CPE Catalog & Events

According to the FBI, “white-collar crime is … synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals … characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust …. The motivation behind these crimes is financial—to obtain or avoid losing money, property, or services or to secure a personal or business advantage.”  CPAs can and should play a crucial role in preventing and detecting white-collar crime, as well as in prosecuting the perpetrators.  This session will explore whether we are up to this challenge, heighten awareness regarding the CPA’s role as a front-line defender of the public interest, and assess whether we are deserving of the public trust we enjoy.

Audit Risk Assessment in Plain English, is a 2 hour webcast highlighting the AICPA’s clarified risk assessment standards, along with a new Statement on Auditing Standard (SAS 145) related to understanding the entity, the entity’s environment, the entity’s internal controls, and assessing the risks of material misstatement.  This session will attempt to simplify the requirements using common sense examples and language.

This course provides an in-depth exploration of Form 1120S, the tax return form used by S corporations. Students will learn the intricacies of preparing and analyzing this form, including how to determine the taxable income of the S corporation, how to properly report and allocate income, deductions, and credits, and how to calculate the shareholder's basis in the S corporation. **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.

An audit is an investment in reliable financial reporting and compliance, and an increased return on those dollars can be achieved by hiring the right auditors. This course will provide key factors for you to consider when evaluating whether you are getting the most quality and insight from your auditors, to enable them to perform the most value-added audit possible in the given circumstances - while retaining the trust of a CPA. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

In our ever-evolving digital era, 2025 stands as no exception. Technology, like a tempest, disrupts and transforms every facet of our lives?both personal and professional. From Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI to 5G networks, blockchain, IoT, robotics, and electric vehicles (EVs), innovation reshapes virtually every product and service we come in contact with. Join Inspector Gadget on an expedition through the latest tech trends and vendor solutions. We?ll explore cutting-edge gear, decode algorithms, and uncover the secrets of this dynamic landscape. In an age where technology is paramount, equip yourself with the essential knowledge to navigate the digital road ahead.

CPAs can be requested to assist attorneys in litigation support in criminal proceedings. For criminal tax cases, the IRS has recommended prosecution. However, the rules and stakes are different than a simple civil audit. This presentation will focus on how to assist defense attorneys in calculating tax loss, asking the right questions, and probe possible weaknesses in criminal tax investigations. 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 provides a concise overview of how to utilize ChatGPT for advanced financial analysis in accounting. The session reveals how to combine sophisticated evaluation and interpretation of financial data with the cutting-edge AI capabilities of ChatGPT. Aimed at enhancing the understanding of an entity's performance, predicting future financial health, and aiding in informed business decision-making, this course goes beyond basic financial statement analysis to include a wide array of techniques and tools. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The IRS recently released the new Form 7217 for 2024, designed for a partner to report distributions of property received from a partnership. This course dives into the complexity of the partnership distribution rules and their application to the new form, as well as discuss liquidating a partner's interest, Section 751 and the Section 754 election. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Cryptocurrency is heading mainstream. According to a recent study conducted by New York Digital Investment Group, there are 46 million bitcoin holders in the US, and institutions have also shown increased interest in this space. The rising popularity of cryptocurrency and the inclusion of the virtual currency question on the front and center of Form 1040 have made cryptocurrency a subject that tax practitioners cannot afford to ignore anymore. This course is designed to walk you through tax implications of common cryptocurrency-related transactions (trading, mining, spending, staking, etc.) and how to successfully service clients affiliated with cryptocurrency by using a tool like CoinTracker. This session also covers current developments surrounding this topic and some of the unique tax planning opportunities in the crypto space such as tax loss harvesting without being subject to wash sale rules, tax lot ID optimization (FIFO, LIFO, and HIFO), self-directed IRAs, etc.

This course dives into the powerful, but potentially under-utilized, capabilities of Microsoft Excel.  Designed for sophisticated users willing to approach spreadsheets from a unique perspective, this program encourages users to challenge the status quo by considering opportunities to take acceptable spreadsheets to a new level.

This session explores the nature of analytical procedures, with significant emphasis placed upon professional standards involving the use of analytical procedures in audit and review engagements. Practical examples to illustrate the application process will also be given.

All entities are subject to the new expected credit loss model established by recent GAAP.  This course will provide highlights of the latest requirements for measurement, presentation, and disclosure.  

