CPE Catalog & Events

The phrase "time management" is misleading. No one manages time. Instead, we manage events in our lives which consume time. Like money, time is both finite and valuable; it should be budgeted and used wisely. Those individuals who "manage" or budget their time wisely often are more productive, less stressed, and able to achieve their goals more effectively than others. Professionals by nature place a high value on their time. Still, successful time management strategies vary based upon the personality, motivation, and discipline of each individual. This course provides simple, practical, and powerful techniques that help professionals work efficiently and achieve better balance in their lives. Successful time management skills also reduce the risk of burnout, which in turn improves the likelihood of achieving success in any endeavor.

Accounting and finance professionals often receive questions concerning all facets of Medicare. How does Medicare work? How do I apply? How much does it cost? Is Medicare optional or required? This program provides a basic introduction to the Medicare program and covers many of the areas of the Medicare program that clients are most interested in. If you, or some of your clients, have questions relating to Medicare, this program is a must for you.

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 program explores the role of client internal controls for balancing efficiency and effectiveness in a risk-based audit. We offer practical insights regarding an auditor's assessment of the risk of material misstatement when auditing financial statements of non-issuers, with particular emphasis on internal controls of small-to-medium clients.

Embark on a journey to master Power BI, a powerful tool for data analysis and business intelligence, in our comprehensive course, "Get Started with Power BI." This course is meticulously designed for professionals who seek to understand the full spectrum of Power BI capabilities, including its integration with Excel's Power BI features like Power Pivot and Power Query, and its comparison with standalone Power BI tools such as Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, and Power BI Report Server. In the first part of the course, participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of Power BI. This includes an overview of Power BI's interface, key features, and its seamless integration with Excel. The course will cover Excel's Power BI tools - Power Pivot, for advanced data modeling, and Power Query, for efficient data transformation and preparation. This segment is essential for understanding how Power BI extends and enhances the data processing and analytical capabilities of Excel. The second section of the course delves into the standalone Power BI tools. Here, participants will explore Power BI Desktop for creating complex data models and sophisticated reports, Power BI Service for cloud-based collaboration and sharing, and Power BI Report Server for on-premises report deployment. This part of the course will focus on the unique features and strengths of these standalone tools, providing attendees with the skills to leverage Power BI in a variety of business contexts. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

CPAs spend most of their working lives reviewing bank statements and books and records of businesses. They are experts in understanding how to prepare financial statements according to GAAP. But would a CPA know a possible money laundering transaction if they saw it? Would they know about a money laundering business? Money laundering is a subject of many action and thriller movies, but rarely understood. This presentation will educate the CPA in understanding the basics of money laundering and how to identify money laundering. This presentation will help the CPA know the truth about money laundering, how to identify it, the statutes that define it, and the court cases that interpret it. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Leading on New Terms is a fast- paced, one-hour course that challenges leaders to rethink everything they thought they knew about leadership. Built on Steve Cadigan’s Workquake philosophy, it confronts the collapse of the old stability-based leadership model and equips leaders with a new mandate: fuel growth, build trust, and lead with agility in a world where certainty no longer exists. Through provocative stories, real-world case studies, and practical “plays,” participants will learn how to shift from command to connection, harness technology without losing humanity, and redefine loyalty as learning and movement. Leaders will walk away with a sharper understanding of today’s realities and a personal “Future Leadership Charter” to start leading confidently on new terms.

Understanding the principles and practices of compensation is essential for creating a motivated and satisfied workforce. In this webinar, we'll learn how to perform market pay research, key compensation concepts, discuss the pay transparency movement and explore how these crucial elements drive fairness and engagement in HR practices.

Here's a more detailed look at the controller's role in AI: 1. Data Integrity and Quality: •    Controllers are responsible for ensuring the quality and integrity of data used to train and inform AI models.  •    They work to establish data governance frameworks, implement data quality initiatives, and ensure data lineage (tracking data from source to downstream systems).  2. Risk Management: •    Controllers assess potential risks associated with AI implementation, including inaccuracies, vulnerabilities, and ethical considerations.  •    They help define and implement risk management frameworks for AI, ensuring that AI systems are used responsibly and ethically.  3. Compliance:  •    Controllers stay informed about relevant regulations and ensure AI systems are compliant with those regulations. •    They monitor AI systems to ensure they are not violating any laws or policies. 4. Transparency and Auditability:  •    Controllers work to ensure that AI decisions are transparent and auditable. •    They establish processes to review AI decisions and identify potential biases or errors. 5. Collaboration and Training:  •    Controllers work with IT and business teams to understand AI's capabilities and limitations. •    They provide training to teams on how to use and manage AI tools effectively. 6. Value Creation: •    Controllers can leverage AI to identify areas for automation, improve efficiency, and gain real-time insights into financial operations.  •    They can use AI to make more informed decisions and create more strategic recommendations for action.  7. Emerging Role: •    The role of the controller is evolving with the rise of AI, with controllers becoming more hands-on throughout the implementation process.  •    They are increasingly seen as catalysts for AI-enabled transformation, helping to identify potential use cases and build confidence in the technology This course will explore many of these topics.

