CPE & Event Calendar

Fraud Trends - Applying Real-life Lessons to Small- and Mid-Size Entities will focus on real-life and practical examples of fraud in smaller- and mid-size environments, including nonprofits. Fraud involves an intentional act to deceive, which may result in material misstatement in the financial statements due to fraudulent financial reporting or misappropriation of assets. Management's responsibility is to design, implement, maintain and monitor a system of internal control to prevent, or detect and correct, fraud. Note: This is a part of the suggested 16-hour Audit Skills Level 4 curriculum for experienced in-charges or seniors. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Learn how to investigate an asset misappropriate scheme. We will dig into asset misappropriation by learning some of the most common schemes and red flags. Learn data analysis techniques used in the early stages of a fraud investigation. You will be guided through a detailed case study to see forensic accounting techniques in action. This is the most practical fraud investigation course you will ever take. Rather than learning only the theory of fraud, you will learn how a forensic accountant actually investigates fraud from the beginning to the end. We focus on forensic accounting techniques used in the field to prove what happened, who was involved, how much money was stolen, and where the money went. How-To Guide to Fraud Investigations is Part 3 of a series of four courses on fraud investigations. Each course is a stand-alone class that may be taken individually. For comprehensive instruction on completing a fraud investigation from start to finish, take all four. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This program compares and contrasts the financial accounting for partnerships and LLCs, as well as discusses the tax accounting for these entities. It includes a thorough discussion of the important differences between financial accounting for partnership capital accounts and the tax accounting for partnership capital accounts. Financial accounting for operations of a partnership will also be addressed.

Does your firm have interest in expanding its’ services beyond traditional CPA services?  Do you have staff with the expertise to compete against non-CPA firms? Welcome to a course that will lead you through the maze of creating a successful Consulting Business Practice for your CPA firm. The course will help you understand: where consulting business opportunities exist, what are the firm’s professional responsibilities and most importantly how to recognize the needs of the client.

You could pay $0 for this course!This course qualifies for reimbursement through the State Workforce Training Express Fund. Firms/companies with fewer than 100 staff will receive 100% of the cost of training reimbursed. You must register for this course and apply for reimbursement through the Workforce Training Express Fund website a minimum of three weeks before the start date of the course to be eligible (By October 30th) The course code for this program is C-2304. To learn more click here or contact Julia Ekelund at jekelund@mscpaonline.org.MassCPAs is excited to bring back our Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) Conference in-person this fall! Join us November 20th-22nd at Foxwoods Resort Casino for three days of networking, reconnecting with your peers and informative sessions on the top issues facing firms. Developed by firm leaders for firm leaders and their successors, this conference will feature some of accounting's foremost thought leaders. Click the agenda tab to see the full list of sessions and speakers! The deadline to book your hotel room under our room block is Tuesday, October 29. Visit masscpas.org/map24hotel to make your reservation.Preconference Bonus Session: Navigating Productivity in a Staffing Crisis: What’s a Partner to Do? Still deciding whether you should attend the New England Practice Management Conference? Try a FREE session and unlock the secrets to boosting productivity, even during a staffing crunch! In this session, you’ll learn about workplace changes, including generational differences, managing individuals for productivity and how to plan for firm-level capacity in today’s staffing market.

The IRS believes, perhaps with some justification, that many workers classified as independent contractors are actually employees and should be treated as such for tax purposes. The result is that worker classification audits are frequent and often costly for business clients, both in terms of time as well as money expended. This program prepares tax practitioners to assist their clients with worker classification audits, and to avoid them if possible, by discussing and explaining the circumstances under which workers will most likely be characterized as employees or as independent contractors. The program also deals with the first line of defense against the IRS in worker classification audits - Section 530, as well as the common law factors distinguishing an employee from an independent contractor. This program also explores the IRS Voluntary Classification Settlement Program and discusses whether a practitioner should advise a client to request admission into this program.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) were implemented to improve the lives of employees. FMLA allows eligible employees to take job-protected leave for their own serious health conditions or to care for sick family members. The ADA was intended to ensure "equality of opportunity" and "economic self-sufficiency" for individuals with disabilities. Yet both laws have proven challenging for employers. These laws are complex with rules that can be confusing and often misunderstood. This webinar is designed to provide information, guidelines, and examples of the key concepts under both laws.

The Internal Revenue Code contains a vast number of elections available to taxpayers. Overlooking an election can result in adverse tax consequences to taxpayers and potential malpractice claims against their tax professionals. This survey course addresses the most critical tax elections that the CPA must know.

Schedules K-2 and K-3 are promulgated by the IRS in order to standardize the reporting of foreign-related tax information for pass-through entities. Even pass-through entities that have no foreign activities, investments, or partners may have a reporting requirement. Schedules K-2 and K-3 for reporting partners' income, deductions, and credits from foreign activity are now required for passthrough returns (Form 1065, 1120-S and 8858). This requirement starts with returns with a tax year that ends in 2021. This course discusses each part of these schedules and explain these new reporting obligations in detail. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The course provides a concise overview of more than 200 data visualization tools which can be used by accountants to enhance the visual appeal of their financial work. All resources are easy-to-use web-based applications that require virtually no artistic or design skill - simply drag and drop, point and click, cut and paste, and/or edit text. You'll discover how to create new image content in a snap to better inform, persuade, and inspire action. Participants will walk away with a whole new creative toolkit and skillset that cuts through data clutter, improves analysis and sharpens decision-making. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Trusts are not cookie-cutter documents. In fact, they can be rather unwieldy, especially in explaining the functions to a client and then having the client comply with the trust terms. This course delves into best practices. Given common scenarios, what are the best trusts to use? And how can the client be best protected?

