CPE Catalog & Events

With approximately 500 functions now available in Excel, some newer and more powerful tools are easily overlooked. But if you do that, your productivity will suffer. In this session, you will learn how to take advantage of many of Excel's more advanced features-some new and some legacy-to elevate your productivity to higher levels. In this session, you will learn about many of Excel’s newer tools, including XLOOKUP, SUMIFS, SWITCH, and STOCKHISTORY. Also included in this session are discussions of advanced financial functions, such as IPMT and PPMT, and how to retrieve summarized data easily using GETPIVOTDATA and CUBEVALUE. Additionally, you will learn how to make sophisticated calculations easier with Dynamic Array formulas, harness the AGGREGATE function's power, and create more accurate forecasts with Excel's FORECAST.ETS function. Regardless of your experience working with Excel, participating in this course will help you work more efficiently and effectively in Excel. 

Financial statements are a window into what is going on in the day-to-day operations of the company. They help us see what the company's strengths and weaknesses are. However, financial statements can often have different messages depending on the user. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

In today's fast-paced and competitive business landscape, the ability to foster creativity is more crucial than ever. Unleashing Creativity in the Workplace is a CEU course designed for HR professionals who are eager to cultivate an environment where creativity drives productivity, innovation, and engagement. Through this course, you will learn how to leverage creativity to enhance individual, team, and organizational performance-ultimately achieving your company’s goals faster and more efficiently. Christine Wilson, a counselor turned coach and the creator of the Think Time planner, will guide you through a comprehensive approach to fostering creativity and innovation in your organization. Whether you're looking to inspire new ideas, improve employee engagement, or create a culture of innovation, this course offers actionable strategies and insights to help you unlock the full potential of your workforce.

Many self-employed or sole proprietors find themselves having to navigate Schedule C in reporting business income.  While this attachment to Form 1040 seems straightforward on the surface, there are many traps for the unwary. This course is ideal for CPAs, EAs, or other tax professionals. **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.

This intensive two-hour course addresses the critical need for accuracy and efficiency when developing spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel. Recognizing that even minor errors can have significant implications, this course delves deep into strategies and skills required to detect and correct errors in Excel. By the end of this course, participants will have a comprehensive understanding of how to efficiently identify and correct errors in Excel spreadsheets, enhancing their overall productivity and accuracy in their professional roles. 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 how autonomous agents are transforming internal and external audit functions. Agentic AI is redefining how auditors perform risk assessments, gather evidence, test controls, and issue reports. Participants will examine real-world examples, including audit bots from Big Four firms, and consider the impact on assurance quality, auditor judgment, and documentation standards. Key frameworks from the PCAOB, ISA, and AICPA will be discussed, along with governance strategies to ensure audit agents operate reliably, securely, and ethically. This redefines the CPA's role in ensuring the integrity and reliability of audit evidence when leveraging AI agents, impacting audit quality and professional skepticism.

Many employees with ADHD struggle with productivity. It’s heart-breaking to feel you have to let a team member go due to lack of performance. This course is for HR Professionals and Team Leaders who want more tools in their tool belt to help improve retention with ADHD team members. You will learn whole brain strategies to help your team members with ADHD improve performance, so they can not only survive but thrive. This innovative science-based approach is designed to help people with ADHD get more done in less time with a process designed with their creative brain in mind.

The Secure Act 2.0 was passed in a flurry of year-end legislation. This one hour program will cover the important changes that individuals need to know about contributions to accounts and new ways of accessing these funds.  This course will provide a concise look at these hot topics.   **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.

This course is a continuation of discussion over Step One in the revenue recognition process of Identify the Contract. Specifically, this session delves further into the considerations surrounding contract modifications, change orders, unpriced change orders, cancelations, non-finalized changes and accounting treatment when a contract does not exist.

People fear presenting more than they do “death”.  Communicating numbers is a scary proposition to overcome for both the presenter and the recipients. This course is designed to enhance the communication skills of CPAs and CFOs by emphasizing the importance of understanding and mastering the facts before delivering any presentation, understand the key elements of presenting a narrative, and provide examples to engage live and virtual teams in effective numbers presenting. The goal is to equip financial professionals with the tools needed to overcome fears and provide the best practices research on all types of presentations-from communicating complex financial information effectively to conducting a casual virtual meeting.   This is a fun session intended to be interactive with participation either live, virtual or both.  

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.  

This session takes a unique review of the fundamental budget issues faced by all and walks through a detailed modeling process intended to generate discussion and best practices to improve your organization’s financial modeling.  From the beginning of the accounting process – ‘the chart of accounts’ to the end of the process – ‘the valuation of the company’, the budgeting cycle via a live case model to learn best practices common to successful companies.   This course stands on its own but is part two of a four part budget mastery series.

