CPE Catalog & Events

In this cutting-edge course, participants will gain a deep understanding of how to leverage ChatGPT, OpenAI's powerful language model, to innovate and enhance business advisory services in the accounting sector. The course integrates theory and practice, demonstrating how various enterprise evaluation methodologies can be applied in conjunction with ChatGPT for increased business analysis efficiency, profitability, and growth. It also provides hands-on training for implementing these techniques 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.

The process of closing out the books every month can make year-end accounting a breeze! But isn't this time consuming? Not when you know the steps to take on a monthly basis. We'll show you what to do in QuickBooks Online as well as what you can do monthly to ensure a tax return that will stand up again an IRS audit. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Despite the fact that a client's tax matter may be taken directly to court, utilizing IRS Appeals usually results in saving your client both time and money. Join us as we discuss the misunderstood process of going to IRS Appeals.

It's happened to all of us. We open our inbox in a calm frame of mind, and then, Pow! We read an email that sets our blood boiling. Whether the email is critical, insulting, or just plain upsetting, we feel shaken and tempted to bite back. In this program, you will learn strategies for dealing with upsetting emails to keep cool and retain relationships. We will review the process of responding (or not responding) to the email and tips about managing our emotions.

This course is one of the courses dedicated to our Controllership Series. This series of courses is dedicated to exploring the traditional controller role and stepping out of the box to identify areas where the controller can continue to add strategic value to their organizations. Within this segment of our controllership series, we continue our discussion on inventory from segment one. This specific segment focuses on areas of inventory valuation, the types of physical inventory methods, and inventory fraud. These areas are critical for the controller to have a strong comprehension of and also participate in the development of policies and procedures.      

A significant amount of information is electronically initiated, recorded, processed, or reported, and information to be used as audit evidence may be available only in electronic form. During this session we will look at different types of information commonly presented to an auditor during the audit of an employee benefit plan, and identify considerations for auditors when evaluating information to be used as audit evidence.

Based on an AICPA Enhancing Audit Quality study, 23% of all single audits subject to enhanced oversight were materially non-conforming with professional standards due to failure to properly test controls over compliance.  This course will provide an overview of internal controls over compliance specifically related to Single Audits. We will discuss how to apply the concept of internal controls to various compliance requirements. Additionally, a common finding in the audits of governmental entities receiving federal grants is misidentifying controls and mistaking compliance for a control. That's why this course will also focus on identifying compliance versus controls over compliance.

Award winning discussion leader Mark Hugh discusses both nexus basics and new developments in the dynamic, ever changing world of state income and sales tax nexus. This valuable course answers your frequently asked questions, reviews key factors in examining potential nexus consequences, takes a tour through the rules in states comprising 50% of the US, and identifies free, online multistate resources. 

Audit Reporting Advanced Concepts - Understanding the Impact of General Audit Procedures on Disclosures and Audit Report Modifications will provide guidance for properly altering financial statements and audit reports for certain complex transactions and events that are often uncovered through general audit procedures, such as subsequent testing, reviewing minutes, and more. Each set of financial statements and auditor's report thereon must properly address the unique circumstances of the specific reporting entity's circumstances. Note: This course is recommended as a part of a 16-hour audit skills curriculum for in-charge or supervisor auditors, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has responsibilities for audit reporting and general audit procedures. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Comply With All Standards As You Prepare, Compile and Review Engagements This webcast is a go-to reference for staying in compliance with all professional standards surrounding engagements performed in accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARSs).

Yellow Book and Single Audit engagements are considered must-select engagements for peer review. This course will review the common deficiencies noted by peer reviewers and federal agencies. We'll focus on the requirements of Yellow Book independence, CPE, and reporting. We will also review deficiencies related to internal controls over compliance, compliance testing, and major program determination for Single Audits. We'll close the course with a look at the deficiencies often identified in COVID-related funds.

This course is designed to equip CPAs, EAs, attorneys, and tax professionals with the essential knowledge and strategies needed to navigate the latest developments. Explore innovative approaches to maximize retirement savings, discuss tax- efficient retirement plan options, and align estate planning techniques with current trends. Gain a thorough understanding of altered rules for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and discover how to optimize estate plans in response to changing regulations. This update is tailored for professionals seeking practical insights in the realm of contemporary retirement planning. **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.

