CPE Catalog & Events

Business ethics is not something “nice to do” but can mean the difference between success, failure and survival in today’s competitive environment.  Being trustworthy, having consistent business principles and an outstanding reputation may provide an organization’s only long-term competitive advantage.  This updated webcast outlines eight steps to create an ethical business environment including specific ways for financial professionals to make better ethical decisions moving forward.

HR Professionals are business leaders who, regardless of their level of experience, are responsible for maintaining a high level of interpersonal proficiency in their job function. The willingness to gain a genuine understanding and respect for diversity and the incorporation of a safe and inclusive environment of employees in the workplace, is a strong measure of the HR Professionals’ efficacy in this area. This training is geared towards improving and/ or elevating the HR Professionals’ knowledge of cultural competence in the workplace and what it means to truly adopt a culture of diversity and inclusivity. When HR professionals take responsibility for teaching others about the differences and benefits that multiple cultures and diverse backgrounds bring to the organization, research shows that companies are more likely to win top talent and yield improvement in customer orientation, employee satisfaction and decision making, as well as a cycle of increasing returns.

This course focuses on the key federal tax issues affecting businesses from the internal accountant's point of view, with a focus on recent tax legislation and developments.  Planning alternatives and the potential risks associated with those strategies will also be discussed.  **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.

Whether you are in public practice, a consultant, or in industry – no one wants to lose their clients or their job. But why do so many CPAs treat their clients badly?  Result - the client fires that CPA. What are the four (4) leading reasons why clients fire their CPA or consultant?  Why do these actions alienate clients? Agreed, some of these actions may be unintentional, but the result is the same, the client moves on. Frustrating because it takes a long time to cultivate good clients.    The discussion focuses on over forty (40) recommendations to strengthen the relationship with the client, to hopefully prevent the client from moving on. You may not practice the Big Four Reasons Why CPAS are Fired, but you probably know others who do. What are the lessons learned? We will discuss proven techniques to effectively retain existing clients, keep you employed and help you gain new clients! 

Excel remains a staple tool for virtually all accounting and financial professionals. In this session learn about many of the newer features in Excel, along with some you may have overlooked in the past…truly “must-see CPE!”

BBA partnership audits have begun, and adjustments will come with them. This course will provide an in-depth, practical guide to navigating the confusing world of partnership adjustments. This program will not only cover the new terminology that every practitioner should know. Still, it will provide a roadmap to the critical procedural steps after the IRS has issued a notice of proposed adjustments. In addition, this program will provide real-world examples of the strategic considerations that come with the choices every partnership will have to make once a notice of proposed adjustments is made, including should the partnership pay the tax or push out the adjustment to the partners, what impact does a change in ownership play in who pays the tax, and what can be done to reduce the amount of the imputed underpayment if I have partners that are taxed at less than the maximum rate?

People skills are the most significant skills that Professionals need to develop and yet are often the last skills perfected. This course will help participants understand personality types and the successful interactions with clients, peers and family. In addition, participants will learn Neuro-linguistic programming and develop the ability to better understand nonverbal language which is key in communication. Participants will also learn techniques to enhance memory and to improve the ability to recall key facts.

This program will provide a detailed analysis of the real estate professional passive activity rules, including forms reporting examples, and integrates those rules with when real estate is considered a "business" under the Section 199A flow-through entity deduction. A detailed analysis of the self-rental passive activity rules will be given, including forms reporting examples and integrates them with the flow-through entity rules related to self-rental. **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.

Most Staff Accountants learned Excel in college and many others learned Excel on their own, however most users never learned the important productivity tips that help them build spreadsheets more efficiently. This course will teach new and experienced users how to leverage the many productivity tools built within Excel in order to build spreadsheets with maximum effectiveness. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

OneNote is a fantastic application included in your Microsoft 365 subscription. Yet, it is underutilized and misunderstood most of the time. If you genuinely want to change how you work, embrace OneNote. Stop using Outlook as a filing cabinet for essential emails and move them to OneNote instead. If you share a OneNote notebook with others, you can stop emailing altogether within your group and use OneNote as your collaboration and reference platform.

