CPE & Event Calendar

The tools for managing performance and addressing misconduct are not identical. The failure to point this out to leaders has often resulted in the use of the wrong tool. Reinforcing good performance and securing improvements in performance requires skill in coaching employees, making effective requests, and providing effective feedback   This course provides practical knowledge and scripts for setting, communicating, and enforcing performance expectations, such that personal and employer liability is avoided.

Tax Season can be a daunting time for tax preparers, but it doesn’t have to be with the help of tax automation software tools and other innovative technology. This session will provide an overview of the latest technologies and tools that can help automate your workflow and make the entire tax return preparation process smoother and more efficient. From client portals, workflow management, and e-signatures to robotic process automation, you’ll learn about all the options available to help streamline your tax preparation process. So don’t dread Tax Season - attend this session and arm yourself with the tools you need to succeed!

Every organization today is facing an onslaught of pressure to master Artificial Intelligence “AI” strategies across their enterprises. Never before have we witnessed such a steep expectation for how a “technology” can transform a business, and never before have we been expected to leverage a technology so quickly and so completely.  There is no denying AI presents perhaps the opportunity of a lifetime to transform and improve operations, but to date few plans or roadmaps on how to unlock the promise of AI exist. In this class, Steve Cadigan, a globally renowned future of work expert, will present a practical plan for how you can build your own AI strategy, and how you can thrive in the AI revolution. Steve will show present a roadmap of how to build your confidence with AI to address this massive change management challenge.

"Transforming Strategic & Financial Management with ChatGPT: Insights for CPAs, CFOs, and Controllers" is a comprehensive 2-hour CPE course designed by Jim Lindell of Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. This course delves into the revolutionary impact of ChatGPT on financial and strategic management, offering a blend of theoretical insights and practical applications tailored for financial professionals. Through an exploration of ChatGPT's capabilities in research, communication enhancement, benchmarking, risk analysis, and more, participants will learn how to leverage this advanced AI technology to streamline operations, enhance decision-making, and foster innovation in their practices. The course not only highlights the current applications but also provides a glimpse into the future of AI in financial management, encouraging professionals to embrace technology for competitive advantage.

Why do for profit organizations exist??? To make money!!!!! What a great concept. But if the organization does not have the proper collections and credit procedures in place, they may not be able to access that money. Hence the importance of the credit and collection process. Credit and collections are critical areas for the financial statement controllers. Customer credit is a form of payment that allows small business customers to purchase a product or service before paying for it in full. The process works similarly to the way a credit card does - you procure something and pay it back later. Collections is a term used by a business when referring to money owed to that business by a customer. When a customer does not pay within the terms specified, the amount of the bill becomes past due and is sometimes submitted to a collection agency. The sales and collection process includes business activities related to selling products and services, maintaining customer records, billing customers, and recording payments from customers. It also includes activities necessary to manage accounts receivable, such as aging accounts and authorizing credit.  This course delves into the topics that impact the sales, credit and collections process for management. We discuss strategic steps management can take to ensure their processes are efficient and that they are able to actually collect their revenue.  

This course corresponds to our Controllership series. Within this course, we specifically address the Controllers role and pro-active potentials in organization Strategic and Annual Planning. This series of courses is dedicated to exploring the traditional controller role and stepping out of the box to identify areas where the Controller can add strategic value to their organizations. Controllers are essential to the day-to-day accounting for organizations. Yet, the role is not often readily understood. In today’s world of acronyms such as CFO, CEO, COO, CAO, etc. the Controller function may get lost in the shuffle. However, they are a critical group of professionals who ensure the adequacy and transparency of accounting and financial reporting information. When it comes to the task of strategic planning, many feel this role is primarily the responsibility of the executive team and board. However, in this course, we delve into the various steps of the strategic plan and explore where the Controller can add strategic value through providing functional input and insight. Strategic planning is a process used to identify goals, the strategies necessary to accomplish those goals, and the internal performance management system that will be used to monitor and evaluate progress.  

