CPE Catalog & Events

At the end of this module, participants will be able to ensure adherence to compliance and legal obligations concerning employee ownership, navigate the documentation and regulatory filings specific to different employee ownership forms, and establish mechanisms for maintaining ongoing legal compliance in employee-owned businesses.

At the end of this module, participants will be able to create a comprehensive implementation plan for employee ownership, incorporating strategies for investing in education and fostering a supportive organizational culture, effectively communicating the transition process to employees and stakeholders, and providing continuous support and guidance to businesses operating under employee ownership.

"Just the facts ma'am; just the estate planning facts." Designed to give a quick overview of estate planning essentials, this course surveys wills, living trusts, gifts, marital property, and probate avoidance. Will and trust types are examined in the context of general estate and gift taxation. Designed to eliminate estate problems and death taxes, the emphasis is on practical solutions that are cost effective. Talk about having it all in an overview course - there is even a quick review of immediate postmortem death tax planning and filling out Form 706.

This foundational course provides essential strategies and tactics for CPAs and financial professionals serving as expert witnesses in depositions. Led by Brian Peter Brinig, JD, CPA/ABV, ASA - an experienced forensic expert with over 600 depositions and 300 trial appearances - the course outlines the expert's ethical and professional responsibilities, the civil discovery process, and the critical role of depositions in litigation. You'll learn the difference between percipient and expert witnesses, understand the legal framework of opinion evidence, and gain actionable guidance on preparing for and performing effectively in depositions. Key content includes the "Ten Commandments for Expert Testimony," strategic insights into the adversarial nature of litigation, and how to avoid common pitfalls that can undermine credibility. By the end of the course, You'll be equipped with the tools to protect your professional opinions, remain composed under pressure, and navigate depositions with integrity and precision.

We are all getting older and the need for effective retirement planning has never been greater. If your wish to attain a comfortable retirement for yourself and your clients by maximizing tax saving strategies, this course is essential. Retirement income needs are calculated, net after tax social security benefits are determined, and distribution options from IRAs and retirement plans are explored. Topics covered include life insurance, annuities, and buy-sell agreements as well as estate and eldercare planning. Special consideration is given to the tax treatment of the home and business on retirement.

This intensive two-hour course addresses the critical need for accuracy and efficiency when developing spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel. Recognizing that even minor errors can have significant implications, this course delves deep into strategies and skills required to detect and correct errors in Excel. By the end of this course, participants will have a comprehensive understanding of how to efficiently identify and correct errors in Excel spreadsheets, enhancing their overall productivity and accuracy in their professional roles.

To excel as a tax practitioner in an increasingly global marketplace, you must familiarize yourself with the preparation of tax forms for clients conducting foreign transactions or with assets in international accounts. Gain a thorough understanding of foreign information return reporting requirements and valuable techniques to determine whether or not your clients may encounter foreign income tax problems. Attain a working knowledge of IRS and Department of Treasury foreign information returns to represent clients and comply with Circular 230 effectively. All essential concepts will be discussed in light of the resurrected IRS foreign voluntary disclosure program, which reduces the foreign information return burden.

Unleash Your Inner Fraud Fighter with the Fraud Scheme Hunt! Become a crack fraud investigator with Red Flag Mania's Fraud Scheme Hunt , an immersive self-study program designed for professionals like you. Sharpen your investigative instincts as you hunt down perpetrators and unravel the mysteries behind cunning fraud schemes. This program will take you on a thrilling evidential trail, where You'll learn to: Classify fraud schemes like a pro: Develop a keen eye for identifying different types of fraud, so you can spot them before they strike. Unmask fraudulent disbursements: Trace the ill-gotten gains and understand how fraudsters steal your hard-earned money. Master the art of bank reconciliations: Ensure your financial records are squeaky clean and identify discrepancies that could signal fraud. Produced by the learning experts at Red Flag Mania, this program is your one-stop shop for mastering ethical decisions, fraud detection and prevention.Don't wait for fraud to strike - equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to become a fraud-fighting champion! This course is produced by Red Flag Mania. Want the full experience? Purchase the When We Prey Bundle.