Isn’t it time you learned how to take advantage of critical features available in your Microsoft 365/Office 365 subscription? In this session, you will learn to use tools such as Teams, Planner, Power Automate, and others to enhance productivity and efficiency.

Today, more than ever, effective performance management is critical to the well-being of an organization, as well as the engagement and satisfaction of staff. Unfortunately, performance management is also often one of the most dreaded responsibilities managers face. This session will provide insight into what performance management is, how to prepare and conduct performance appraisals, how to coach the marginal employee, legal considerations to be aware of when conducting an appraisal, and ways to engage and motivate staff. In addition to providing tools to conduct effective appraisals, we will also look at the ethical implications of employee reviews. When done well, performance management has the power to improve communication between managers and their staff as well as help foster stronger career paths and routes for growth. It can motivate, re-engage, and energize everyone involved. Ethical values such as fairness, accountability, respect, intellectual honesty, and trust will be incorporated into this session. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Managing expenses is a key for business success, and overhead costs play a pivotal role in realizing favorable profit margins. Almost all companies have some form of overhead consisting of specific categories of indirect expenses. The better organizations are able to manage overhead costs, the more competitive they are in the marketplace. It is incumbent in the Controller’s role to effectively manage, monitor and perform ongoing assessment of overhead costs, allocations and rates. Overhead refers to the ongoing business expenses not directly attributed to creating a product or service. A company must pay overhead on an ongoing basis, regardless of how much or how little the company sells. It is important for budgeting purposes but also for determining how much a company must charge for its products or services to make a profit. Overhead can be fixed, variable, or a hybrid of both. There are different categories of overhead, such as administrative overhead, which includes costs related to managing a business. In short, overhead is any expense incurred to support the business while not being directly related to a specific product or service.      

The HR role is full of communicative opportunities to multiple audiences. From communicating with partners, management, and stakeholders in the business, to onboarding new talent, to training existing employees and beyond. In fast-paced business environments, it's often overwhelming to keep up with the changes and making sure all of your communication and training is up-to-date and accurate. That's where AI and synthetic media can intervene. By leveraging these tools and technologies, HR professionals are able to change the way they communicate and create new content. This session will uncover ways to make this happen, providing attendees with knowledge of new tools and strategies to use these technologies.

This course provides a concise overview of the Dark Web, a part of the internet that isn't indexed by search engines, and is often associated with anonymous transactions and nefarious activities. Discover the leading threats and risks that the Dark Web poses to accounting firms. Explore how practitioners can effectively mitigate the risk of data breaches, ransomware attacks, financial fraud and other risks connected to the Dark Web. You'll walk away with a foundational understanding of leading cybersecurity strategies that can help you maintain client trust and protect your firm's sensitive data in this complex and ever-changing threat landscape. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Microsoft Teams is one of the most exciting personal and organizationally productivity tools to ever appear on the business landscape. With Teams, you can communicate and collaborate easily and securely with others, including colleagues outside your organization. Further, you can extend the already-robust functionality in Teams by incorporating add-in solutions with just a few clicks of the mouse. Unfortunately, despite Teams’ power and relatively simple interface, many organizations struggle with deploying and using Teams.  In this session, you will learn how you can get up and running quickly in Teams so that you can take full advantage of this powerful tool. More specifically, you will learn how you can get started in Teams and critical decisions that will affect your deployment. Also, you will learn how to work in Teams, including how to take advantage of the chat, voice, and video call services and how to share documents securely with others. Moreover, you will learn how to extend your Teams platform to external organizations for improved communication and collaboration. Additionally, you will identify how you can add other applications into Teams and optimize Team's configuration for the best overall efficiency and security. If you are working with Teams or plan to do so, this is one CPE session you can’t afford to miss!

This course provides an overview of cybersecurity from the CPA perspective. We will discuss the components of an IT environment that need to be considered in audits - e.g. network, operating systems, database, and application layers. Additionally, we will discuss an overview of cybersecurity frameworks under the influence of the AICPA and/or ISACA - e.g. SOC2, COBIT, COSO, SOX IT controls, etc. and key cybersecurity controls. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Clients concerned about market volatility often prefer more conservative fixed-income investment strategies. There are many choices to consider: taxable or tax-exempt bonds; Treasury Bills or inflation-indexed bonds; and direct purchases, exchange-traded funds, or mutual funds. This course will explore the changing economic environment, various fixed-income strategies, and their taxation. Companion course: Tax Aspects of Stock Investing 2024