CPE Catalog & Events

Accounting and finance professionals routinely encounter a broad range of legal issues while advising clients or performing routine job functions. Contract law tops the list as the most frequent issue that intersects with the accounting and finance professions. As trusted advisors, it is wise to understand the fundamentals of contract law for both personal and professional benefit. This course provides a broad overview of contract law basics geared specifically toward the accounting and finance professions. From contract formation to enforceability, this course offers an interesting look at how contract law intersects with accounting and finance. Participants should walk away with a better understanding of common issues that arise when reviewing contracts.

The IRS has issued final regulations regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's (TCJA) elimination of the deduction for expenditures related to entertainment, amusement, or recreational activities and provided guidance to determine whether an activity is considered to be entertainment. The final regulations also address the 50% limitation on the deduction of food and beverage expenses and when the 50% limitation does not apply. To effectively advise clients, it is imperative for tax practitioners to understand these rules and be updated on the latest IRS guidance related to meals and entertainment.

Many partnerships and S corporations are now required to complete the voluminous Schedules K-2 and K-3 to report foreign-related tax information. Updated for the 2025 tax year, this course is an essential guide for tax preparers on how to tackle the preparation of these forms. Understanding and preparing these forms requires a basic knowledge of various international tax topics, including sourcing of income, foreign tax credit income categories, effectively connected income, and fixed, determinable, annual, or periodical (FDAP) income. The course includes a brief discussion of key international tax concepts, a detailed walk-through of what information is required to be reported in different parts of the schedules, and practical advice from the field. The course also includes three comprehensive case studies on how the form should be completed for operating, real estate rental, and investment partnerships. Please note: Surgent also offers a companion course, "Schedules K-2 and K-3: Filing Requirements" (KFR2).

There is always too much to do and too little time to do it all.  Fortunately, if you know the right ways to manage people, projects and your time, you can get on top of everything by working smarter.  In Part 2 of this seminar we will go into more depth about how to get more done in less time, as well as how to not burnout from all the work you do.  We will discuss additional methods for working smarter through technology, communication, stress reduction, and creating smart and helpful goals.

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.

Today’s most successful accounting firms aren’t just showing up online – they’re leading the pack with high-performing websites. In this webinar led by CPA.com and CPA Site Solutions, we’ll explore the digital strategies forward-thinking firms are using to stand out from the competition. From modern, high-converting websites to smart branding and search engine optimization, you’ll learn what’s working for your peers, and how to apply these insights to elevate your own firm’s online presence. Speaker Bios  Andy Roe, Chief Revenue Officer, CPA Site SolutionsAndy Roe is the Chief Revenue Officer at CPA Sites Solutions and a seasoned revenue leader with more than 20 years of experience in the human capital management (HCM) industry. Throughout his career, Andy has partnered closely with CPA firms and payroll providers, helping SMB clients navigate compliance, payroll and workforce challenges through technology-enabled solutions. He specializes in scaling sales organizations, aligning go-to-market strategy and driving long-term customer value in SaaS businesses.Chris Cromer, Director of Operations, CPA.comChris Cromer is a senior technology leader responsible for the architecture, support and operational integrity of CPA.com's products and services, alongside enterprise IT functions. He serves as Product Manager for the .cpa top-level domain (gTLD) and CPA.com's email product. A CPA.com team member since 2001, Chris brings more than two decades of cross-functional expertise spanning cybersecurity, DevOps, cloud infrastructure, IT governance and compliance frameworks. Prior to CPA.com, Chris served in the United States Air Force and held a role in the Internet Operations group at Pearson PLC, where he led the migration of legacy LAN-based educational software to scalable, internet-delivered platforms — an early and complex undertaking in the shift toward SaaS-model delivery.  

Audits conducted under the Uniform Guidance for Federal Awards continue to be among the most challenging audit engagements as the number of federally funded programs for not-for-profit organizations continues to increase. This course will provide you with what you need to know to prepare for Single Audits conducted during 2026, including performing the compliance audit and auditor reporting responsibilities.

This course is designed to present the most common types of financial statement fraud and embezzlement, illustrated through real cases and situations. We'll distinguish financial reporting fraud from misappropriation of assets and highlight common schemes involving one or both types of fraud. We'll review high-profile cases and other real-world situations to emphasize the CPA's role and responsibility. This course will also touch on updated GAAS requirements. Get ready to examine the methods used to perpetrate and disguise schemes, learn how fraud can be detected by both management and auditors, and explore the CPA's role in preventing and detecting both types of fraud.