Every CPA firm needs a succession plan - whether that means selling your practice, merging, or simply having a clear exit strategy to protect client relationships and ensure a smooth handoff of firm operations. Succession isn't just a future concern?it'sa business essential. Join us for a focused webinar designed specifically for CPAs looking to prepare their practice for transition. Whether you're years away or actively planning your exit, this session will give you the insights and tools to move forward with confidence.We'll walk through current market trends and firm valuation strategies so you can understand what your practice is really worth. You'll learn what buyers are looking for - including how private equity is shaping the landscape - and what you need to do now to make your firm more attractive.We'll also explore tax implications, seller financing options, and the financial documentation that can make or break a deal. Beyond the numbers,We'll cover common pitfalls to avoid, key elements of business continuity planning, and how staffing decisions impact your succession timeline. This session is built to help you protect the legacy you've worked so hard to build - and position your firm for a smart, seamless next chapter.

Tax practice demands more than technical calculations; it requires sound judgment under Circular 230, the AICPA Code, and the 2024 SSTS revisions. This course shows how to recognize and manage conflicts of interest (possible, potential, actual), obtain and document informed consents, and decide when withdrawal is required. You'll learn what to do when client errors or omissions surface, how SSTS 1.2 and Circular 230 10.21/10.22 shape your duties, and how to protect clients (and yourself) with engagement letters, scope clarity, and careful documentation.We'll translate due-diligence principles into daily practice; what you may rely on, when to probe, how to mitigate 6694 exposure, and how to organize files to preserve work product. The program also covers controversy representation (2848 vs 8821), WISP/data-security expectations, and practical checklists that elevate quality review and reduce malpractice risk.

Your health is one of your most valuable assets, and the decisions you make around it can shape both your financial future and quality of life. This course breaks down the key options for medical coverage, from workplace plans to government exchanges and health savings accounts. You'll gain a clearer view of how to protect your clients - and yourself - from financially devastating health events by analyzing the personal, tax, and financial factors that matter most.

Firms often ask supervisors to appraise subordinates' potential to succeed in higher-level positions. These appraisals can take place within social and organizational contexts that emphasize improving the experiences of females in male-dominated settings. Using this context, we experimentally examine whether supervisors differentially interpret and use the same accounting information when appraising the potential of subordinates of different genders. We draw on attribution theory and research suggesting that a diversity emphasis sends two conflicting signals; females are less able than males, but more valuable from a diversity standpoint. We find that supervisors' beliefs about subordinates' abilities in their current positions are lower for female than male subordinates. While prior research suggests this should result in supervisors appraising female subordinates' potential as lower than males', we find the opposite. Our results suggest that firm efforts to improve the workplace experiences of females may do little to mitigate underlying gender stereotypes.

Selling doesn't have to feel like selling. This on-demand course breaks down a 10-step sales system designed specifically for CPAs who want to grow their firms while staying energized about their work. You'll learn how to attract the right clients, deliver real value, and build a practice that feels less like a grind and more like a calling. From refining your niche to mastering consultative conversations and asking for referrals with confidence, this session walks you through a client-focused process that builds trust, drives growth, and transforms your role from CPA to CEO. You'll learn how to: Build a client-attracting funnel that works while you work Craft content and landing pages that actually convert Communicate with purpose and consistency Deliver standout service that keeps clients coming back Grow your mindset - and your business - with intention Ideal for CPAs ready to take control of their growth strategy - without ever feeling like a salesperson. This session was recorded on April 17, 2025 for CalCPA'sPractice Management Bootcamp conference.