When we’re going through change and life feels out of balance, it’s normal to get stuck focused on all the problems and challenges that stress us out. How will the changes impact our team, our job, our lives? It doesn’t help that our brains are wired to anticipate the worst possible outcome. This wiring can make it difficult to be our best; to provide our best teamwork, our best ideas, and our best leadership. However, studies show that there are things we can do to shift our thinking so we can spend more time in positive emotions, like curiosity, enthusiasm, and optimism. Now everything gets easier and better, including: ~ Productivity ~ Customer relations ~ Change management ~ Teamwork ~ Leadership Join Tina to learn and apply The Path for Positivity™ framework based in Positive Psychology. You will learn strategies and insights to help you experience less stress, a smoother transition, and higher productivity even when the future seems uncertain. Share the framework and strategies with your team, too.

Leaders have the right to exercise customary management functions.  Employees have the right to be kept free from discrimination.  Neither employer rights nor employee rights are absolute.  The courts are equally protective of the rights of employees and employers.  A courtroom is the wrong place for anyone to find this out.  This course provides practical knowledge on how to effectively balancing these two sets of rights, such that employees and leaders stay out of court. Employers avoid lawsuits, rather than win lawsuits.

Unlike a traditional financial audit objective (Are the financial statements materially misstated), performance auditing can address a wide variety of objectives.  Is this program working? Can it be improved? Where can we save money? How can we operate more efficiently and effectively? Are management’s assertions supported? And so forth.  This session will explain what a performance audit is, describe the applicable standards, and provide examples that indicate the value of a performance audit.  Performance audits can add value to any entity and practitioners can profit from adding these assurance services to their practices.

Using Outlook for email management is routine for most business professionals these days. But unfortunately, using this tool for so long may cause some to perpetuate bad practices and habits when working in Outlook and exploring new options Outlook offers. In this session, you will discover ten valuable tips to take you to the next level of your email and work management.

This course corresponds to our Controllership series. This course is dedicated to exploring the traditional controller role and stepping out of the box to identify areas where the controller can continue to add strategic value to their organizations. Within this segment of our controllership series, we discuss the area of cash and investments and explore how the controller can move these responsibilities into more of a strategic role. In today’s world, the role of cash management is often a pivotal role in the organization. In economically difficult times, controllers may find that they spend a great deal of their time on understanding and managing the organizations' cash position. This is certainly important and, in some areas, can be seen as a staple of the lifeblood of the organization’s ongoing viability. This course takes a look at some of the typical objectives involved in Cash management and then evaluates how those objectives can be further stretched into strategic pillars of the organization.   

Why do for profit organizations exist??? To make money!!!!! What a great concept. But if the organization does not have the proper collections and credit procedures in place, they may not be able to access that money. Hence the importance of the credit and collection process.Credit and collections are critical areas for the financial statement controllers. Customer credit is a form of payment that allows small business customers to purchase a product or service before paying for it in full. The process works similarly to the way a credit card does - you procure something and pay it back later. Collections is a term used by a business when referring to money owed to that business by a customer. When a customer does not pay within the terms specified, the amount of the bill becomes past due and is sometimes submitted to a collection agency. The sales and collection process includes business activities related to selling products and services, maintaining customer records, billing customers, and recording payments from customers. It also includes activities necessary to manage accounts receivable, such as aging accounts and authorizing credit. This course delves into the topics that impact the sales, credit and collections process for management. We discuss strategic steps management can take to ensure their processes are efficient and that they are able to actually collect their revenue.  

