CPE & Event Calendar

Managing a strong network is one of the most important things you can do to grow professionally. Yet despite its importance, maintaining an effective network is often not taught in undergraduate and graduate schools. The good news is that managing and growing a network is easier than it sounds. In fact, most professionals have some level of basic networking skills simply from helping someone find a job, attending an industry conference, or seeking professional connections through social media. Effective networking involves more than simply collecting contacts. Strong networks should be relevant to your career and consist of people you trust. Personal networks are just as important as professional networks and the two often overlap. In this course, we explore ways to strengthen and grow networks by examining proven strategies that have helped individuals meet their personal and professional goals.

Specifically tailored for practitioners who do not perform audits but provide other attest and non-attest services to small and medium-sized businesses, this course is a comprehensive update covering recently issued accounting, compilation, and review standards, as well as other professional guidance impacting small and medium-sized business accountants. The course uses practical examples and illustrations to help you understand and apply the material in practice.

Social Security seems poised for changes in benefits and eligibility age. The leading edge of the baby boomer generation has already reached retirement age. Financial and tax planners can expect increased demand for strategies that dovetail Social Security with other retirement and estate planning objectives. This course provides tax and financial planning professionals with both the background information on the Social Security system and the strategies clients will need in dealing with Social Security, and the myriad other related retirement planning issues.

Social Security seems poised for changes in benefits and eligibility age. The leading edge of the baby boomer generation has already reached retirement age. Financial and tax planners can expect increased demand for strategies that dovetail Social Security with other retirement and estate planning objectives. This course provides tax and financial planning professionals with both the background information on the Social Security system and the strategies clients will need in dealing with Social Security, and the myriad other related retirement planning issues.

For roughly 90% of American retirees, Social Security income will be the foundation of their retirement income. Yet, many are ill-prepared and lack understanding of the critical aspects of making an informed claiming decision. Further challenged to separate fact from fiction, consumers crave accurate information from knowledgeable professionals to make the most out of these coveted monthly benefits. Join Heather Schreiber, RICPr, NSSAr, founder of HLS Retirement Consulting, LLC, and author of Social Security Advisor, as she dispels common myths about Social Security that lead to confusion and replaces them with the truth to an empowered retirement. Help your clients navigate their claiming age decisions with greater confidence, equipped with the essential truths they should consider before pushing the Social Security "on" button.

Starting and owning a small business has often been referred to as the "Third Pillar of Wealth," right behind investments and owning real estate. Essentially, all businesses start off as "small businesses." Small businesses, however, require a large amount of preparation in order to successfully launch and grow. Starting a business requires the owners and managers to address a host of issues, including an understanding of applicable laws, appropriate financing, staffing requirements, marketing, liability protection, and many more. This course provides a broad overview of the critical issues business owners, as well as their professional advisors, must consider when starting and growing a small business. There is extensive research regarding best practices in this area, and this webinar is intended to distill down such information and focus on what is critical to get a small business up and running as seamlessly as possible.

A business conducted as a C corporation can be purchased through an asset acquisition or a stock acquisition. In an asset acquisition, the buyer purchases the business by purchasing the assets that make up the C corporation's ongoing business. In a stock acquisition, the buyer purchases the stock of the C corporation that owns all or a majority of the business assets. The seller and the buyer are usually at odds over how to structure the acquisition. Tax practitioners advising their business clients should be fully conversant in the tax rules that apply to stock and asset acquisitions. Discussing and explaining those rules is the focus of this course.

As the population of the United States ages, tax practitioners will be asked to advise their individual clients with respect to when they should begin to take Social Security benefits. This program will provide you with the background to knowledgeably discuss the benefit options available to Social Security beneficiaries and the alternative payment options available to married couples, dependents, a surviving spouse, and a divorced individual.

All would agree that successful communications are key to any successful venture, including audits. However, given the tight deadlines, complex issue resolution and the often remote working environment of the audit teams and clients, there are many barriers to achieving effective communications on audit engagements. In this module, we'll review common barriers to effective communication, models for effective communication which are easy to understand and utilize, the importance of both verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and the often over-looked element of communication - effective listening.

This program will cover the tax legislation embodied in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in detail so that those attending can properly advise their clients if and how these various tax changes impact their individual and business planning. This comprehensive course will detail all of the relevant facets applicable to planning for both you and your clients.

