CPE Catalog & Events

Many team members now work remotely, whether by choice or necessity. As a result, questions abound about remote access to desktops and data, security, communications, collaboration, and other considerations in this new normal. When implemented correctly, remote work strategies can be a “win-win” for all involved; however, failed implementations may lead to inefficiencies, security issues, and dissatisfied team members. This session will teach you today’s best practices for working remotely. Specifically, you will learn about various remote access tools, communication and collaboration options, and security best practices. You will also learn about managing and monitoring workflows in remote work environments and tools you can use. After completing this session, you can implement a remote work strategy that yields efficiency, security, and satisfaction to all involved.

Poorly handled conflicts can lead to break downs in communication, reduced morale, and higher turnover. However, when managed well, conflict has the potential to bring value to the organization and the team. Conflict is a costly and often mishandled occurrence in the workplace. Successful conflict resolution occurs by listening to and providing opportunities to meet each side needs, and adequately addressing their interests so that they are each satisfied with the outcome. In this you will learn the different conflict modes, how to choose the appropriate strategy for your situation, and how relationships impact your ability to promote the positive outcomes and minimize the negative outcomes of conflict.

A solid understanding of the laws governing estate and gift taxation is essential for tax professionals handling Forms 706 and 709. This course provides an in-depth analysis of the legal framework surrounding estate and gift taxes, including key regulations, IRS guidance, and court rulings. Participants will explore how estate and gift tax rules interact, learn strategies for minimizing tax liabilities, and gain insight into compliance challenges. The course will also provide a thorough review of any new legislative changes introduced by the current administration and their implications for estate and gift tax planning.  *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

Collaboration is a key to productivity and success. But remote work can make collaboration more challenging, including collaborating on spreadsheets. Fortunately, tools such as portals with check-in/check-out capabilities, version control, comment tracking, and co-authoring can enable online spreadsheet collaboration. Further, Excel’s Inquire tool can facilitate spreadsheet collaboration in offline environments. Don’t let remote work hamper your spreadsheet collaboration needs! Participate in this session to learn how to collaborate on spreadsheets effectively from anywhere using tools you already own or license.

Due to the constant stress of a fast paced life, overwork, and family demands, it’s easy to feel one’s life is out of balance. When this happens, all areas of your life can suffer. By learning key methods for setting priorities and goals, overcoming stress, and deciding what’s most important to you, you can achieve new levels of balance and greater results. Having more balance in your life will allow you to do less of what you don’t want and more of what is truly important to you.

In this course, participants will learn about key trends and innovations impacting the field of forensic data analytics.  From generative AI to ChatGPT, machine learning and transaction review, data sharing consortiums and cryptocurrency trends, this course is for the futurist who wants to be leading edge in compliance and anti-fraud technology innovation. 

Many organizations have a process documented for their employment life cycle but do not look at it wholistically. Having a longer view of the employee life cycle can provide more value to your company that you might think. Join us for an interactive discussion around the entire life cycle of employees with best practices discussed on continuous improvement for your organization. This session will provide an overview of each of the steps in the timeline from multiple perspectives, to provide keen insights on actionable ideas to take back to your workplace and implement today.

This program will explain the new rules for deducting travel, meals and entertainment expenses and the TCJA disallowance of business entertainment expenses.  Documentation requirements and planning opportunities related to travel, entertainment, and automobile expenses will also be addressed.  **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.

In this course, we will share tips and tricks for working remotely.  You will learn what to do/what not to do in a virtual working environment, strategies for leading teams remotely, employee engagement ideas, and techniques and tools for teleworking.

As financial leaders, CPAs are often tasked with managing organizational risk. In this respect, the supplier relationship can be a tricky one. It is often one of the more familiar and comfortable business relationships we have, yet it may also be the one that presents the most significant risk to our company. In this course, we will explore how to manage the supplier relationship from onboarding to termination. Through case studies and best practices, we will discuss how to continue being a good partner to our suppliers while also understanding where potential risks exist. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This course is a continuation of our series on preparing to become a forensic accountant. Within this segment we focus on elements of computer forensics. This session is designed to delve into further investigative procedures used in computer forensics.  

In the ever-evolving landscape of business technology, it is about having the right tools and optimizing for efficiency and cost- effectiveness. K2's Optimizing Your Tech Stack for Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness is designed for professionals seeking to balance functionality with financial prudence. This session delves into strategies for streamlining your technology stack without sacrificing performance. We will guide you through assessing your current tech tools, identifying redundancies, and exploring less expensive yet effective alternatives. You will learn techniques to evaluate the total cost of ownership of tech tools and make informed decisions to avoid overspending. This course is necessary for professionals seeking the most value from their technology investments.

Tax rates, personal liability, operations - these are all factors to be weighed when advising clients about their choice of entity decision. This session provides a comparison of the multiple entity choices to start the discussion with clients and selecting the best tax efficient option for them. *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

Whether your organization is developing a new control framework or seeking to strengthen its current controls, practical development and implementation is critical. This course will review the intersectionality of controls and provide real-world examples and best practices from people to technology and process.  

Collaboration remains one of today's hottest topics. Technology has fueled today's collaboration options, and work-from anywhere environments virtually demand collaboration platforms. In this session, you will learn today's best tools and practices to facilitate more effective collaboration in your organization. In this session, you will learn about today's mainstream collaboration platforms & Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Zoho - and how these options are similar and differ. You will also learn about other collaboration options, including Slack, Zoom, and Webex, and you can incorporate these tools into your collaboration environments. Further, you will learn about some of the best practices and procedures that must be in place to optimize your collaborative environments and experiences.

This one-day course will teach effective skills for coaching and training employees. You'll learn how to identify the characteristics of effective coaches and develop coaching strategies to support and assist your team, with the goal of helping them improve morale, productivity and quality. And, you'll learn a five-step approach for giving constructive criticism while managing defensive reactions.

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini and many others are transforming the digital landscape of virtually every business, including CPA firms. We will demystify the complex world of generative AI in this informative session designed specifically for CPAs. We will break down the nuts and bolts of how generative AI works, making the technical aspects accessible and relevant. Equip yourself with the foundational knowledge to leverage AI in your practice or business. You will learn multiple examples of how you can apply generative AI tools in accounting, finance and tax to boost your team's productivity and improve the quality of your work product. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The majority of peer review deficiencies and malpractice claims result from nonaudit services. This course will provide best practices for avoiding legal liability and quality control concerns.

This program provides an update on the latest tax developments, rules and regulations impacting individual and business taxpayers, including a review and integration of the most recent legislation. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The focus of this course is reducing the overall risk of fraud. To that end, instruction will cover the factors that play a role in turning honest employees into fraudsters. Discussion will touch on integrity and ethics, as well as how the reactions of people in certain situations may impact the prevalence of fraud.