CPE Catalog & Events

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.

Financial forecasting is an important part of any successful business. It enables businesses to plan for the future and anticipate scenarios based on strategy. The controller helps forecast financials by calculating future revenue and income streams. In recent years, corporate finance has undergone many dramatic changes due to the growth of a number of high-tech tools. The responsibilities/competencies of the Financial Controller position (FC) has changed in recent years To maximize performance, Controllers must be aware of how the FC position is changing, and how they must adjust to these changes. There are many types and methods of financial forecasting. This course will review the most prevalent forecasts and relative methods being used.

Microsoft Office Excel is one of the most widely used applications by accounting and financial professionals. Yet, many remain unaware of new and improved features in Excel and, therefore, fail to reach the level of productivity and accuracy they desire. Further, with new features appearing in Excel provided through Microsoft 365 subscriptions and Excel 2024, it is more important now than ever to get up-to-speed on the world’s most popular spreadsheet! Make plans now to elevate your Excel skills by participating in this session. You will learn about the newer features available to improve efficiency and accuracy in it. You will also learn about the importance of numerous legacy features in Excel and how you can – and should – continue to use these tools to improve productivity.

External auditors understand concepts like materiality, reasonableness, and risk of material misstatement.  This course will explain how to think like an auditor when preparing and fairly presenting your financial statements and related disclosures.

Where is your data? Do you have it controlled and backed up? If all your data is in the Cloud, how do you verify that the backup recovery is rapid? If your data is in various silos from your application providers, how do you ensure you have the protection and disposal approaches needed? This session will help you understand and guide your IT team and providers to take the right actions to protect your business. Backup considerations, including Cloud, backup appliance, disaster recovery, and business continuity approaches, are included. If you are from the "trust but verify" school of thought, this session will help you ask the right questions.

This two-hour course provides a comprehensive overview of the IRS collection process, guiding tax professionals through each stage, from the initial notice to enforced collection actions. Participants will gain insights into taxpayer expectations during the collection process, as well as strategies for resolving tax debts. The course highlights when to use Form 433-A or 433-B, the documentation needed, and the criteria for submitting an Offer in Compromise (OIC) to settle tax debts for less than the full amount owed. Attendees will also learn about the various payment options available and practical approaches to advising clients. *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

Essential techniques for displaying data in alternative ways You'll work alongside an expert instructor as you practice using PivotTables and exploring creative alternatives for insightful data presentation. You'll learn techniques for effective data presentation, including: Filtering and sorting data Cleaning and organizing data through text manipulation Using dynamic features to summarize and analyze large datasets Using slicers and filters for visual filtering Highlighting key Excel features through guided practice You'll walk through realistic scenarios that show alternative functions for greater data management, such as: GROUPBY PIVOTB PERCENTOF In addition, various text functions such as TEXTJOIN and TEXTSPLIT will be explained, highlighting how to concatenate and split text strings efficiently. *Session 3 is one of four individual sessions. Each session builds on the previous one, so consider watching [Streamlined Excel Reporting Series Session 4: External Data and PivotCharts](https://www.aicpa-cima.com/cpe-learning/webcast/streamlined-excel-reporting-series-session-4-external-data-and-pivotcharts) to tackle real-world issues and create powerful workbooks.*

What makes a business valuable? Who determines value? What are the key factors that make businesses valuable? In this course, we explore the different ways to value a business. We will apply foundational valuation and corporate finance concepts to real world examples in an effort to see what makes up an investment's price.

Strategies to help reviewers catch errors in partnership and LLC tax returns before they are submitted.

This course is a 'deep dive' into many aspects involving the taxation of real estate for the mid-level practitioner moving into this complex area. You will deepen your understanding of the complex considerations and strategies that individuals must navigate in acquiring, operating, and selling real estate. You will leave the course able to navigate critical issues associated with the relevant returns and plan strategically for your company or clients. We will discuss in detail the impact that recent tax changes have had on the real estate industry, as well as new credits that are available after the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Many small to medium sized companies do not properly address the risk that arises related to fraud because these organizations do not have the resources needed to mitigate this risk or because owners or those in top level management underestimate the scope of the issue. All organizations, regardless of size, must be aware of the risks associated with intentional fraudulent acts and know that a significant and effective fraud scheme could even create going concern issues for some entities. In this session, we delve into the reasons that fraud takes place. The material discusses the types of defalcations that are often executed against smaller entities and then explores measures that organizations can implement to help stop fraud activities and add security. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The mad scramble to remote work and utilize apps like Teams has been trying for most organizations over the past couple of years. With a rush to install and no time to plan, most team members did their best, prioritizing remote meetings as the primary concern. Therefore, as a result, Teams is vastly misunderstood and underutilized in most organizations. Join us in this session to go beyond the remote meetings aspect of Teams and to learn how to optimize efficiency, communication, and workflow with Teams.

