CPE Catalog & Events

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.

The business structure a client chooses influences virtually every tax and financial issue associated with the business, including the business's day-to-day operations, its tax liability, how much of the owners' personal assets are at risk, and much more. For this and many other reasons, it is critical that a client choose a business structure that gives the right balance of legal protections and tax benefits. From a tax perspective, in terms of selecting an entity to do business in, the universe shifted with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted at the end of 2017. The tax rate for C corporations was lowered to 21% and the §199A deduction offered pass-through entities the chance to significantly lower the rate at which they are taxed. But how do all these options work and which option is best for which business? Those questions are at the heart of this webinar. In this program, we discuss whether there is a "best entity" for our clients. Accounting and finance professionals know that re-examining choice of entity determination is at the top of the agenda for client meetings because clients continue to want reassurance that they have the most tax-efficient entity structure. This program will equip you with the knowledge and insights you need to lead those discussions.

Almost every accountant uses Excel, but most don't use it as efficiently and effectively as they could or should. Participate in this session to learn various accountant-centric Excel tips, tricks, and techniques to leverage Excel for your benefit.

Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed in 2025, 100% bonus depreciation is now permanently available for new and used assets. OBBBA has restored 100% bonus depreciation and increased the depreciation that can be taken under Section 179. OBBBA also provided a new, important depreciation topic — qualified production property. These topics, covered extensively in the program, are vital for tax practitioners advising business taxpayers.

The life cycle of the small business can be summed up in three segments: 1) starting the business; 2) operating the business; and 3) getting out of the business. This course focuses on getting out of the business. The most elusive element of owning a small business can be finding the proper exit strategy. This course is designed to provide the business consulting practitioner with tools and concepts to advise the small business owner and assist them in developing the right exit strategy. The course covers exit strategies related to third-party sales and succession planning within a family.

Each year brings its own set of tax planning challenges, and this year is no exception. This course aims to arm tax planners with planning strategies and ideas that all clients, but in particular, wealthy clients, middle-income clients, and closely held business owners need to consider right now to take advantage of present opportunities and plan for future tax advantages. Learn strategies that can really have an impact on client lives, while also bringing value to you and your firm. Please Note: 2026 returns are not covered in this course. They will be covered after their issuance, as part of our spring 2027 course release.

One of the most intimidating aspects of going into business for yourself is compliance. Tax, employment, and regulatory laws are difficult to navigate, so it often falls on the CPA to know the basics in these areas to help their clients avoid costly litigation. In this course, we will cover basic compliance areas for small business owners. We will look at the main elements of a contract, taxation of entity types, worker classification, property law, and many of the other areas that are often overwhelming for small business owners. By being able to speak to these issues, practitioners will be able to add value and help their small business owner clients grow and thrive.

Data analytics and mining are the fastest growing disciplines in accounting and general management. Many organizations are either planning programs or have them already underway. Unfortunately, a number of these attempts fail due to poor planning/preparation and a lack of commitment, training, and clear vision of the program's goals. Today there is no shortage of data, but relatively few organizations have established an environment and ongoing process to isolate, capture, analyze, and convert data into actionable information. At times, even organizations that are employing leading-edge analytics are doing it with traditional, limited sets of data. This session explores how an organization can successfully become data driven. The discussion includes numerous examples demonstrating how accounting and financial professionals can build upon their current analytical skills to better perform traditional tasks and assume a role as a business partner with others in their organization. The program is aimed to assist those just beginning the journey, as well as those who want to test their current efforts or are considering the need for a restart. In addition to discussing a number of analytical tools, including available software, lists of reference books and next-level software are provided. This program continues to build upon the Controllership Update Series.

Why do some companies fail while others grow and succeed for generations? Common perceptions often attribute organizational success to great leadership, timing, or unique ideas. Although these traits certainly play a role in helping companies grow, research shows that corporate success often hinges on whether a company is value driven. Such companies have core ideologies that drive almost every major decision. In this course, we look at empirical data on why some companies succeed while others fail. By looking at companies that were created prior to 1950 (e.g., Disney, Marriott, or 3M), we can understand why certain organizations have been able to grow and achieve exceptional success through many different eras in the American economy. The lessons learned from these visionary companies can be broadly applied to organizations of all sizes, including accounting and financial service firms.

Each year brings its own set of tax planning challenges, and this year is no exception. This course aims to arm tax planners with planning strategies and ideas that all clients, but in particular, wealthy clients, middle-income clients, and closely held business owners need to consider right now to take advantage of present opportunities and plan for future tax advantages. Learn strategies that can really have an impact on client lives, while also bringing value to you and your firm. Please Note: 2026 returns are not covered in this course. They will be covered after their issuance, as part of our spring 2027 course release.

For CFOs and Controllers, the emergence of regulatory, fiscal, and monetary policy directly impacting their organizations' costs, competitiveness, and financing options, are causing them to understand the effect of shocks well outside of their control. The Dodd-Frank Act, health care reform, shortfalls in Social Security, unfunded pension liabilities, and deficit spending will all be explored relative to their impact on the CFO/Controller and your organization.

Excel charts and other visualizations can be excellent tools for conveying your intended message. Join the K2 team in this session to learn more about how you can create compelling visualizations to help you communicate key business messages.