Internal controls (IC) are critical to the effective functioning of all processes. The importance of proper and relevant documentation can be viewed as a burden. Strong, relevant documentation is critical to ensure organizations can adequately monitor, manage, and adjust their processes in line with business objectives. This requirement extends far beyond internal controls over financial reporting.  Management must first establish appropriate responsibilities for IC.   Personnel must have a strong understanding of the types and methods of IC and how they relate to their jobs.  Controls should be well documented. Documentation methods must meet organizational needs and be sufficient for personnel to understand. This course will further evaluate the responsibilities of employees, management, and auditors in understanding their role in internal control as well as evaluating documentation methods.

This session provides a refresher regarding the fundamentals of activity-based costing (ABC). We will examine theoretical concepts before exploring practical possibilities for implementing ABC. A major focus of the course will be factors to consider when determining whether this managerial accounting tool is an appropriate resource for an organization.

This course is designed to assist practitioners in preparing Offers in Compromise (OIC). After this course, you should have an understanding of how proper planning can make a significant difference in the amount eventually paid to the IRS and the resulting financial well-being of your client. This program covers the basics, from choosing the proper forms to utilize through the filing of an appeal if necessary. We will also explain how to increase your chances of having your OIC approved by the IRS by going over the complexities involved.

With the largest overhaul of the federal income tax code in 30 years and the repeal of the physical presence nexus standards for sales tax in the Wayfair case, the states are working fast and furious to overhaul their tax laws. As some states scramble to fund their budgets, they continue to look for additional forms of revenue. Plan to attend this fast-paced class that covers developing topics in state taxation, ranging from individuals to pass-through entities to corporate taxpayers. This class will focus on issues of small and middle-market companies and offer guidance for minimizing tax liability and negotiating the treacherous waters of compliance.

The amount of electronic content that business organizations contend with is growing at incredible rates. Terms like "Big Data" and "Information Overload", are being used by overwhelmed information workers on a daily basis. Additionally, because of the move to a much larger telecommuter footprint, electronic data is now even more prevalently utilized. This session discusses the places that businesses keep digital information and addresses the importance of securing corporate electronic data. The material effectively shows ways to achieve high security standards for content stored in fixed locations, on mobile devices and in the cloud. Participants in this session will gain an understanding of the concepts needed to improve the way they, and their companies secure digital information. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

In the past talking about mental issues in the workplace was taboo. Not anymore!!! So many of us suffer with mental health issues at some point in our lives. Poor mental health impacts, from a work perspective, productivity, absenteeism, retention and more. On a personal level it often causes personal distress and hopelessness. The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) is addressing mental illness as a critical factor for the wellbeing of organizations. Additionally, the EEOC is cracking down on mental health discrimination. It is a very important topic for any functional business! This ethics-based webinar will bring awareness to this issue and offer suggestions on managing mental health issues in ethical, compassionate and healthy ways. It will offer suggestions on managing mental health issues for leaders, managers and all staff to create and environment of safety and belonging. This webinar will also address the topic of suicide talking about warning signs and resources. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The Art of Discipline and Getting Things Done - Applying Better Time, Team, and Project Management Techniques provides best practices for various areas that support this culture of discipline, including time, team, and project management. Those in a supervisory or managerial role must create a culture of discipline, where a high priority is placed in accomplishing responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner. Note: This course is recommended as a part of an 8-hour audit skills curriculum for managers, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has responsibilities for project and time management. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

A personal brand is your story. Having a well-defined personal brand can help you not only cultivate powerful connections but also set you apart. Explore the integral components to building a strong brand and gain strategies to help you create your own marketable personal brand.

Although organizations are trying to create and manage diverse and inclusive workplaces, many are not aware of some of the best practices and simple strategies they can incorporate to promote such an environment. We are currently living in unprecedented times. Division, bias, and exclusion, based on factors associated with social injustice and a general lack of appreciation for diversity, seems to have become our current societal norm. With the high stress and anxiety created by these current trends in society, it is even more important for organizations to provide a safe space for their employees where there is a genuine sense of belonging and fair access to opportunity. The goal of this course is to outline the relationship between diversity and inclusion, while providing very practical strategies for HR Professionals in their role to promote a culture of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.  

We know that effective communication is essential to growing a career and a business. But we often don't take time to think through, concsiously, about how we communicate and how small changes could change the trajectory of our messages. This workshop is designed to give you a survey of multiple communication strategies and mistakes to avoid. We start by discussing how people make decisions--which is important to understand in the context of business communication and communication in the workplace. We then transition into common communication mistakes and actionable tools and tactics that you can use to overcome and avoid these mishaps.