CPE Catalog & Events

Consolidations have always been a complex topic in accounting. This course will discuss the requirements to consolidate and private company options. It will cover which entities need to consolidate and include an in-depth discussion on variable interest entities (VIEs). It will also cover the FASB's recent revisions to the Financial Accounting Concepts (FACs) chapter on entities.

Digital assets have moved from the fringes of tax administration into the core of IRS compliance and enforcement strategy. Practitioners today face a rapidly evolving landscape in which cryptocurrency transactions, digital wallets, exchanges, and blockchain activity present both unprecedented transparency and significant visibility gaps. This course provides a practitioner-level examination of how the IRS approaches digital asset compliance, where enforcement efforts are focused, and where reporting blind spots still exist. Drawing on firsthand experience inside the IRS, Trish Turner, former Head of Digital Assets at the Internal Revenue Service and now with CryptoTaxGirl, explains how digital asset data is identified, analyzed, and used in examinations, collections, and criminal investigations. Participants will explore how the IRS obtains digital asset information, including exchange reporting, summons activity, blockchain analytics, and third-party data sources. The course also addresses common compliance failures seen in audits, the practical limitations of current reporting regimes, and how visibility gaps affect risk assessment for both taxpayers and practitioners. Emphasis is placed on practical takeaways for tax professionals advising clients with digital asset exposure, including how to identify red flags, assess compliance risk, respond to IRS inquiries, and navigate evolving reporting obligations. This course is designed to help practitioners move beyond surface-level crypto rules and understand how enforcement actually works in practice. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

In 2006, Congress passed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act. Prior to the Act's passage, rewards to individuals who provided information to the IRS regarding tax fraud were capped at $10 million. The Tax Relief and Health Care Act authorized the IRS to create a Whistleblower Office dedicated to investigating, processing and recovering claims concerning the underpayment of taxes. Under the IRS' new program, whistleblowers may recover 15 to 30 percent of the amount collected provided the taxes and amounts in dispute exceed $2 million. If the whistleblower's claim does not meet these criteria, the IRS may still consider granting an award under its pre-2006 Tax Relief Act discretionary authority. Given the rapid growth of this program, practitioners should have a basic understanding of the procedure and content for IRS Whistleblower claims, both from the perspective of a claimant's potential to recover and a taxpayer's exposure to liability.

This session provides insights for enhancing the preparation and utilization of budgets. Seasoned accountants will benefit from a refreshed awareness of popular techniques. Budding financial professionals will obtain novel insight regarding fundamental budgeting concepts. All participants will develop an appreciation for the holistic nature of budgeting as an integral tool for planning and control. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Our clients' personal financial planning issues are quickly developing and keep us challenged in a new operating environment! Many new approaches are needed in working through, understanding, diagnosing and then adopting innovative and proven strategies. Additional ways of experiencing these client situations are entering the picture. With information overload, part of the CPA's challenge is to help clients stay focused on goals while managing expectations in a rapidly changing environment. This course will update you on the newest personal financial planning changes related to insurance, investments, education, retirement, estate, cash flow management, divorce, closely held businesses and other relevant topics. We'll discuss critical issues, including planning for education, divorce, charitable, exceptional circumstances, business owners and highly compensated executives. Be sure to register for all of our PFP updates: PFP Update: Income Tax, Retirement, and Estate Planning PFP Update: Issues, Exposures, and Developing Client Strategy PFP Update: Investment Planning in This New Era

It's not about top-down management anymore — things have changed. For organizations to be successful today, everyone needs to contribute. Our success depends not just on how you manage those who report to you but also on those to whom you report. The world is too complex now for any one person to have all the answers. Sometimes those in charge need and want your support. Learn how to manage the managers in "Managing Up the Ladder." It takes a special finesse and approach. You'll learn strategies for acquiring buy-in from those above you in the organization and tools for more effective communications and building respect.

Answering clients' tax questions accurately and on time is a key challenge for tax practitioners. Through simple, plain language explanations and examples, this course will help practitioners perform tax research more efficiently by describing the structure of the primary sources, highlighting the difference between primary and secondary sources, and describing the steps in the tax research process.

All organizations are looking for ways to gain an advantage over the competition. This practical and interactive session will present a toolkit of ideas to help CFOs, controllers, and finance professionals better position their organizations for the future. We know change is occurring at an exponential rate, and that has proven to be the case in all areas of finance, management, and leadership over the past year. The course deals with these new issues and will continue to be updated as necessary throughout the year. This year, we will take a special interest in the opportunities and threats of AI for the finance professional. Become the "financial hero" of your organization and make a positive impact on the bottom line.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of SOC 2 reports, focusing on their structure, purpose, and how to interpret and apply them in a compliance or risk management context. Participants will learn about the five Trust Services Criteria (Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy), the difference between Type I and Type II reports, and the key components of a SOC 2 report including the system description, management assertion, and testing results. The course also covers common pitfalls in relying on SOC 2 reports and best practices for evaluating scope, subservice providers, and complementary user controls. Designed for auditors, compliance professionals, and vendor risk reviewers, this session equips attendees to effectively analyze and apply SOC 2 reports in real-world scenarios. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

One of the top concerns of any organization's leadership is how to mitigate the risk of cybersecurity threats, along with the prevention and detection of fraud. This course will focus on the most common cybersecurity vulnerabilities and fraud trends, and best practices for managing them. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

To many clients, CPA firms all look the same. While services and specialties may vary significantly from one firm to another, it is hard for the average person to see this by simply looking at the sign outside our office door. Is there any way to make us stand out more to the outside world? Through surveys, statistics, and examples, this course looks at how CPA firms can develop a marketing plan beyond just relying on referrals. We look at the pluses and minuses of various marketing channels, regulatory constraints, and how to measure success in the competitive financial services space.

