CPE Catalog & Events

The budget and the forecast are two common tools used by controllers and CFOs across almost every industry. However, are we really getting the most out of these tools? Or are we merely replicating whatever was done last year? In this course, we will use examples and illustrations to demonstrate various budgeting and forecasting techniques. We will discuss traditional approaches, as well as newer approaches such as flexible budgeting, in an effort to show how companies can gain more value. 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 provides a concise overview of how to utilize ChatGPT for advanced financial analysis in accounting. The session reveals how to combine sophisticated evaluation and interpretation of financial data with the cutting-edge AI capabilities of ChatGPT. Aimed at enhancing the understanding of an entity's performance, predicting future financial health, and aiding in informed business decision-making, this course goes beyond basic financial statement analysis to include a wide array of techniques and tools. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

If sales increase, so should profits.  Yet, the opposite result often leaves executives scratching their heads.  When organizations work with inferior cost information, they make mistakes in four specific situations.  Bad information causes sellers to overprice easy, high-volume work and underprice difficult, low-volume work.  This session discusses how to use activity-based costing data to build accurate costing models that consider far more than just the labor and materials necessary to provide goods and services.  

You spent your life building retirement savings.  Now you want to make sure your savings last the rest of your life and perhaps pass some on to the next generation.  Come hear a veteran financial educator talk about money management and planning issues for this phase of your life.  

Cybercrime is on the rise and CPAs that handle sensitive client data are often the target of cybercrimes.  By attending this session you'll learn what the eight biggest threats are to your business and uncover the three pillars of cybersecurity that you can build your firm's defense around.

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.

For accounting and tax professionals, understanding the inner workings of blockchain and cryptocurrency is no longer just an advantage—it’s a necessity. This course provides an in-depth look into the mechanics of digital currencies and revolutionary blockchain technology, equipping attendees with the knowledge to navigate benefits and risks effectively. Special emphasis is placed on the tax implications for both individuals and estates, ensuring that attendees can confidently advise on these issues, which are becoming increasingly relevant in financial planning and asset management. This offering is more than just a learning experience; it’s an investment in one’s professional growth. By understanding the tax complexities and estate planning challenges posed by digital assets, participants will be able to offer valuable insights and strategic solutions. They will emerge from this course not just with theoretical knowledge but with actionable skills that can be applied immediately. In a landscape where digital assets are becoming commonplace, this is the education that will differentiate the exceptional from the average. Join today and step into a role as a leader in finance for the digital age. **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.

Many finance departments spend considerable time managing cash, particularly if the organization is highly leveraged or cash rich.  Many opportunities exist to reduce your financing costs or increase short-term cash returns if you manage cash effectively.  This session will cover a wide variety of day-to-day cash management tools.  

Many organizations struggle to keep budgets current in an ever-changing business climate.  Twenty-first century performance metrics focus on determining what budgets should be rather than what they were in the past.  Using performance metrics effectively reduces work, reduces politics, provides flexibility and substantially improves the performance management process.  This session will show you powerful techniques to drive your organization’s performance.

Explore the current audit environment, and recognize audit challenges triggered by the current environment. Provide a comprehensive review of recent audit pronouncements and exposure drafts. Understand topics critical to success in today's rapidly changing regulatory environment.

In the ever-evolving world of data analytics and business intelligence, Microsoft Excel continues to be an indispensable tool for professionals across industries. With the introduction of Copilot, Microsoft has integrated the power of artificial intelligence directly into Excel, revolutionizing how users work with data. This 2-hour interactive course, Unlock the Power of AI with Copilot in Excel, provides a comprehensive overview of how Copilot transforms traditional Excel workflows into dynamic, AI-driven processes, enabling users to accomplish tasks faster, more accurately, and with less manual effort. During this course, you'll discover how Copilot leverages AI to enhance productivity and streamline operations. Whether you're a seasoned Excel user or just beginning your journey, this course will guide you through practical applications and best practices to make the most of Copilot's capabilities. Through hands-on demonstrations and real-world examples, you'll see how Copilot can save time, improve decision-making, and elevate your analytical skills to new heights. This course not only focuses on the technical aspects of Copilot but also highlights its potential to transform your day-to-day work, from automating repetitive tasks to uncovering trends and insights you might otherwise overlook. By the end of the session, you'll be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to integrate Copilot into your workflows and unlock its full potential in Microsoft Excel. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Conduct a compliant audit Identify proper audit procedures to test the line items of the statement of net assets available for benefits, including investments. Identify proper audit procedures to test the activity in the statement of changes in net assets available for benefits, including participant testing. Plan investments Differentiate plan investment procedures based upon the type of audit and risk assessment. Identify types and classifications of common plan investments. Identify audit procedures required for investment activity, contributions and benefit payment or withdrawals at the participant level. GAAP presentation and disclosure Understand GAAP requirements for presentation and disclosure for employee benefit plan financial statements. Other audit considerations Recognize procedures needed to determine the plan's tax status Learn how to identify related parties, parties in interest, and prohibited transactions. Recognize additional audit procedures needed for Form 11-K filers.

