CPE Catalog & Events

Managing a strong network is one of the most important things you can do to grow professionally. Yet despite its importance, maintaining an effective network is often not taught in undergraduate and graduate schools. The good news is that managing and growing a network is easier than it sounds. In fact, most professionals have some level of basic networking skills simply from helping someone find a job, attending an industry conference, or seeking professional connections through social media. Effective networking involves more than simply collecting contacts. Strong networks should be relevant to your career and consist of people you trust. Personal networks are just as important as professional networks and the two often overlap. In this course, we explore ways to strengthen and grow networks by examining proven strategies that have helped individuals meet their personal and professional goals.

Accounting and finance professionals often receive questions concerning all facets of Medicare. How does Medicare work? How do I apply? How much does it cost? Is Medicare optional or required? This program provides a basic introduction to the Medicare program and covers many of the areas of the Medicare program that clients are most interested in. If you, or some of your clients, have questions relating to Medicare, this program is a must for you.

In the ever-evolving world of data analytics and business intelligence, Microsoft Excel continues to be an indispensable tool for professionals across industries. With the introduction of Copilot, Microsoft has integrated the power of artificial intelligence directly into Excel, revolutionizing how users work with data. This 2-hour interactive course, Unlock the Power of AI with Copilot in Excel, provides a comprehensive overview of how Copilot transforms traditional Excel workflows into dynamic, AI-driven processes, enabling users to accomplish tasks faster, more accurately, and with less manual effort. During this course, you'll discover how Copilot leverages AI to enhance productivity and streamline operations. Whether you're a seasoned Excel user or just beginning your journey, this course will guide you through practical applications and best practices to make the most of Copilot's capabilities. Through hands-on demonstrations and real-world examples, you'll see how Copilot can save time, improve decision-making, and elevate your analytical skills to new heights. This course not only focuses on the technical aspects of Copilot but also highlights its potential to transform your day-to-day work, from automating repetitive tasks to uncovering trends and insights you might otherwise overlook. By the end of the session, you'll be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to integrate Copilot into your workflows and unlock its full potential in Microsoft Excel. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The webcast explores the challenges of the current economic trends and analyzes their impact on you as the financial executive in areas of human resource management; credit markets and banking; risk management and pandemic style disruptions; cash flow planning strategies; debt and equity mix impacts in uncertain markets; globalization of the market in times of uncertainty; retirement planning and social security funding; and acquiring distressed companies and assets. Specific recommendations and insights will be offered to you to deal with the challenges.

This course provides a concise overview of Claude and its growing role as an AI-powered productivity, analysis, and workflow platform for accounting professionals. Participants will learn how Claude differs from traditional search engines, spreadsheets, and chatbots, and how it can be used to accelerate drafting, research, document review, data analysis, and client communications while maintaining professional skepticism and accountability. The course explores practical prompting techniques, document and spreadsheet analysis, projects, artifacts, connectors, Microsoft 365 integrations, automation capabilities, and emerging AI workflows. Special emphasis is placed on confidentiality, privacy, ethics, verification, and professional judgment. By the end of the course, participants will understand how to integrate Claude into their daily accounting workflows to improve efficiency, strengthen decision-making, and support higher-value advisory services. The course is based on the Claude platform ecosystem, including Chat, Projects, Artifacts, Connectors, Microsoft Office integrations, Voice Mode, Design, Code, and Cowork capabilities. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Almost every accountant uses Excel, but most don't use it as efficiently and effectively as they could or should. Participate in this session to learn various accountant-centric Excel tips, tricks, and techniques to leverage Excel for your benefit.

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of capital assets taxation, basis determination, and related tax planning strategies. Participants will explore the fundamental classification of capital assets, the distinction between realization and recognition of gains and losses, and the complex rules governing disallowed losses. The course thoroughly examines the various types of capital gains and losses, including short-term, long-term, and special categories such as unrecaptured Section 1250 gains and collectibles. Attendees will learn the intricacies of netting capital gains and losses, calculating tax liabilities across different income types, and distinguishing between marginal and effective tax rates. The course also covers advanced topics including basis adjustments, wash sale rules, related-party transactions, and inherited property treatment. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to guide clients in implementing effective capital asset strategies that minimize tax liabilities while ensuring regulatory compliance.