Ethics are the hallmark of our profession, and we must be uncompromising in our commitment to acting ethically. However, many ethical dilemmas arise unexpectedly as we perform our daily tasks, and challenge us, as there often appears to be several ways forward. We need to decide which is the correct one. In this game, the learner plays the role of an auditor at Surging Auditors LLP and must complete common activities from their daily task list. As they complete these tasks, the player navigates unexpected encounters with colleagues, clients, and friends with questions that challenge decision-making skills and knowledge of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and other ethics guidance. Those responses and decisions are measured to ensure the player maximizes opportunities that benefit the firm and themselves while remaining independent and within ethical boundaries.

In this hands-on game, participants are helping to prepare an internal control testing plan for Home D‚cor & More (HDM). They must assess controls related to HDM's inventory cycle to determine which financial statement assertions each control satisfies, the quality of the control's design, and whether there is adequate segregation of duties. Then, they will complete the HDM control testing plan, including the level of reliance to place on each control and the test of control methods. Each participant wants to be spot-on with the evaluation before submitting the information to a manager for feedback.

Participants play the role of an auditor collecting information, making inquiries, and documenting findings around the audit of Home D‚cor and More. They develop professional skepticism skills as they analyze data obtained from an interview with Courtney the Controller, comparing, confirming, and corroborating it against information provided by the CFO. Some things aren't matching up and the player uses Courtney's responses and their own questioning mind to consider the next step. They need to be alert to conditions that may indicate possible misstatement due to fraud or error, and a critical assessment of the audit evidence to develop a sense of when things just don't look right.

Stepping into the shoes of an outside technical consultant, each participant must perform an ASC 606 assessment for Quality Tiles, Inc. (QTI), a company recently acquired by Home D‚cor and More, Inc. (HDM). HDM management needs to ensure the company is in compliance with GAAP related to revenue recognition before the next board meeting. Participants will meet with GTI's controller and must strategically ask the right questions. Based on the information received, they will apply guidance in ASC 606, which can be complex, to a series of revenue recognition considerations to determine if revenue is being recognized appropriately.

The manager for Home D‚cor and More (HDM) requests that participants conduct a search for unrecorded liabilities. The company experienced recent turnover in the accounts payable department so there is extra concern that all liabilities have been captured as of year-end. Participants will use their expertise to make resource requests from the HDM accounting team. Once they receive the supporting documentation, they will trace transactions to the detail to identify whether each selection is properly recorded as of year-end. The manager will share feedback on the results of the search!

During this interactive game, participants take the role of an auditor performing a physical inventory observation at a client's warehouse. Participants will have the opportunity to use their powers of observation and exercise professional skepticism in identifying areas of risk that might need follow-up, interviewing Wally the client, and performing inventory test counts. After performing the test counts, participants will evaluate the results.

When real property is sold for a gain, we always try to find ways to defer recognizing income so that it won't be necessary to send a check to Uncle Sam. There is a provision within the Internal Revenue Code that allows the taxpayer to defer recognition of immediate taxable gain in the year of sale known as an "installment sale." Knowing how and when to utilize this provision makes the Accounting and Finance Professionals very valuable to either their client or the entity they work for. We will also discuss recent proposals that could impact the future of this provision.

When real property is sold for a gain, we always try to find ways to defer recognizing income so that it won't be necessary to send a check to Uncle Sam. There is a provision within the Internal Revenue Code that allows the taxpayer to defer recognition of immediate taxable gain in the year of sale known as an "installment sale." Knowing how and when to utilize this provision makes the Accounting and Finance Professionals very valuable to either their client or the entity they work for. We will also discuss recent proposals that could impact the future of this provision.

When real property is sold for a gain, we always try to find ways to defer recognizing income so it won't be necessary to send a check to Uncle Sam. There are two provisions within the Internal Revenue Code that allow the taxpayer to defer recognition of immediate taxable gain in the year of sale: installment sales and like-kind exchanges. Knowing how and when to utilize these provisions makes the Accounting and Finance Professionals very valuable to either their client or the entity they work for. We will also discuss recent proposals which could impact the future of these two provisions.

When real property is sold for a gain, we always try to find ways to defer recognizing income so it won't be necessary to send a check to Uncle Sam. There are two provisions within the Internal Revenue Code that allow the taxpayer to defer recognition of immediate taxable gain in the year of sale: installment sales and like-kind exchanges. Knowing how and when to utilize these provisions makes the Accounting and Finance Professionals very valuable to either their client or the entity they work for. We will also discuss recent proposals which could impact the future of these two provisions.