Quality management is important.  Every CPA firm that provides audit and other attest services must undergo a third-party quality control review.  This session will provide you with the tips on how to avoid common quality control deficiencies in all services that are subject to peer review.

It is the role of a leader to build and maintain a great culture in the organization. The culture is the driving force that shapes the attitudes and behaviors of everyone in the organization. A relationship driven organization is built on trust and is the most effective way to improve productivity, engagement, and the bottom line. Understand the components that enable trust to be created and maintained throughout teams and organizations.

As the digital asset market continues to mature, more taxpayers may be contemplating blessing their favorite charitable organizations with gifts of cryptocurrency.  Beneficiaries unfamiliar with digital assets may find it challenging to properly report any of these types of donations.  Likewise, taxpayers will need to ensure that they properly value and substantiate any contributions or potentially risk their charitable deductions being denied. This course will provide a brief overview of digital assets.  This will be followed by a discussion of the rules regarding the documentation required when claiming a charitable contribution of digital assets.  This course will also cover recent IRS publications and cases discussing taxpayers whose deductions of digital assets charitable gifts were scrutinized. **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.  

As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), IRC § 199A was added.  This Internal Revenue Code section allows certain pass-through entities the ability to has made it deduct up to 20% of their qualified business. Although practitioners have had over three years of “experience” utilizing IRC § 100A, many practitioners still do not feel comfortable with this part of the Internal Revenue Code.  The purpose of this presentation is to provide the practitioner with an understanding of the rules of IRC § 199A as well as an understanding of the IRC § 199A regulations. **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.

This session explores managerial accounting techniques with an emphasis on internal decision-making tools. You will appreciate a reminder regarding concepts you may not have considered since your college days. We will revisit managerial accounting concepts by illustrating practical examples that you can immediately bring back to the office!

Business Intelligence (BI) is perhaps the hottest topic in most professional circles in today’s business climate. Increasingly, organizations of all sizes seek to take advantage of the data available to them to identify previously undiscovered insights and gain competitive advantages thought to be out of reach just a few short years ago. A growing array of tools – from Excel add-ins to dedicated solutions such as Power BI – now allow you to leverage your existing knowledge and skills to create powerful, interactive dashboards and analyzes unthinkable until recently. This program will teach you to implement “do-it-yourself business intelligence” using various techniques and tools. First, you will learn to use advanced Excel data query and summarization features to create Excel-based dashboards. You will then learn how to leverage that knowledge to build even more powerful BI objects using Microsoft’s Power BI tools. If gaining better insights into your data to make better decisions interests you, then join us for a fast-paced look at how you can take advantage of these fantastic tools. 

Staff accountants have specific needs when working with Excel – needs that are often not met by their existing Excel knowledge. Chief among these are the needs to quickly summarize data, prepare accurate and aesthetically pleasing reports, and create accounting-centric calculations for elements such as depreciation, amortization, and interest. By participating in this eight-hour session, staff accountants will gain the essential skills they need to maximize their efficiency and accuracy when working with Excel. This session begins with a quick overview of Excel best practices. It then progresses rapidly into discussions that address PivotTables, sophisticated formulas, Tables, formatting, and working with dates in Excel. Throughout the session, you will learn from accounting-centric examples to reinforce key learning points. In this session, you will learn in a “laptop-friendly” environment, and participants will have access to all the demonstration files used in the session. In sum, this seminar is a “must” for all staff accountants seeking to improve their efficiency and accuracy when working with Excel.  

Many business professionals consider PivotTables the most powerful feature in Excel, yet most accounting and financial professionals do not use them in their day-to-day activities. If you are ready to learn how to take advantage of PivotTables or extend your existing knowledge of PivotTables, then plan to participate in this course. You will learn how to build PivotTables, group data inside PivotTables – including grouping options for fiscal periods – and create user-defined calculations in your PivotTables. You will also learn advanced PivotTable techniques, including building PivotTables that consolidate data from multiple data ranges and PivotTables that connect dynamically to external databases and financial accounting systems. Additionally, you will learn to take advantage of other Excel features associated with PivotTables, including Slicers, Power Query, and Power Pivot. You will be a master of Excel PivotTables at the end of the day! This course is for you if you have been leery of working with PivotTables or have struggled to realize their many benefits. With some information, guidance, and coaching from your K2 instructor, you will be ready to use PivotTables to analyze and report on extensive data sets in a fraction of the time you spend completing such tasks.