We see multiple stories about the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and its entry into our lives in the form of AI tools, including ChatGPT. They seem to be everywhere. It is difficult to overstate how much things will change with the rise of these new technologies, or how important it is that companies embrace the opportunity to execute them correctly. Having conversations regarding the proper adoption of these technologies and tools is a crucial first step, including drafting policies to assist companies with their beneficial and thoughtful implementation and use. This course will define the state of AI tools, what benefits and risks exist, and which steps to take to begin adopting these technologies with appropriate guardrails, policies, and training. It is less likely that AI will destroy industries, and more likely that companies that embrace AI will overtake those companies that do not.

One of the most intimidating aspects of going into business for yourself is compliance. Tax, employment, and regulatory laws are difficult to navigate, so it often falls on the CPA to know the basics in these areas to help their clients avoid costly litigation. In this course, we will cover basic compliance areas for small business owners. We will look at the main elements of a contract, taxation of entity types, worker classification, property law, and many of the other areas that are often overwhelming for small business owners. By being able to speak to these issues, practitioners will be able to add value and help their small business owner clients grow and thrive.

The tax strategies behind estate planning Estate planning is vast and complicated. A fundamental understanding of estate and trust taxation is essential to helping clients plan for their futures. Topics include: Tax obligations of trusts and estates, and how these obligations affect beneficiaries The federal income taxation of trusts and decedents' estates, along with the tax effects of specific scenarios for beneficiaries Planning options that can minimize your clients' taxes while accumulating income and the distribution or transfer of wealth to intended beneficiaries Detailed explanations of complex estate and trust concepts Learners build their understanding of the unique tax issues affecting trusts and estates, including: The taxation of simple and complex trusts, grantor trusts, and electing small business trusts Fiduciary accounting and the Uniform Principal and Income Act Deductions and credits available to trusts and estates Updated for H.R. 1, commonly referred to as OBBBA This comprehensive course has been updated to discuss the effects of H.R. 1 on estate and trust taxation. Relevant topics include: Overall limitation on itemized deductions Permanence of the expanded lifetime estate tax exemption Section 163(j) business interest 0.5% floor on itemized charitable contribution deductions And much more Part of Tax Staff Essentials Level 3 This self-study online course is part of Tax Staff Essentials Level 3, a comprehensive learning program that provides senior- and supervisor-level tax professionals with the technical training required to take a leadership role on their teams.

Required minimum distributions (RMDs) must be taken from certain tax-deferred retirement accounts, starting when the account owner reaches their applicable age. The RMD rules are complex and must be simplified to help ensure clients understand them. Accounting and finance professionals must understand the basics of RMDs for IRAs and employer plan accounts so as to help IRA owners, plan participants, and beneficiaries meet their RMD obligations and avoid penalties that apply to RMDs not taken by their applicable deadline. Accounting and finance professionals should also be able to demonstrate tax-efficient solutions for RMDs. This course will walk accounting and finance professionals through the fundamental concepts and rules that apply to RMDs, demonstrate how to calculate RMDs, and explain how to correct RMD errors. It can be taken by anyone, including those without any experience working with RMDs. The course will include cases to promote understanding of the rules.

This course provides a concise overview of agentic artificial intelligence and its emerging role in audit and assurance. Participants will examine how AI agents differ from traditional generative AI by planning tasks, using software tools, taking actions, and completing multi-step workflows with limited human intervention. The course explores current audit applications, including substantive procedures, confirmations, risk assessment, disclosure testing, and continuous monitoring, while addressing new risks involving autonomy, permissions, prompt injection, multi-agent systems, and accountability. Participants will also examine regulatory developments, professional standards, controls, evidence requirements, ethics, liability, and the strategic implications of agentic AI for audit firms. 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 explores recurring PCAOB inspection themes related to Information Technology General Controls and explains why certain ITGC audit approaches consistently raise concerns. Rather than focusing on individual deficiencies, the course examines inspection patterns tied to evidence quality, professional skepticism, control clarity, scoping decisions, SOC reliance, and reviewer judgment. Participants will gain insight into how inspectors evaluate ITGC workpapers and how recurring signals of weak documentation or unsupported assumptions increase inspection risk. Understanding these themes strengthens audit defensibility and improves overall ITGC execution. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The budget and the forecast are two common tools used by controllers and CFOs across almost every industry. However, are we really getting the most out of these tools? Or are we merely replicating whatever was done last year? In this course, we will use examples and illustrations to demonstrate various budgeting and forecasting techniques. We will discuss traditional approaches, as well as newer approaches such as flexible budgeting, in an effort to show how companies can gain more value. 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 technical overview of IRC 1031 like-kind exchanges, focusing on the application of current law and regulations following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Presented by a former IRS subject matter expert, the course is designed for practitioners who advise on, prepare, or review transactions involving real property exchanges. Participants will examine qualification requirements, definitions of real property, and the determination of like-kind versus non-like-kind property under Treasury Regulations. The course covers key concepts including relinquished and replacement property, boot, realized and recognized gain, and basis calculations. Additional topics include the interaction of 1031 with cost segregation studies, depreciation treatment under 1245 and 1250, replacement property basis allocation, depreciation of carryover and excess basis, and multi-property exchange rules. Practical compliance considerations relevant to tax return preparation and review are emphasized throughout. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Technology has created numerous ways for us to communicate with each other - but it's also increased the number of ways in which the message can get garbled. Effective communications skills are crucial to successful management. Learn how to control your message with clear communications strategies. You'll learn to recognize communication barriers, assess styles and behaviors, and learn how to listen more effectively as well.

