CPE & Event Calendar

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.

When we verbally communicate with an individual, we must make a conscious decision as to whether we believe what we have heard.  Little do we realize that we are not making a decision based on what we have heard; rather we make a subconscious decision based primarily on what we have seen, or how the body was behaving when the subject was speaking.  We often walk away from a conversation with a gut feeling that the person was not telling the truth.  That gut feeling is your subconscious.  Yet we often have no idea as to why we have that feeling. This presentation is designed to provide the participant with the tools to identify those both verbal and nonverbal indicators that we all give off when we are under stress.  Normally, telling the truth does not create stress.  When we lie, we know that we are not supposed to and that creates stress, and it will manifest itself in some manner, and that is what a trained interviewer is looking to observe. When we observe indicators of deception, how do we deal with it?  How do we get the subject to admit to a wrong-doing when it is not in their best interest to do so?  That is one of the many things that will be addressed in this presentation.  Whether you are a parent dealing with you kids; an employer dealing with employees or and investigation interviewing a suspect, this presentation will provide you with the tools to assist you in finding the truth.

As reported in the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Occupational Fraud 2022:  A Report to the Nations, on average, small businesses lose 5% of their revenue due to fraud.  Can the average small business owner afford to lose 5% of their revenue due to fraud?  I think not.  This presentation is designed to illustrate the numerous ways employees commit fraud in small businesses, how to detect it, and most importantly, how to prevent it.  Both auditors and small business owners would both benefit from this presentation.

This session will highlight recent cases of ethical failures and fraud and will highlight concepts of trust, personal accountability, responding to fraud, and the conduct expected of CPAs outlined in the Code of Professional Conduct. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

A significant number of projects fail to achieve their initial goals and/or are not completed within budget and their original timetable. As a team member, a CMA has a unique skill set and experiences to assist in project management. In addition to their analytical training and knowledge of budgets and controls, they typically have ongoing contacts with other professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Familiar analytical tools/techniques can be applied to managing projects. This brief program is designed to aid both experienced and less experienced participants in increasing their knowledge of, and comfort with, the steps and skills needed for success.

Communication is the glue that connects people, but it doesn’t come easy for many of us. If you want to quickly and effectively handle problems with co-workers or clients, and you want people to do what you want without a lot of hassle, this seminar is for you. The bottom line will be better client and co-worker relationships, leading to increased enjoyment and productivity at work.

More and more entities need Yellow Book engagements, including a growing number of for-profit entities. In this course, we will review the unique independence requirements in GAGAS. We'll also review the recent changes to quality management in Yellow Book. We'll close with a reminder of common deficiencies found in Yellow Book engagements. 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 the tests used to determine whether a worker is properly characterized as an employee or an independent contractor for tax purposes, with a focus on the cost of getting it wrong and possible Section 530 relief.  The game changing impact of the Dynamex case and AB5 will also be discussed.  **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.

With capacity challenges on the mind of many tax and accounting leaders, finding ways for their teams to work more efficiently is crucial. They need their teams to not be busy, but deliver value, and continue to develop their skills and knowledge. Project Management techniques help uncover inefficiencies and gaps in current processes, as well as, manage the planning and forecasting needed to drive necessary changes for future success. In this session, learn when to incorporate project management best practices that can help you get the best out of your team.

In order not to perform an excessive number of audit procedures (over audit) auditors must perform procedures in order to determine in what areas are there weak internal controls that could result in a risk that the financial statements would be materially misstated and not be detected.  SAS No. 122, AU 300 – 499, Measuring Audit Risk provides guidance as well as required procedures that must be performed in every audit in order to determine the risk of material misstatement.  No longer can the auditor state that they assess the risk of material misstatement at maximum without having a basis for making such assessment.  As a result, the standards now require that the auditor make such an assessment of a material misstatement of the financial statement on every audit in order to have a basis for such assessment.  This program is an overview of the statement documentation requirements in assessing such a risk.

