CPE Catalog & Events

Appreciation isn’t a soft skill—it’s a strategic advantage. In today's competitive professional landscape, your ability to express appreciation effectively can be the difference between retaining top talent, building strong client relationships, and creating a thriving team culture—or not. This course introduces a powerful, research-backed framework for understanding how appreciation works—and how to use it to fuel performance, loyalty, and engagement across your firm, practice, or department. Based on the work of Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Paul White, you’ll explore the four core "languages of appreciation" and learn how to recognize and use them in a way that resonates with clients, colleagues, and team members. The truth is, everyone wants to feel valued—but not everyone receives appreciation the same way. In this hands-on session, you’ll discover your own appreciation style, learn to spot others’, and develop practical tools to build a more energized, connected, and committed workplace.  

Efficient and effective business processes If you've ever tried to update a business process only to be told, "but that's the way we've always done it," this webcast is for you. You will learn: Strategies for improving processes and overcoming obstacles The 14 steps to business process improvement and 3 pillars of lean business operations

Partnership tax law is always difficult. However, when certain transactions come up, not knowing how to handle them can be costly to clients and practitioners. In this course, we discuss several of these types of situations. We will explore the tax impacts of a PTE election and how a 754 election affects the inside basis of partnership assets. We will then examine those tricky look-through provisions on the sale of a partnership interest in order to properly calculate the tax implications.

The Internal Revenue Service has targeted complex partnerships it believes are not in compliance with the tax law for audit. One of the abuses the IRS has attacked is transfers of interests in partnerships which result in an increase in the basis of a partner who is subject to a high marginal income tax rate. This perceived abuse results in lower income tax and/or a higher basis in partnership property for the higher marginal income tax partner. The final regulations basically characterize certain partnership-related basis adjustments as transactions of interest on the part of the IRS. In a practical sense, this means that property transfers in a partnership with related party partners may run the risk of IRS scrutiny if audited. It is common for certain types of partnerships, such as real estate limited partnerships, to have related-partner partnerships. The IRS may decide to scrutinize partnerships with related party transfers. Since these final regulations presume an understanding of the rules for partnership distributions and Section 754 elections, the program begins with coverage of those two topics, with time devoted to adjustments under both Section 743(b) and Section 734(b). It would be hard to understand the IRS's claim of abuse without a working knowledge of these transactions.

In the world of “Big Data,” virtually all business professionals have become data analysts, at least to some extent. However, that is particularly true in the field of auditing, where internal and external auditors are increasingly turning to data analytics to identify situations requiring follow-up and investigation. Those who understand how to take advantage of various tools to assist in these efforts benefit by conducting more thorough analyses and achieving superior results in less time. In this session, you will learn about various tools and techniques you can use for more thorough data analyzes. The discussion includes Excel as a data analysis tool, multiple Excel add-ins, and Microsoft’s Power BI application. If you're seeking to improve your skills in the field of data analytics, this session is the one for you! 

Join us for an enlightening presentation where we delve into the pivotal technology trends reshaping the accounting profession. This course covers an array of topics including cloud computing, big data, data analytics, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and the metaverse. We will also cover provide an update on the current market for cloud based accounting / ERP and personal productivity software. Designed for forward-thinking professionals, this session offers insights into how these technologies impact your business, your firm, your clients and most importantly, your career. Stay ahead in your field by understanding these emerging technologies and their practical applications in business. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Professional standards are changing with the times and the desire of the AICPA to move the profession into a new era where use of technology will play a key role in an audit and professional skepticism, independence, and quality are emphasized. We are seeing changes already as the AICPA has issued 15 new standards since 2019. This program will discuss SASs 134 through 149.

The saying goes it takes a Village to raise a child. Well, the same goes for running and growing a successful business. For CPA firm owners, the same applies to you. This session will share how you can align with others and create partnerships to boost revenue and take your firm to the next level.

Unlock the power of multigenerational teams to future-proof your firm. Today’s workplace is more generationally diverse than ever—spanning five, soon to be six, distinct generations. And while this mix can create miscommunication and friction, it also holds untapped potential for innovation, connection, and resilience. This dynamic course helps professionals in accounting, law, banking, insurance, and financial services understand and harness generational dynamics. You'll explore how shared formative experiences shape values, communication styles, and expectations at work—from the frugality of the World War II generation to the digital fluency of Gen Z and the up-and-coming Generation Alpha. Rather than getting stuck in generational stereotypes, you’ll learn to lead, collaborate, and connect more effectively across ages. With insights drawn from workplace psychology, sociological research, and real-world examples, this course equips you with practical tools to bridge the gap—so you can build stronger client relationships, more collaborative teams, and a culture people want to stay in.  