Designed for accounting and attestation practitioners at all levels in both public accounting and business and industry, this course provides a comprehensive review of recent standard-setting activities of the FASB and AICPA. In addition to providing a detailed review of SAS No. 145, this course will bring you up to date on FASB and AICPA standards issued over the past few years, including the 16 SASs effective since 2021 and beyond. The course also provides many hands-on examples and illustrations to help you apply the guidance in practice. On the financial front, the course covers the 9 ASUs issued in 2023, including ASUs covering crypto assets and leases for common control entities. In addition to a financial accounting update, the course will discuss what you will need to do differently as you adopt new audit standards 142-149 over the next few years, including a detailed review of the audit requirements under SAS 142. The course will also cover the key changes related to SSARS No. 25. Finally, the course reviews the AICPA's quality management project. In summary, the course is your go-to source for all things A&A and will prepare you for your upcoming engagements throughout the rest of the year.

This course is designed as a comprehensive guide to the core concepts of trust and estate income tax preparation. The course explains the common terminology and complicated income tax rules of estates and trusts, fiduciary accounting, and an introduction to or refresher on preparing Form 1041. This practical, over 300-page manual is an excellent reference source for your practice, which begins with quite simple cases. Building upon that base throughout the manual, the course ends with two complicated preparation cases, one trust and one estate, each with filled-in forms.

Successful organizations, both large and small, must understand the importance of effective internal controls and be able to develop a system of controls that will keep the entity on its intended course. Moreover, those that design policies and procedures benefit by knowing why control measures are necessary. This session sets forth internal control concepts and explains the importance of strong internal control policies. The material highlights some of the reasons that measures are needed and it also provides an overview of control creation methods. Finally, it discusses ways to successfully implement the developed policies and procedures. Participants that take this course will gain a well-rounded understanding of internal control procedures of all types. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Cover the basic requirements for performing preparation, compilation, and review engagements under Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS), including the new SSARS No. 25, Materiality in a Review of Financial Statements and Adverse Conclusions. Review common issues found on SSARS engagements in connection with peer reviews and the impact of various findings on the results of a peer review. Identify key issues to consider during SSARS engagements, and determine how to incorporate quality control recommendations and tips for performing high-quality SSARS engagements. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event

Freelance work and other non-permanent employment arrangements are becoming increasingly popular ways for people to earn a living. Although these non-traditional activities offer novel, flexible ways to earn income from diverse sources, they also introduce nuanced recordkeeping, reporting, and attestation issues. We investigate characteristics of the gig economy, employee-versus-contractor considerations, bookkeeping, regulatory compliance, and external reporting considerations. We also explore best practices for CPAs who fulfill the role of trusted advisor for gig economy clients. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The most recent recession and its fallout, weather (look at 2017), process and product failures, and unethical behavior have again highlighted failures by numerous organizations in identifying and managing risk. The size and reputation of organizations proved not to be the key to success. Again, we saw that failures can result in areas/industries thought to be "under control" through their policies, practices and/or regulations. A core activity of financial management is to effectively protect the assets of their organizations, without significantly reducing new ideas and growth. This brief program provides insights and approaches to identify risk and manage the above noted trade-off. The course is designed for financial managers looking to quickly build upon their existing knowledge and experience, as well as to help to start the less experienced individual. It offers ideas that can be used immediately, as well as longer term approaches. Updated to include new information particularly in the areas of disaster planning, business continuity, and ethics, as well as a sample group exercise to test your current risk management systems.

Do you want to build stronger relationships with your clients, improve client retention, and drive growth in your practice? This course delves into the essential strategies for effective client management in today's competitive landscape. Client relationships, like any relationship, can be challenging to manage. Miscommunication, differing work styles, and unrealistic expectations are some of the challenges accounting and finance professionals routinely encounter. However, when accounting clients and members of your team are on the same page, client loyalty and profitability improve while conflict is minimized. This webinar explores proven strategies to improve relationships between accounting and finance professionals and their clients.

Many of us expect to use logic when it comes to how we allocate our investments. The adage of "buy low, sell high" is a saying that makes logical sense. So, why do we always seem to do the opposite? Every day we are faced with decisions, and we are often influenced by two seemingly opposing voices that come from two different parts of our brain. The frontal cortex processes lots of information to help us make logical and informed choices. But there's also a small part of the brain, known as the reflexive brain, that is responsible for emotions and survival instincts. Often, this reflexive brain can have a detrimental effect on the way we handle our investments. This course will discuss some behavioral biases that affect our financial decisions. As humans, we need to be aware of how our reflexive behavior impacts our investment decision-making ability. By uncovering and understanding these biases, we may have a better chance of meeting our long-term financial goals.