Leaders in CPA firms often spend time on work that sits below their highest and best use: meetings they do not need to attend, work delegated upward by their teams, client scope creep, administrative tasks, and avoided accountability conversations. Survey data cited in the course indicates that most leaders say yes to commitments they know they should decline, at a cost of hundreds of hours per year. This course introduces the distinction between hard work (time-bound), smart work (skills-based and intellectual), and uncomfortable work (emotional), and shows why avoided "Uncomfortable Work" is the common root of these low-value commitments. Participants complete a structured 32-item self-inventory across five categories: meetings and events, unrealistic expectations, strategies and opportunities, tasks and projects, and suboptimal performance. They then quantify the estimated annual hours lost to the commitments they identified, select one commitment to decline over the next month, and name the higher-value leadership activity (such as delegation, business development, project oversight, or performance management) that the reclaimed time will support. With the self-awareness and clarity gained through this program, you will know exactly which gaps need closing before work ramps back up. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Companies often offer stock options as an additional form of compensation to attract and retain the best talent. Used appropriately, stock options can generate significant wealth, yet many employees are unfamiliar with how stock options work and why options serve as a valuable opportunity for employees to establish and grow their wealth. Unfortunately, employees who receive stock options are often unaware of their inherent risks. Research has shown that over 76% of employees have never exercised their stock options. Almost half of these individuals (48%), say they held off on selling their options due to fear of making a mistake. This course provides accounting and finance professionals with a broad overview of employee stock options. The webinar is designed to help participants better understand the fundamentals behind these investments and, in turn, better advise their clients.

A challenge for many small business owners is choosing the 'right' type of retirement plan for their businesses. Many hesitate to adopt retirement plans for their businesses because they are intimidated by the governing rules. In those cases, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs are reasonable solutions because they are easy to establish, maintain, and communicate with employees; have minimal administrative costs; and are practical and efficient ways to start a retirement plan. These IRA-based plans - SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs - have low maintenance costs and are easy to communicate to employees. With IRA-based employer plans, employer contributions are sometimes discretionary, giving business owners the choice of whether to fund every year. Despite the simplicity of these plans, employers must ensure that applicable compliance requirements are met to avoid penalties. To that end, this course will cover some key provisions of SEP and SIMPLE IRAs.

IRS Form 7217 is an IRS tax form required for partners receiving distributions of property from partnerships. Starting for tax years beginning in 2024, a partner who receives property from a partnership must file Form 7217 with his or her annual income tax return. Form 7217 is filed by any partner receiving a distribution of property from a partnership to report the basis of the distributed property, including any basis adjustment to such property as required by Section 732(a)(2) or (b). This new IRS form is part of the IRS's general concern regarding basis shifting in favor of high marginal tax rate related partners. Form 7217 is now required and details the types of property distributed, the aggregate basis, and the allocation of basis to the distributed property. Form 7203 is designed to assist in tracking an S corporation shareholder's stock and debt basis. Form 7203 is a significant improvement from the worksheets the IRS provided formerly and over time will serve to help partners and partnerships keep track of their stock and debt basis. The course covers the structure and organization of Form 7203 as well as how an S corporation shareholder's stock and debt basis are calculated.