In June 2022, the AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) introduced three interrelated standards on quality management, collectively known as the QM standards. These standards signify a pivotal shift for CPA firms, transitioning from a policies-based approach to a more dynamic risk-based approach to audit and attestation quality. Every firm engaged in SASs, SSARSs, and SSAEs will be impacted by these changes, which must be implemented by December 15, 2025. This course will explore the key changes introduced by the new standards, including a tailored risk assessment process, revised components of the quality management system, enhanced leadership and governance requirements, and new obligations for networks and service providers. By the end of this course, you will be equipped to navigate these changes effectively and ensure compliance with the new standards.

In today's data-driven world, spreadsheets serve as the backbone of business and personal productivity. However, creating complex and error-prone spreadsheets can lead to critical mistakes and inefficiencies. This course aims to equip you with the knowledge and tools to build robust spreadsheets, implementing a range of controls and safeguards to ensure data integrity, streamline processes, and maximize accuracy.

Internal Control is designed to provide reasonable assurance to achieve the entity's objectives related to financial reporting, effectiveness and efficiency of operations and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. It safeguards assets against unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition and may include controls relating to financial reporting and operating objectives. Auditors should understand internal control relevant to the audit and the application of professional judgment. Most audit-related controls relate to financial reporting. However, not all controls related to financial reporting are appropriate for audits. Therefore, the auditor should evaluate the design of controls and determine whether they have been implemented by performing procedures and the inquiry of the entity's personnel.

With recent high-profile cybersecurity breaches and increased practitioner and regulatory attention, organizations are under pressure to consider the accounting implications of these attacks and develop appropriate responses. Specifically, cybersecurity events may affect organizations; operations, financial and non-financial performance, and ultimately its stakeholders. To address how cybersecurity issues may affect accounting, this paper presents an Event, Impact, Response Framework to discuss current research and consider implications for both practitioners and researchers. The Framework highlights how practitioners may rely on research findings to better assess cybersecurity threats, understand their impact, and develop response strategies. Results encourage additional research examining how (1) organizations identify cybersecurity threats, incidents, and breaches, (2) cybersecurity affects different risks, and (3) management responses to cybersecurity risks and events. The Framework also suggests the need for cybersecurity research to extend beyond the Accounting Information Systems (AIS) community to areas such as financial accounting, managerial accounting, and auditing.

The offshoring of external audit work to so-called low-cost countries is prevalent among the Big 4 professional services firms. Despite this, our understanding of how this form of offshoring influences audit practitioners and the audit process is limited. This course examines how and why offshoring emerged as an organizational matter that changed the way audit work is organized in a Big 4 firm context. Study findings demonstrate how changes in the design of offshoring processes influence interactions between onshore and offshore auditors.We'll: Uncover how individual "boundary spanners" struggle to coordinate audit work across the multiple boundaries that separate onshore and offshore auditors. Show how the institutionalization of "boundary spanning" functions in organizational structures and processes can have the unintended consequence of widening the boundaries between onshore and offshore auditors. Offer evidence of the effect of offshoring on the learning process of onshore and offshore auditors.

Most accounting studies use only public enforcement actions (SEC cases) to measure accounting fraud. However, private cases (securities class actions) also play an important enforcement role. We discuss the legal standards and processes for both public and private enforcement regimes, emphasize the importance of screening cases for credible fraud allegations, and show both yield credible fraud measures.We'll also demonstrate these research design choices affect inferences from prior research and a hypothetical research setting. Finally, we show common measures of accounting irregularities using Audit Analytics to proxy for fraud result in significant false positives and negatives and develop a fraud prediction model for use in future research. We recommend using both public and private enforcement with appropriate screening when examining accounting fraud to reduce Type I and II errors, or reporting the sensitivity of findings across regimes. This is particularly important given the reduction in accounting-related enforcement after 2005.

The construction industry faces unique challenges when adapting to changes in tax laws. This session will explore recent federal and California tax developments, including the Inflation Reduction Act'sgreen construction incentives, bonus depreciation updates, and key changes affecting the Qualified Business Income Deduction (Section 199A).We'll also examine strategies for tax credit maximization and proactive tax planning tailored to the commercial construction sector. This session was recorded on March 25, 2025 for CalCPA'sConstruction Management Conference.