CPE Catalog & Events

The taxation of real estate is tricky. Taxpayers can own real estate in a number of different ways, including direct and indirect investments. There are numerous exceptions to being classified as a rental activity. How do you know if someone is a real estate professional? In this course, we will explore all these issues and many more. Through real-world examples and discussion, this course will delve into exceptions to rental status, qualifications for material participation, and requirements for active status. Additionally, we will cover the QBI and Section 1237 safe harbors and touch on some planning ideas related to depreciation recapture.

In this course, we will discuss what derailer habits keep you from achieving your fullest potential and deserving place.

The course provides a concise overview of how to use ChatGPT to more effectively and efficiently research IRS taxation law. It delves into techniques for extracting precise information from complex tax legislation, interpreting IRS guidelines with AI assistance, and utilizing ChatGPT's advanced language models for nuanced legal analysis. Participants will learn how to streamline their research process, identify relevant tax law precedents, and apply AI insights to real-world tax scenarios, enhancing their professional proficiency in navigating the intricate world of IRS taxation. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Forensic accounting encompasses fraud investigation and prevention, as well as a wide variety of functions in litigation. Forensic accountants provide services ranging from serving as an expert witness, to litigation consultant and bankruptcy trustee. As our economy grows more complex, the need for forensic accountants grows as well. One critical role of the forensic accountant is exposing and examining financial fraud. Technology expands the way companies conduct business; however, technology also provides greater opportunities for those willing to commit fraud. Forensic accountants rely on their skills in accounting, coupled with their investigative skills, to explain to clients, courts, and jurors how fraudulent schemes occur and the effect caused by fraud. Forensic accountants also provide expert opinions in calculating damages in litigation and administering bankruptcy estates, as well as a host of other services.

Just about every company, no matter its size or the types of activities it undertakes, is at greater risk because of all the types of fraud that can be be carried out electronically. Potential perpetrators can be operating internally or externally and the scope of the damage that occurs is almost never limited to cyber-assets. While threat awareness is improving, there are still too many owners or top level executives that underestimate the scale of the issue. In this session, we delve into the types and the nature of many electronic defalcation schemes. The material then explores measures that organizations can implement to help stop these activities and add additional layers of security. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

In the world of work today, nothing is more critical than Culture.  If people are your competitive advantage, then culture is the best way to help your people realize a great destination. While many leaders and companies talk a lot about culture, few take the time to really plan, build, and invest in a great culture. Today, the world of work could not be more challenging, and the changes that we are seeing in the workforce, such as the rise of remote workers and increasing turnover, are adding to the complexity. Now more than ever, Culture must become your competitive advantage. In this course, you will learn about the key macro changes in the workforce and what some leading companies and leaders are doing to create amazing cultures and high-performing organizations. From LinkedIn to Patagonia to Eventbrite, you will learn from some top organizations ow they have successfully leveraged culture. You will learn what Culture is and can be, and you will learn what culture is not. As you set sail in 2024 and beyond as a leader, you will benefit from this class and learn how to make culture your competitive advantage. Your teacher for the class is Steve Cadigan, whom many credit for being the architect of LinkedIn's world-class and groundbreaking culture. 

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.

Understanding how to effectively audit prepaid expenses is a key skill for audit staff. This course provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals, including the applicable audit assertions and common risks and threats associated with the prepaid expense balance. Participants will learn how to perform substantive auditing procedures to ensure accuracy and reliability, with guidance on applying these techniques to real-world scenarios. Designed to enhance practical knowledge, this session equips auditors with the tools and confidence needed to navigate prepaid expense audits with proficiency.

As the managers' role continue to evolve, it is crucial for us to understand the strategic aspects of managing a diverse workforce, beginning with understanding the big trends in employee demographics. We begin with a rhetorical question - asking if employees are assets? GAAP tells us they are not, so discussion will revolve around whether this treatment delivers an unhealthy bias on our view of the people in our organization. What do the most successful organizations believe and why? If you have an opinion as to whether employees are an asset or not, this is a fun session intended to be interactive with participation either live, virtual or both.

Mergers, acquisitions and alliances have been and continue to be major avenues to organizational growth and increased competitive advantage. Despite the great initial promise of many mergers and alliances, few seem to yield the anticipated results. Numerous studies indicate that between 55% and 77% of mergers fail to accomplish their intended purpose. This course helps financial professionals, and their advisors identify, execute, and consummate mergers and acquisitions that create shareholder value while avoiding the many traps that can cause post-acquisition failure.

This comprehensive course delves into the intricate world of executive compensation, focusing on the taxation and reporting procedures for various types of compensation arrangements. Participants will gain a deep understanding of the key differences between incentive stock options (ISOs) and nonqualified stock options (NQSOs), as well as the tax treatment and reporting requirements for restricted stock awards, stock appreciation rights (SARs), phantom stock plans, and employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs). The course will also cover the accurate analysis of tax forms and schedules used for reporting executive compensation, common tax reporting errors to avoid, and strategies for handling extensions, estimated taxes, and increased IRS scrutiny.

Accounting and finance managers and executives must demonstrate sound technical and analytical necessary for personal growth and organizational success. This course will provide insights into the most critical technical and analytical skills needed by CFOs and Controllers - or those that want to be!

Stop struggling with PDFs! Adobe Acrobat and other PDF tools provide access to features that make working with PDF files a breeze. In this course, you will learn how to use tools and features such as PDF forms, redaction, converting PDFs to Word and Excel files, and electronic signatures. You will also learn how to create and apply tick marks, build indices, catalogs, and portfolios, and secure PDF documents to their fullest. The popularity and usefulness of PDFs increase daily, but most PDF users have not learned how to manipulate PDF documents effectively. Accordingly, they struggle and strain with these standard files. You do not need to let this be the case. Join us in this very timely session where you will learn the top features necessary to optimize your work with PDF documents.

The GASB has been working on some big projects lately. This course starts with a look at the GASB standards effective this year, including GASB 94, Public Private Partnerships and GASB 96, Subscription Based IT Arrangements. We will include practical applications in the form of case studies to apply the topics. We will then switch gears to the GASB standards coming down the pike, including the major projects of the GASB.

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.

This program presents a detailed analysis of the self-rental passive activity rules, including forms reporting examples and integrates them with the flow-through entity rules related to self-rental.  *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

Financial statement disclosures are important to provide the information necessary for financial statement users to make economic decisions. Disclosures further explain and clarify information provided in the basic financial statements, but also provide critical information about subsequent events, litigation risk, and other concerns. This course focuses on the most common financial statement disclosures for small- or medium-sized nonpublic entities. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The difference between star performers and average ones in leadership roles is attributable largely to emotional intelligence (EQ). It’s surprising, then, that EQ is underrated as an essential ingredient for success in life and leadership. This presentation highlights the importance of EQ and provides participants with actionable tools to develop better relationships within and outside of the workplace, build healthy teams, and navigate constant change.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and SECURE Act 2.0 both contained tax law changes that impact many individuals in 2025 and in later years. This program covers many of these changes as well as other tax topics that continue to impact individual income taxpayers.

The new field of Positive Psychology offers many methods and ideas for helping people be happier, healthier, and better at what they do.  Nowadays, the ability to be at your best and get clients to enjoy working with you is critical to growing your business or getting ahead.   Studies show that happy people make $750,000 more over the course of their life than unhappy people, have half the number of sick days, and live 9 years longer.  In this fun and fascinating seminar, you’ll learn how to not only be happier, but help your clients be happier in working with you.