Relevant Excel methods for accounting experts In Excel, there are several opportunities to apply features, functions and methods to build a dynamic workbook. In this hands-on demonstration of several Excel skills, you'll review the following topics through engaging expert-led instruction: Dynamic headers Horizontal reports Mapping Tables Data Validation Excel error checking skill development Designed with time for you to work along with the facilitator, this webcast examines the importance of automating reporting workbooks in Excel. You will review various topics, including: Horizontal or crosstab reports Mapping tables and how they are the key to unlocking major efficiency gains. Data validation in digital reports Error Check *Session 8 is one of eight sessions that is available as an individual session. Each session builds on the prior sessions, so you'll want to consider watching other parts of the bundle. [Excel for Accounting Professionals Webcast Series] (https://www.aicpa-cima.com/cpe-learning/webcast/excel-for-accounting-professionals-webcast-series-bundle) to further prepare to tackle real-world issues and build powerful workbooks.*

This course offers an in-depth look at retirement needs models, their flaws, and ways to overcome associated drawbacks. You'll explore holistic retirement planning while reviewing threats to a successful retirement. You'll also hear about recent retirement planning changes, including the elimination of the "Stretch IRA" by the SECURE Act and the new SECURE Act 2.0 changes. We'll address key questions to plan a comfortable retirement and discuss strategies to draw down retirement assets over an extended period.

The course explores the challenges of the current economic trends and analyzes their impact on you as the financial executive in areas of human resource management; credit markets and banking; risk management and pandemic style disruptions; cash flow planning strategies; debt and equity mix impacts in uncertain markets; globalization of the market in times of uncertainty; retirement planning and social security funding; and acquiring distressed companies and assets. Specific recommendations and insights will be offered to you to deal with the challenges.

Are you a new advisor handling S Corp clients, or perhaps a seasoned professional facing this common scenario: "My S Corp client didn't take reasonable compensation last year. Now what?" Knowing that reasonable compensation isn't just a tax obligation, but a strategic financial decision, you need to be armed with expert knowledge to help your client navigate this situation. Join us to discuss IRS regulations, understand preventive measures, and address challenges within the year. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Is that business jet, RV, yacht or luxury automobile really deductible? This course tackles the tricky terrain of listed property depreciation, helping tax professionals navigate IRC 280F with confidence and clarity. Whether your client is flying high, cruising the coast, or hitting the highway, this session will help you determine what qualifies, what doesn't, and how to keep the IRS at bay. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

By the time a client calls you about suspected fraud, the clock is already running: records can be altered, evidence can vanish, and every day of delay weakens your case. If your practice touches QuickBooks Online, you need to know how to move fast and correctly. This course walks you through exactly that, from scoping the engagement and preserving the file before anything changes, to gaining access when someone tries to block you. You'll master the Audit Log to recover deleted and voided transactions, examine reconciliation history and bank feeds for tampering, and use Reclass to isolate suspicious activity - the same techniques a trained investigator relies on. You'll also learn to cross-match vendors and employees for shell-vendor and ghost-employee schemes, trace lapping on the revenue side, and spot the AP red flags that confirm what you suspected all along 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 recurring PCAOB inspection themes related to Information Technology General Controls and explains why certain ITGC audit approaches consistently raise concerns. Rather than focusing on individual deficiencies, the course examines inspection patterns tied to evidence quality, professional skepticism, control clarity, scoping decisions, SOC reliance, and reviewer judgment. Participants will gain insight into how inspectors evaluate ITGC workpapers and how recurring signals of weak documentation or unsupported assumptions increase inspection risk. Understanding these themes strengthens audit defensibility and improves overall ITGC execution. 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 offers an in-depth look at retirement needs models, their flaws, and ways to overcome associated drawbacks. You'll explore holistic retirement planning while reviewing threats to a successful retirement. You'll also hear about recent retirement planning changes, including the elimination of the "Stretch IRA" by the SECURE Act and the new SECURE Act 2.0 changes. We'll address key questions to plan a comfortable retirement and discuss strategies to draw down retirement assets over an extended period.

This advanced course examines the federal tax consequences of business dissolutions, ownership changes, and related restructuring transactions involving partnerships, S corporations, and closely held businesses. Using a cradle-to-grave framework, the program addresses planning, execution, valuation, reporting, and post-transaction compliance issues arising in sales, redemptions, liquidations, divorces, deaths, and internal restructurings. Participants will analyze inside and outside basis, debt basis, Section 754 adjustments, Section 302 redemption tests, Section 1041 transfers, F reorganizations, Section 751 hot assets, and the treatment of goodwill and other Section 197 intangibles. The course also incorporates practical guidance on NIIT, potential Section 1202 considerations, final-year return procedures, and selected state tax issues that commonly affect business exits and ownership transitions. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.