This is a two-part series that discuss new trends and concepts the financial controller should begin to execute in order to truly become a valued member of the senior leadership team. The rapid pace of the evolving technological landscape has promoted changes in how accountants and financial professionals focus attention on strategy and modernize their roles to leverage digital technology. There is increased demand for enhancing flexibility into finance cycles and initiating real-time reporting and insights. These are the core attributes that will assist in transforming the work that controllership function performs. Is the financial controllership prepared to meet future business demands? The IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) and Deloitte’s Center for Controllership aimed to better understand the current state of controllership and expectations of future demands for controllers and accounting professionals. They conducted a survey in late 2022 and identified several trends. The survey takes a look at how prepared controllership is to meet future business demands. It also highlights some insights for leaders to consider that may increase their preparedness. It also identified areas of additional insight and questions to answer on the controllership transformation journey. In this segment one, we go through numerous concepts in detail and the remaining concepts will be covered in segment two.

This is a two-part series that discuss new trends and concepts the financial controller should begin to execute in order to truly become a valued member of the senior leadership team. The rapid pace of the evolving technological landscape has promoted changes in how accountants and financial professionals focus attention on strategy and modernize their roles to leverage digital technology. There is increased demand for enhancing flexibility into finance cycles and initiating real-time reporting and insights. These are the core attributes that will assist in transforming the work that controllership function performs. Is the financial controllership prepared to meet future business demands? The IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) and Deloitte’s Center for Controllership aimed to better understand the current state of controllership and expectations of future demands for controllers and accounting professionals. They conducted a survey in late 2022 and identified several trends. The survey takes a look at how prepared controllership is to meet future business demands. It also highlights some insights for leaders to consider that may increase their preparedness. It also identified areas of additional insight and questions to answer on the controllership transformation journey. In this segment, we will go through numerous concepts in detail.  

This course corresponds to our Controllership series. This course is dedicated to exploring the traditional controller role and stepping out of the box to identify areas where the controller can continue to add strategic value to their organizations. Within this segment of our controllership series, we discuss the area of cash and investments and explore how the controller can move these responsibilities into more of a strategic role. In today’s world, the role of cash management is often a pivotal role in the organization. In economically difficult times, controllers may find that they spend a great deal of their time on understanding and managing the organizations' cash position. This is certainly important and, in some areas, can be seen as a staple of the lifeblood of the organization’s ongoing viability. This course takes a look at some of the typical objectives involved in cash management and then evaluates how those objectives can be further stretched into strategic pillars of the organization.  

Emerging from the pandemic is a workplace culture governed by values. Far from a soft approach, it can drive significant business results. Organizations that embrace an empathetic culture increase performance and decrease turnover, while their customers report a more positive experience. Additionally, being more “person-focused” strongly correlates with more effective ethics and compliance programs. These insights can provide a roadmap for the "new normal" as the world emerges from the crisis. How employees and management move forward from this experience will shape the workplace for decades to come.

Sustainability Accounting is now a recognized professional skill of increasing importance in larger organizations. It is the process of finding, measuring and managing the material metrics for sustainable performance and risk management. The goal is to bring these metrics into regular financial statements so leaders can act on them.  This course teaches Sustainability Accounting basics with example from the restaurant industry.   It is suitable for any professional or student who wants to learn fast about sustainability issues in specific industry sectors and how to integrate sustainability metrics into financial accounting and reporting.

Financial Acumen for the HR Professional is a part of the series "The HR Professional's Guide to Evolving Business Strategy, Finance and Development." This course identifies how HR Professionals can increase their financial understanding to participate more effectively with management as well as understand the financial results and implications for the business.

Enterprise Risk Management for SMEs

Most management reports are misunderstood and misused. Reports are dull and have been presented in the same manner for decades. Do your audiences sometimes fail to get the message? Learn how to grab your audiences' attention and deliver an actionable message. Discover the power of "The Trifecta" and the five secrets of effective reports and presentations. Learn how to make your messaging a "re-memorable event" and how to give the users what they need to know. We will discuss how to make your reports useful and understandable to your audience. If management does not understand the financial reports they receive (most do not) this seminar will provide keen insights to make your reports truly useful. Be the hero who delivers informative reports. We will show great examples of what to do and how.