CPE & Event Calendar

You often can perform an audit in accordance with all of the standards, and still have a substandard audit IF you did not get out among the clients employees (let them know you are there and where you located), talk to as many people as you can regardless as to whether you may think that they may have any helpful information; constantly observe your surrounding where ever you are at (you never now what you might see) and lastly, listen to not only what people are saying to you but are also saying around you. This presentation is designed to illustrate the importance of making yourself available to your client’s employees, let them know that you are there and where you can be found. Talk with them because if there is a problem, somebody knows and they will often tell you all about it IF you just ask them.  Look at your surrounding everywhere you go.  What are you looking for?  I don’t know but I’ll know it when I see it. Lastly, listen to what they have to say.  Every word is important because they may say something that you had not asked about.  Remember, you never want to discover something and go to an individual who you determined knew about it and ask, why didn’t you tell me about this and their response was, you never asked me!

One of the most favored employee benefit plans, the 401(k) plan, provides unique challenges for auditors. Also, as many 401(k) plan administrators opt for ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(C) audits, audits of 401(k) plans will be significantly impacted by the now-effective SAS 136, the AICPA's new employee benefit plan auditing standard. Through this course, auditors will obtain an understanding of the rules and regulations unique to employee benefit plans and obtain practical guidance on applying them. Auditors will enhance their knowledge of the performance and reporting requirements of SAS 136 through real-world examples, best practices, and efficient audit techniques that can be utilized in various audit engagements. Make sure your audits don't trigger a DOL inspection by conforming to all applicable rules and regulations.

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.

MassCPAs is excited to bring back our Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) Conference in-person this fall! Join us November 21st-23rd 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.

Fulfill your four-hour ethics education requirement by exploring the fundamental aspects of professional conduct. This course offers an examination of case studies and presents discussion questions related to equitable positions in tax returns, ethical dilemmas in tax practice, the role of fairness in financial reporting and the exercise of integrity in materiality judgments. CalCPA Members: This course qualifies for the four hours of free ethics credits per membership year. Learn more .

In this course, we will look at examples of how to enter payroll transactions into your accounting software using journal entries. We will cover how to record gross wages, employer tax expenses, deductions and associated cash impacts. This course is suitable for accounting staff that either enter payroll transactions manually or wants to understand how to record payroll, so they can ensure their payroll company's auto-generated journal entries are properly accounting for the entries.

Serving on a nonprofit board can be exciting and fulfilling. However, unique FASB standards for nonprofits can make reading financial statements a frustrating task. Learn about accounting errors and risk management. Being a board member can also lead to personal liability if the organization's policies and procedures are not set up properly and monitored effectively. Examine the core principles and practices of nonprofit accounting and what questions to ask your organization to protect leadership.

This interactive, two-hour seminar will address how to make the most of the vital time immediately following your promotion into management. This includes how to quickly engage your learning curve, getting to know your boss and their expectations, building rapport with your team and the importance of securing initial small wins. Note: There is a minimum passing rate of 70% for this course. The webcast was originally broadcast on August 8, 2015.

Is it time to begin adding personal financial planning services to your existing practice? Gain the necessary skills to assess whether adding these services to your practice makes sense. This course examines the benefits and potential pitfalls of creating this type of entity; the skills of how to develop the appropriate infrastructure; and the appropriate type of entity and licensing requirements. We'll take a look at associating with appropriate financial services companies and professionals, staffing, technology, networking and other features of launching this new service, as well as the six steps of the financial planning process and how to apply them to each planning discipline. The webcast was originally broadcast on June 30, 2016. Note: There is a minimum passing rate of 70% for this course.

Organizational support for alternative work arrangements (AWAs) is essential for the effective implementation of AWAs in public accounting, yet studies consistently suggest that such organizational support is lacking. Despite mass adoption of telecommuting (one type of AWA) during the COVID-19 pandemic, recent evidence suggests that firms vary greatly in the extent to which they plan to support telecommuting in the post-pandemic environment. Using a sample of 133 public accounting professionals, we explore whether several factors under the organization's control influence perceived organizational support for telecommuting and whether such support is linked with perceived career penalties from telecommuting usage and turnover intentions. Findings indicate that supervisor support for personal/family needs and procedural justice regarding telecommuting requirements are positively associated with perceptions of organizational support for telecommuting. Greater perceived organizational support for telecommuting is associated with both lower perceived career penalties from telecommuting usage and lower turnover intentions.

The current litigation explosion has created tremendous Interest in asset protection. Not only does this area have financial and estate aspects but it directly impacts tax planning. This course is designed to survey opportunities for asset protection that can arise during tax planning and to determine how to properly report such transactions.

This course integrates federal taxation with overall financial planning. The course explores tax strategies relating to the central financial tactics of wealth building, capital preservation, and estate distribution. The result is a unified explanation of tax-economics that will permit the tax professional to locate, analyze, and solve financial concerns. Designed to improve the quality of services to clients and the profitability of engagements, this program projects the accountant into the world of financial planning.

This course integrates federal taxation with overall financial planning. The course explores tax strategies relating to the central financial tactics of wealth building, capital preservation, and estate distribution. The result is a unified explanation of tax economics that will permit the tax professional to locate, analyze, and solve financial concerns. Designed to improve the quality of services to clients and the profitability of engagements, this program projects the accountant into the world of financial planning.

This study examines how a paradigm shift from traditional to digital audits could affect the audit expectation gap. It uncovers possible new areas of the expectation gap and threats and challenges resulting from this paradigm shift. The findings suggest that audit digitalization will result in the profession transitioning from the defensive approach of educating users on auditors' duties to a constructive approach of using digital tools to perform some of the duties that users expect of auditors. Digital technologies have the potential to enhance internal controls and facilitate fraud prevention and detection, thus narrowing the expectation gap with these critical issues. The potential benefits of switching to the constructive approach include lower costs for audit firms, enhanced audit quality, and improved client perceptions of auditors.

Regulatory, reporting and disclosure requirements surrounding employee benefit plan auditing are growing and changing. Audit deficiencies are more common than firms care to see. The risk of plan failures or fraud is always present for plan sponsors. Learn about the complexities, trending issues and steps you can take to be up to date on regulatory, audit and accounting requirements, perform quality audits and serve your clients with timely and accurate advice.

Operating costs for vehicles used in a taxpayer's business are deductible. Thus, when taxpayers use their automobiles in their businesses or employment, they can deduct that portion of the cost of operating their vehicle. Vehicle property taxes can be deducted if they are itemized on Schedule A. This course reviews personal and business use apportionment, the actual cost method, the standard mileage method and expensing. Moreover, this presentation informs practitioners about the benefits and costs of leasing versus owning and working condition fringe benefits.

Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting has begun. Are you prepared to navigate the uncertainties of the new requirements? This course brings together CalCPA leaders and CAMICO experts for a conversation on managing risks and serving your clients.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act was enacted to minimize abuse of the bankruptcy system. Included in this Act were tax law changes and other changes that individuals, partnerships, and corporations will see in the bankruptcy procedures and qualifications. This mini-course examines these changes that debtors face when filing for federal bankruptcy and explores the many tax issues of bankruptcy. Practitioners will also learn about other issues such as homesteading and garnishment by creditors.

This course overviews basic fringe benefits and examines their mechanics, compensation methods, valuation, withholding, and accounting. Achievement awards, term life insurance, medical reimbursement, meals & lodging, educational assistance, dependent care, employer-provided automobiles, interest-free loans, etc., are identified. Employer and employee economic and tax considerations are recognized. Fringe benefit requirements and limits are specified and ERISA compliance requirements are determined.