms, their calculations, related compliance and planning matters and expected further guidance. Please join us for a "deeper dive" into specialty and hot topics not covered in detail in the 8-hour courses.