This course will provide an overview of 6 key areas of automation that accounting firms can leverage to effectively increase their lead generation and client retention efforts while reducing the burden on their time and budget. These areas include: 1. Social media 2. Content development. 3. Email marketing. 4. Text (SMS) marketing. 5. Chatbots and other interactive AI tools. 6. Drip marketing campaigns. Attendees will receive a practical guide to the technologies and tactics needed to improve marketing efforts with efficiency and ease! This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

You don’t need an accounting degree to harness the power of Microsoft Excel. This course shows how Excel makes sense beyond dollars and cents. We will focus on fundamental concepts for creating, editing, and utilizing Excel content. Participants will learn how to use Excel’s menus and other functions to craft Excel workbooks. Because this course is designed for newer users, we intentionally offer a broad overview of Excel’s numerous capabilities with in-depth coverage of selected resources tailored for non-accounting applications.

OneNote is a fantastic application included in your Microsoft 365 subscription. Yet, it is underutilized and misunderstood most of the time. If you genuinely want to change how you work, embrace OneNote. Stop using Outlook as a filing cabinet for essential emails and move them to OneNote instead. If you share a OneNote notebook with others, you can stop emailing altogether within your group and use OneNote as your collaboration and reference platform.

Overview of the most important labor and employment policies and practices that every business should have. The review will go over confidentiality agreements, arbitration agreements, restrictive covenants, training, and severance agreements, as well as compliance issues related to each of them. 

Do you ever get blank looks when you present your company's financial statements? Does your board nod knowingly, during your presentation, but never seem to have any meaningful questions? It could be that they have no idea what you are talking about and are just pretending to understand! Learn how to connect with your CEO, board, fellow managers, and ordinary employees so they understand your message. Learn to motivate them to action. Come hear a veteran CFO tell you how. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

For many small businesses, the standards issued by the FASB may have little to no effect as they impact topics that do not reflect the type of transactions that these entities most frequently experience. This class will focus on the Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs) that are most likely to impact small businesses with a focus on ASUs initiated by the Private Company Council (PCC). We'll then look at alternative reporting options to GAAP including FRF for SMEs and IFRS for SMEs for entities who don't necessarily need to prepare GAAP financial statements but want to use accrual accounting. Finally, we will transition to audit standards that small business auditors will need to implement. 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 will start with the Accounting Standard Updates effective in 2024 for public entities, private entities, and nonprofits. We'll then switch our attention to the items coming down the pike, including a look at the projects identified by the FASB's Invitation to Comment: Agenda Consultation. We'll also review year 2 considerations for leases including modification accounting. Then we will switch gears, switching to the audit side of the house. We'll review the impact of the changes to auditing group audits as well as the status of the AICPA's quality management project management. This course will keep auditors up to date on the work of the ASB. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Specifically designed for preparation, compilation, and review practitioners, this course will provide you with a comprehensive review and hands-on application for performing financial statement preparation, compilation, and review engagements. You will learn the ins and outs of applying SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, as well as the additional guidance related to SSARS engagements through the issuance of SSARS Nos. 22-26 by the ARSC. In addition to SSARS 26, the entire suite of quality management standards is discussed. However, knowing the standards is not enough. You need to be able to effectively apply them. To support this, the course will review recent peer review feedback on SSARS engagements, providing insights on how to successfully apply this guidance. Not only will this course bring you up to date on SSARS requirements and guidance, but more importantly, it will provide you with practical examples and illustrations to help you effectively and efficiently perform these types of engagements. This course is intended to be your go-to reference for training your staff and managing your SSARS No. 21-26 services in compliance with professional, ethical, and technical requirements.

Most review techniques developed by professionals are self-taught and fine-tuned via experience. Yet how does one start? The purpose of this course is to give both new and seasoned reviewers additional and advanced procedures via a multitude of checklists to thoroughly review various tax returns. Its emphasis is not planning; rather, it is to develop a strategy to properly review a return effectively and thoroughly. The course includes dozens of practice tips for new reviewers and is updated for impacts of newly enacted legislation.

In this continually revised course, tax advisors will be fully updated on the most recent enacted legislation and IRS guidance, as well as major trends on the horizon with a view toward planning considerations. This update course is designed for all practitioners, both those working in public accounting as well as those in private industry, who need the latest information on tax changes. Please Note: Due to content overlap, it is recommended that this course NOT be taken together with BITU.