Getting ready for busy season involves not only knowing what's new for the current year, but also understanding how the changing limits, phaseouts and other rules apply to current-year returns. With major legislation enacted over the past few years, the present course will constitute a one-stop "shop" that brings you the essential individual tax information. In addition, this course provides an up-to-date review of important tax form changes, new tax forms, new limitations, key developments as they are reflected in the IRS forms, and IRS filing issues and deadlines that will be invaluable to attendees who prepare tax returns during busy season.

In April 2016, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Auditing Standards Board (ASB) issued the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 18, Attestation Standards: Clarification and Recodification, to supersede the former standard SSAE 16 This course will help you if your organization has the need to obtain or provide a SOC (Systems Organization Control) report or if you wonder what changes the new SSAE 18 standard will bring to the process. SSAE 18 is effective for SOC report opinions dated on or after May 1, 2017, and early adoption was permitted. This course focuses on the specific requirements of SSAE18 and highlights changes from SSAE16 In today’s economic environment, many companies utilize outsourced services to perform varied functions. These functions can span from payroll and accounts payable to information technology processes or even call center functions. The list can be endless however these services are often a critical component to the internal control environment of the organization A service organization should implement a robust third-party vendor management policy if one is not already in place. Often, initial vetting occurs of the subservice organization however that same diligence is not maintained as the service continues. It is just as important to ensure that subservice organizations are monitored on an ongoing basis using the methods outlined in SSAE 18.

Could you imagine a drug dealer using a credit-card terminal to accept payment? How about someone paying for a television they bought off the back of a truck with a personal check? Hard to imagine, right? Most criminals conduct their business in cash. For years, criminals kept their ill-gotten gains in cash and used it to pay for everything from real estate to jewelry to things such as private school tuition. This prompted governments around the globe to pass laws prohibiting large cash payments or, at the least, requiring such payments to be reported. These laws created the need for criminals to conceal the true source of the money or to "launder" it. To combat these threats, laws, and regulations have been enacted in countries around the globe that make financial services firms, and in some cases individuals, responsible for preventing or stopping money laundering. Within this course, we explore AML warning signs and potential mitigation techniques companies and professionals can take to help eliminate money laundering.

You could pay $0 for this course!This course qualifies for reimbursement through the State Workforce Training Express Fund. Firms/companies with fewer than 100 staff will receive 100% of the cost of training reimbursed. You must register for this course and apply for reimbursement through the Workforce Training Express Fund website a minimum of three weeks before the start date of the course to be eligible. The course code for this program is C-6542. To learn more click here or contact Julia Ekelund at jekelund@mscpaonline.org.This 2-hour mini course introduces how data analytics can be used to improve engagement quality and efficiency. Participants explore the use of data analytics to assess risk, support financial statement assertions, assess internal controls and uncover fraud. Apply the ADA IDEASc approach to using data analytics on engagements to ensure compliance with audit and review standards and to provide value-added services to clients. All of AHI's courses rely heavily on participant interaction and these virtual programs have co-opted many of Zoom's features to preserve the same strengths of the in-person training: visual interaction between the instructor and all participants (plan to be "on screen" throughout the program); breakout rooms to ensure small group engagement; and instructor interaction screen share for small group presentations easy delivery of video presentations fillable PDF for online note-taking in the course materials.

Maximizing Analytic Procedure Evidence - Adding Value Through Useful Financial Statement Analysis will enhance an ability to read and interpret financial information as a critical audit skill. Financial statement auditors need to be able to analyze financial results to not only enhance audit quality, but to also improve client service through being a better business advisor. Note: This course is recommended as a part of a 16-hour audit skills curriculum for supervisory or managerial auditors, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has responsibilities for analyzing and interpreting 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.

S corporation taxation has a lot of pieces. There are helpful elections you can make that can potentially save your client money, but there are also rigid rules to adhere to. For example, if there is more than one class of stock, it can terminate the S corporation election. Learning how to successfully navigate these rules can make all the difference. In this course, we will discuss some of the more common specialty areas experienced by practitioners - late filing relief for S corporation elections, disproportionate distributions, and selling S corporation shares. While these items may not come up on every single Form 1120-S, you will be able to add more value to clients when they do.

Financial accounting for trusts and estates is one of the least understood branches of accounting. It is not particularly concerned with recording income and expenses but is obsessed with determining whether receipts and expenditures are assigned to income or principal/corpus. This course will dive into this tricky area and provide a reporting guide for fiduciary accounting.

With the roll out of a new Form W-4 in late 2019, the IRS made significant changes to employers' withholding and payroll reporting requirements. In addition to the myriad of changes brought about by COVID-19 legislation, carried out through the payroll function, the IRS fundamentally revamped Form W-4 for employee reporting, doing away with the concept of allowances and requiring changes to payroll administration and employee communications. Now more than ever, employers need to know that the W-4 they are working with is working to withhold income taxes correctly for their employees. In addition, it is the employer's responsibility to ensure Form W-4 is filled out correctly and accurately. Employers need to understand the nuances and requirements that come with this obligation. This course will review the Form W-4 in all its glory, including all the changes that were made to the format and substance of the form, understanding what an employer can and cannot do, and how to actually fill out the Form W-4. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Our goal is to keep you current with the changing tax environment by focusing on recent legislative, administrative, and judicial decisions and examining topics addressed in the media, publications, journals and conferences. Our belief is that the better informed we are, the better we can serve the profession and our clients. Check in monthly to see the current topic and objectives.