There is always too much to do and too little time to do it all.  Fortunately, if you know the right ways to manage people, projects and your time, you can get on top of everything by working smarter.  In this seminar you'll learn the best ways to get more done in less time, how to stay sane with all you have to do, and how to get other people to do some of "your" work by building great relationships.

New personal financial planning strategies are emerging due to passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill and evolving personal goals in difficult economic and legal environments. Drawn from recent publications and government directives, this course reviews the latest financial strategies and planning changes from the past year in insurance, investments, tax, estate and retirement, including Social Security and Medicare. Additionally, Randy covers estate and tax planning strategies that enable practitioners to better serve clients by allowing them to take advantage of new opportunities.

Companies with poor cost information make bad decisions about products that are not "average.— Poor information causes companies to overprice easy, high-volume "gravy" products and underprice difficult, low-volume "dog" products. Regardless of whether your company sells goods or services, learn how to double your profit by giving the dogs to your competitor and keep the gravy for yourself.

Whether saving for retirement, reducing taxes, or combining the two, pension and profit-sharing plan strategies are your go-to solution. Discover the type of plan documents that work best for your clients, how to terminate a plan, different retirement plans you can choose from, contribution & deduction limits, reporting & disclosure rules, Form 5500 & participant communication requirements, and even how to do in-plan Roth conversions. Get ready to make retirement planning for your clients a breeze.

This course provides a high-level overview of the most important issues facing nonprofit entities and their auditors.  The focus of this course is on explaining the theory behind major issues and trends, enabling professionals to understand the most important aspects of relevant professional and regulatory standards related to reliable financial reporting for nonprofit entities.      

A harmonious working environment is one in which people feel safe, seen, heard, and respected. Critical to maintaining it are that employees have high self-esteem, are treated with respect, and work in a safe, non-violent setting. This course provides practical knowledge and scripts on how to take appropriate action and deal effectively with discriminatory comments, sexual harassment, and threats and acts of violence, such that personal and employer liability is avoided.

With over 4.3 employees leaving their jobs as of early 2022, The Great Resignation presents a huge challenge for companies as they attract and retain talent. During this course, you'll learn practical strategies you can implement immediately to ensure you have the right tools in your toolbox to win the war on talent. 

Leaders were once chosen for their character, but today we live in an age where loudmouthed extroverts seem to take center stage in everything, including business, politics and entertainment.  While the talkative, charismatic leader makes the front page of business magazines, recent research shows that successful business leaders tend to be more reserved, pensive and sometimes outright shy.  Learn why your desire to spend significant time inside your own head may be your greatest asset. Whether you are introverted or not, you likely work with, manage or are a related to an introvert.  We will discuss proven methods to better understand introverts, how to manage them, and how to get the most out of their amazing talents.  If you want to enhance your leadership skills, this seminar is for you. 

This course explores the best practices for hiring remotely while leveraging personality assessments to make more informed decisions. Learn how to effectively integrate personality testing into your recruitment process to identify candidates who are the right fit for your team, even from a distance.

If a great leader is someone we are willing to sacrifice for – what do those leaders do that makes us want to do more? Many of us work in dysfunctional organizations that want followers, but have no leaders that lead. What makes a leader effective? True leaders sacrifice, they are trustworthy and they empathize. We discuss the steps to take so you can become a true leader: including, integrity, humility, communication, self-control and self-awareness. With diligence, you can become a better leader and we will discuss how.  

In forensic accounting, interviewing is used to obtain important information from witnesses and suspects. An important aspect is the ability of investigators to obtain accurate and reliable information from victims, witnesses and the suspects or any interviewee. The interview process is an essential part of information gathering for any investigation. The importance of improving the quality of the interviewing with the potential for visual recording of all interviews should be placed high on the agenda of all organizations across the globe. A properly conducted forensic interview can result in an extreme benefit regarding collection of information. The interviewer’s role is to develop a full understanding of the facts. There is a distinct difference between a forensic interview and a criminal interrogation. Typically, forensic auditors will not be involved in interrogations. The Canadian or U.S. forensic accounting profession does not have a standardized interview model to truly equip its professionals with the interview tools required to elicit confessions ethically. Majority of their skills are developed through experience, and not through a standardized model of training.  This session focuses on various interview concepts and methods.  

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.