Have you ever found yourself wondering why people won't just listen to you? Or maybe you have found yourself surrounded by people that make your jaw clench...you know the people...the challenging people.  HR Professionals walk a tight rope of being strong, but not aggressive, polite, but not a push over. It is exhausting! In this session, you will uncover the secrets to working with (and overcoming) challenging people derived from the decades of experience Summer brings from her time on the frontlines and as an HR Professional working with companies such as Walt Disney World, H-E-B and even a dude ranch.  

As financial and tax professionals well know, information overload is a constant struggle we face because things change quickly, and the sheer number of changes being made on a daily basis is enormous. Of great importance to small and medium tax and advisory firms is differentiating between changes that are relevant to our practice and our clients and changes that are new but totally irrelevant. Distinguishing between the two is difficult and time-consuming. Mike Tucker and a team of experts are pleased to present a weekly series designed to eliminate the clutter and get you what you need to stay up-to-date and perform for your clients. Mike and his co-presenters will dispense news on current events impacting taxes, finance, and industry. The subject matter will differ each week and intermittently include topics such as Social Security and Medicare. The panelists will discuss personal and corporate tax matters as well as other late-breaking news related to practitioners' personal finances and those of their clients. Every financial professional will benefit from this series. This is a cost-effective way for accountants to fulfill their compulsory continuing education because this weekly series will include almost 40 one-hour presentations. Sign up today - your clients and your bottom line will thank you.

Strong analytical procedures are critical for evaluating the fair presentation of financial statements. In addition, Financial statements are only as good as the information and trends that they produce for operational, strategic, or compliance purposes. This course will provide insights into how to determine the strength and efficiency of nonprofits in achieving objectives and knowledge to improve the analysis of the fair presentation of a nonprofit's financial statements.  

Much has been written and said about Artificial Intelligence (AI). But for many professionals, AI remains an enigma because they do not know how to get started using tools such as Bard, ChatGPT, and Copilot. If that describes your situation, relax because help is here! Participate in K2’s Getting Started With Artificial Intelligence to learn to use today’s AI tools. This session will teach you how to access and use multiple popular AI tools to improve efficiency and productivity. If you are starting with AI, this is one session you cannot miss!

This session takes a unique review of the fundamental budget issues faced by all and walks through a detailed modeling process intended to generate discussion and best practices to improve your organization’s financial modeling.  From the beginning of the accounting process – ‘the chart of accounts’ to the end of the process – ‘the valuation of the company’, the budgeting cycle via a live case model to learn best practices common to successful companies.   This course stands on its own but is part two of a four part budget mastery series.

If sales increase, so should profits.  Yet, the opposite result often leaves executive’s scratching their heads.  When organizations work with inferior cost information, they make mistakes in four specific situations.  Bad information causes sellers to overprice easy, high-volume work and under-price difficult, low-volume work.  This session discusses how to use activity-based costing to build accurate costing models that consider far more than just the labor and materials necessary to provide goods and services. 

Working from home presents both benefits and challenges for professionals. For employees, working from home provides opportunities to be more productive and gain time that would otherwise be spent commuting to and from the office. Employers who utilize remote work enjoy fewer fixed costs, more efficiency, and greater employee satisfaction. Without proper planning, professionals who work remotely may experience increased anxiety and disorganization. They may also jeopardize data privacy. However, when executed properly, working remotely can help organizations become more efficient and profitable, while at the same time improving employee morale. This course looks at how firms and companies have successfully implemented work from home programs and discusses mistakes that can be avoided through proper planning.

This course allows you to get reacquainted with the statement of cash flows. We will refresh your skills regarding both the preparation and utilization of the statement of cash flows. Significant emphasis will be placed on the informational role of the statement of cash flows and insights that can be obtained using the statement of cash flows in concert with the other elements of a company's accrual-basis financial statements. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.