Collaboration remains one of today's hottest topics. Technology has fueled today's collaboration options, and work-from anywhere environments virtually demand collaboration platforms. In this session, you will learn today's best tools and practices to facilitate more effective collaboration in your organization. In this session, you will learn about today's mainstream collaboration platforms & Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Zoho - and how these options are similar and differ. You will also learn about other collaboration options, including Slack, Zoom, and Webex, and you can incorporate these tools into your collaboration environments. Further, you will learn about some of the best practices and procedures that must be in place to optimize your collaborative environments and experiences.

This course covers a broad range of topics involving uncertainty in accounting and auditing. It addresses accounting standards related to going concern, contingencies, guarantees, and credit losses, along with auditing standards applicable to auditing accounting estimates and evaluating going concern. The course provides a practical overview of how these areas are addressed under current standards and how they impact financial reporting and audit procedures. Jeff presents the material in an engaging manner to reinforce key concepts and maintain focus.

Some customers are unprofitable from an economic or time perspective – but many organizations do not differentiate or know the difference. When an organization has a unique, well-differentiated service or product, understanding value from the customer’s perspective becomes a crucial factor in profitable pricing. We must take the time to fully understand what our customers value - from the customer’s point of view. What is value? Why do brand, value, and customer focus matter? Developing a deep understanding of our customers is vital. Our most important customer might be someone we have not yet recognized. Understanding both external clients and internal stakeholders - including the evolving role of the finance department, is critical to long-term success. Using humorous video clips, memes, and vetted research, your understanding of customer bases will improve.

This program reviews the statutory and regulatory guidance as they relate to fringe benefits. There will be an emphasis on entertainment, meals and business transportation expenses, including qualified employer-provided parking, with a focus on planning opportunities. Recent federal tax legislation, cases and rulings will also be addressed. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Yellow Book and Single Audit engagements are routinely selected for peer review and continue to be areas of heightened scrutiny by peer reviewers and federal oversight agencies. This course examines common deficiencies identified in governmental and Single Audit engagements, with a focus on understanding why these issues arise and how they can be avoided. Participants will review frequent deficiencies related to Yellow Book requirements issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, including independence, CPE, and reporting considerations. The course also addresses common Single Audit deficiencies, including internal controls over compliance, compliance testing, and major program determination. Designed for auditors performing governmental and Single Audit engagements, this course helps participants recognize recurring problem areas and better understand the requirements that continue to drive peer review findings.  

In today's digital landscape, security is non-negotiable. Yesterday's techniques cannot keep up with today's threats. It's time to elevate your knowledge and protect your sensitive data with our comprehensive security program. Join us to discover the latest tools and techniques for securing your data, including encryption, virus protection, safe communications, electronic signatures, secure authentication, and more. You'll also learn how to implement a practical, five-step approach to securing your PC and the critical questions to ask your staff to ensure server-based information remains protected. Security failures, such as client or customer data breaches, can be devastating and even drive your company out of business. So, what security tools do you need, and how should you use them to safeguard your sensitive data and systems? Can you afford to manage today's threats with outdated techniques? Participate in this valuable session to learn how to identify viable and practical solutions to mitigate today's security threats. Don't miss this opportunity to fortify your defenses and ensure your business's success. Sign up now and take the first step towards a more secure future!

The path from CPA to CFO has evolved dramatically in recent years, with only 43% of S&P 1000 CFOs holding CPA licenses in 2022, down from 55% a decade earlier. This comprehensive course, based on groundbreaking research from the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs surveying over 320 CEOs and hiring executives, reveals what today's leaders truly seek in CFO candidates and provides a roadmap for CPAs to secure their seat at the executive table. Participants will discover the five critical competencies that distinguish successful CFO candidates: forward-looking financial acumen that goes beyond traditional reporting, strategic leadership skills including critical thinking and strategy creation, the evolving role of emotional intelligence, industry-specific expertise requirements, and the balance between technical proficiency and visionary leadership. Through practical frameworks, real-world examples, and actionable strategies, attendees will learn how to transform their CPA foundation into a comprehensive skill set that meets the dynamic demands of modern CFO roles, whether in high-growth companies, nonprofits, or traditional corporations. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

*** Save 15% on this event when you use the code SAVE15 at checkout *** Specifically tailored for practitioners who do not perform audits, but provide other attest and non-attest services t small and medium-sized businesses, this course is a comprehensive update covering recently issued accounting, compilation, and review standards, as well as other professional guidance impacting small and medium-sized accountants. The course uses practical examples and illustrations to help you understand and apply the matieral in practice.