This program provides in-depth coverage of SAS 145, a major standard that helps auditors enhance risk assessment procedures through improved techniques for identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement. This session is essential for CPAs that perform audits. The discussion will also be insightful for auditees and other professionals who want to maintain awareness of current auditing guidance.

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.

Buying and selling a business can be a complex transaction with many tax issues. These issues include whether the transaction is or should be a stock or an asset sale when the business involved is a corporation, as well as the tax consequences associated with the sale of a partnership or a C or S corporation. Tax practitioners who advise clients who are buying or selling a business primarily focus on the tax issues that apply. This program explains and analyzes the tax issues practitioners must address in order to properly advise clients who are either buyers or sellers of businesses.

Gear up for tax season with Steve Dilley's annual update! This program provides an update to the latest tax developments, rules and regulations affecting both business and individual taxpayers, including a review and integration of 2024-25 legislation.   *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

Stay ahead of the curve with this essential training designed for not-for-profit accountants and auditors. This course provides a comprehensive update on the latest developments impacting nonprofit financial reporting and auditing. On the accounting side, we will review the latest FASB standard-setting activities affecting NFPs, including programmatic investments and their interplay with the CECL standard. Additionally, we will explore the IFR4NPO project, a global initiative aimed at establishing universal financial reporting standards for nonprofits. Transitioning to auditing, this course covers the 2024 Yellow Book updates, the shift from quality control to quality management, and key audit matters with early adoption options. We'll also address Single Audit updates, GAO reports on improper payments and fraud, the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA), and recent Department of Education guidance on related parties.

Many practitioners dealing with government and not-for-profit issues are asked to serve as expert witnesses in courts of law or other adjudicatory venues.  This session will discuss key issues you need to know when you are asked to serve in this capacity, including: Applicable standards and other engagement acceptance considerations. Preparation requirements and techniques. Dos and don'ts of testifying. Avoiding commons traps and tricks designed to undermine your effectiveness. The session will conclude with a “mock cross-examination” with participants serving as the jury to identify what our witness does right and what he does wrong.

Financial statement forecasting is essential for predicting a company's future financial health, guiding strategic decisions, and attracting investments. By analyzing historical data, market trends, and assumptions, businesses can anticipate risks and opportunities, enabling effective planning, resource allocation, and long-term stability and growth. - Forecasting Process: This involves projecting future income, expenses, and resources. By leveraging historical data and market insights, businesses can predict financial health, shaping strategic planning, investment decisions, and risk management. - Forecasting Profitability: Predicting future earnings informs strategic decisions, investment planning, and resource allocation. It facilitates effective budgeting, cash flow management, risk assessment, and enhances attractiveness to investors for sustainable growth. - Forecasting the Balance Sheet: Analysts forecast to predict a company's future financial position, assessing growth potential, solvency, and capital structure. This informs investment decisions, strategic planning, and risk management, ensuring financial stability and growth. Join our webinar to explore these concepts with a practical example, guiding you through the forecasting process and demonstrating its practical applications in real-world scenarios. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Storytelling makes wisdom stick.

What would you do if you only had one workday to complete a financial statement audit? How would you optimize just a handful of hours? What would you test? More importantly, what would you minimize or eliminate? Although one day is unrealistically short, it illustrates how risk-based auditing can help auditors optimize professional effort. This course emphasizes the importance of risk assessment for enhancing both the effectiveness and efficiency of audit procedures.

The ACFE/COSO Fraud Risk Management Guide (FRMG) was published in 2016 (and updated in 2023).  It has quickly gained acceptance as the set of best practices for preventing, detecting, and thus deterring fraud. The fraud landscape is constantly changing and evolving. The FRMG sets out a rigorous set of principles and leading practices for managing fraud risk for forward-thinking organizations to follow.  It covers: How to establish fraud risk management governance. How to conduct rigorous fraud risk assessments. How to design and implement fraud control activities. How to establish reporting mechanisms and investigative procedures. How to monitor the overall fraud risk management program. Fraud risk can be managed.  All anti-fraud and accountability professionals will benefit from this session's focus on effective fraud risk management.

Loans, rental agreements, business combinations - what do these all have in common? They all have the potential of creating a related party transaction. This program presents a detailed analysis of the financial accounting rules for transactions with related parties, as well as compares and contrasts those rules with the AICPA financial reporting framework for small and medium-sized entities. This course does not qualify for IRS credit.