The title "Chief Financial Officer" is not an accurate description for what many financial managers do because the word "chief" implies the company has more than one degreed accountant. This seminar covers four major topics of importance to the financial manager who must do it all. We have designed Only Financial Officer 3.0 to give financial managers in small to medium-sized companies the high-level skills needed to act as a member of top management.

This session is designed as a primer to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) and to discuss how it will impact accountants as they work. The material will briefly explain what AI is and then focus on ways that it is already serving those in the accounting realm. It will close with a look at future AI-centric developments that will have great potential to positively impact on the accounting profession. Those wishing to gain an understanding of what artificial intelligence is and how it will be used by accountants should consider attending this session.

With the AICPA's heightened focus on enhancing audit quality, increased oversight of the peer review process and the auditor's overall responsibility to provide high quality services, the focus on compliance with professional standards has never been greater. Add to that the requirement to implement the revised risk assessment standards (SAS 145) and it's easy to see why it's more important than ever to ensure that auditors have a good understanding of the requirements and comply with documentation standards. Recent peer reviews have indicated that auditors are often failing to perform and/or document certain critical components of an audit such as the auditor's assessment of risk and linking the results of the assessment to substantive procedures performed. In addition, auditors are not adequately documenting their consideration of fraud, expectations in analytical procedures and the appropriate level of work needed to understand an entity's internal control. Firms were required to implement the AICPA's Revised Quality Management Standards by December 15, 2025. And the firm's evaluation of the System of Quality Management is required within one year after that. This is not just a matter of tweaking the firm's existing QM document, the standard requires a risk assessment process to identify risk and there are new quality objectives that are specified in SQMS 1-3. The AICPA further issued a SAS, SSARS and SSAE that set forth requirements for quality at the engagement level. The objective of the course is to provide the insights necessary to help auditors and accountants improve not just the quality of their work but also the perception of the accounting profession as a whole. We will focus on the most significant items resulting in deficiencies identified in the peer review process. We will also discuss the applicable audit standards, documentation requirements, and best practices. We will address the new QM standards.

Cyber threats targeting accounting and finance professionals are growing more sophisticated, putting sensitive financial data at risk. This session explores the most pressing cybersecurity challenges accounting and finance professionals face today, including email fraud, phishing attacks, cloud security risks, and securing remote work environments. It also addresses the role of cyber insurance. Through real-world case studies and practical strategies, participants will learn how to recognize and mitigate cyber threats, evaluate cyber insurance policies, and implement security measures that protect their firms and clients. Attendees will leave with actionable steps to strengthen their cybersecurity posture and ensure compliance with evolving regulatory and industry standards.

How much can clients contribute to a Roth IRA, Roth 401(k), Roth SEP IRA, or Roth SIMPLE IRA? When do enhanced (super) catch-up contributions apply, and when must those catch-up contributions be made on a Roth basis? How does a Roth distribution qualify as tax-free? How did SECURE Act 1.0 and SECURE Act 2.0 fundamentally change Roth funding and distribution rules? These are among the core Roth questions advisors must be able to answer with confidence. As Roth accounts continue to play an increasingly central role in retirement savings strategies — and as contribution rules become more layered and complex — Roth proficiency is no longer optional. In addition, new rules governing age-based enhanced catch-up contributions and the Roth mandate for certain higher-income participants have added a new level of coordination between tax planning, payroll, and retirement plan design. In this course, Denise Appleby simplifies the critical rules that govern Roth funding and Roth distributions across Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, and related employer plans. Emphasis is placed on understanding how the rules interact, where advisors commonly make mistakes, and how recent legislative changes affect real-world planning.

Even though the current transfer tax exemption is extremely high to the point that few decedents have a federal estate tax liability, administering an estate is a burden for many family members. In many cases, the family members will look to their professional advisors for help in estate planning and administering an estate. The purpose of this program is to discuss those issues that practitioners with clients involved in estate planning administration need to know to advise those clients. Lack of planning and preparedness in estate issues can cost the heirs time and money upon a decedent's death.

This course introduces accounting, auditing, and finance professionals to the emerging field of agentic AI: autonomous, goal-driven systems capable of planning, acting, and learning with minimal human intervention. Participants will explore how agentic AI differs from traditional automation (RPA) and generative AI, and how these agents are being deployed in finance and accounting. The course emphasizes foundational concepts such as the Perceive-Reason-Act-Learn (PRAL) loop and ethical decision-making frameworks. To ground abstract ideas in practice, participants will experience a brief agent simulation using basic ChatGPT, showcasing how natural language prompts can emulate agentic behavior, such as goal setting, clarification loops, and structured task execution. The course also highlights real-world agent platforms (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, IBM watsonx, and UiPath) to provide context on enterprise adoption trends and discusses emerging global regulations such as the EU AI Act and the U.S. Executive Order on Safe AI.

A thorough understanding of the Yellow Book is essential for anyone working with governments and not-for-profits. This course provides comprehensive coverage of Yellow Book requirements while building confidence and proficiency in performing Yellow Book audits. The course uses a highly illustrative and engaging format, featuring more than 25 focused exercises designed to strengthen practical application and enhance working knowledge.