*** Save 15% on this event when you use the code SAVE15 at checkout *** Small business, big visibility. Step inside the world of NFL finance through the eyes of four senior financial leaders from the NFC North: Laura Anderson (Chicago Bears), Allison Maki (Detroit Lions), Kate Shibilski (Minnesota Vikings) and Maureen Smith (Green Bay Packers). Explore how financial executives operate in organizations where "success" is measured on the field as much as it is by the numbers and gain insights on how collaboration is vital even when rivalries are heated. Hear personal and professional insights from their experiences as women and working parents in senior leadership roles and walk away with practical guidance on what it takes to be an effective leader in your organization.

Audit Risk Assessment in Plain English, is a 2 hour webcast highlighting the AICPA’s clarified risk assessment standards, along with a new Statement on Auditing Standard (SAS 145) related to understanding the entity, the entity’s environment, the entity’s internal controls, and assessing the risks of material misstatement.  This session will attempt to simplify the requirements using common sense examples and language.

The ACFE/COSO Fraud Risk Management Guide (FRMG) was published in 2016 (and updated in 2023).  It has quickly gained acceptance as the set of best practices for preventing, detecting, and thus deterring fraud. The fraud landscape is constantly changing and evolving. The FRMG sets out a rigorous set of principles and leading practices for managing fraud risk for forward-thinking organizations to follow.  It covers: How to establish fraud risk management governance. How to conduct rigorous fraud risk assessments. How to design and implement fraud control activities. How to establish reporting mechanisms and investigative procedures. How to monitor the overall fraud risk management program. Fraud risk can be managed.  All anti-fraud and accountability professionals will benefit from this session's focus on effective fraud risk management.

Quality management represents a significant shift in how CPA firms design, implement, and evaluate audit and attestation quality. This course provides a focused, practical deep dive into the quality management standards and related engagement-level requirements that firms are now operating under. The course covers SQMS 1 and SQMS 2, along with related engagement-level standards, including SAS 146, SAS 145, SSARS 26, and SSAE 23. Emphasis is placed on post-implementation responsibilities, including evaluating the effectiveness of quality management systems and addressing monitoring and remediation requirements. Participants will also examine engagement-level quality management responsibilities, including the auditor’s responsibilities under SAS 146 and the engagement partner's responsibilities in SSARS engagements. The course is designed to help firms navigate the second phase of implementation, moving beyond design and rollout to ongoing evaluation, monitoring, and continuous improvement.

The Uniform Guidance requirements for subrecipient monitoring and management were updated effective October 1, 2024, introducing new expectations for pass through entities overseeing federal awards. This session will provide practical guidance on implementing compliant subaward agreements, performing risk based monitoring, and managing subrecipient financial performance in accordance with 2 CFR SS200.331-200.333. Attendees will also gain insight into indirect cost rate requirements, fixed amount, and subaward agreements to strengthen oversight and prepare for federal agency or Single Audit reviews. Using fixed amount awards to solve an out-of-the-box solution.

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 2024 tax year, this course is an essential guide for tax preparers on how to identify which entities need to complete these schedules and how to identify which parts are applicable to a given taxpayer. The filing requirements are broad and often not very intuitive, catching many practitioners unaware that more schedules and parts are applicable to more taxpayers than anticipated. This course includes a deep dive into the domestic filing exception, a discussion of filing requirements of each part of Schedule K-2, and numerous examples of common taxpayer scenarios. Please note: Surgent also offers a companion course, "Schedules K-2 and K-3: Preparation of Forms" (KPF2).

We have passed the 15 year anniversary of the start of the cryptocurrency market with the release of Bitcoin in 2010. It is estimated today that 1 in 5 people in the U.S. trade in cryptocurrency. With the recent changes in the legislative landscape, this number is poised for substantial growth. In addition, there will be natural evolution towards "smart contracts" powered by AI and the integration of cryptocurrency as the payment mechanism. For these reasons, it is important for every CPA to have a baseline understanding of the cryptocurrency marketplace and the technology it is built on. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Financial skills needed in many situations are constantly changing.  It is prudent to routinely look into your toolbox to restock or revise your tool set.  In this course we will examine three tool categories that form the foundation for many analytical processes.

Those charged with governance, with the assistance of internal audit,  are responsible for overseeing the strategic direction of the organization, and ensuring value is delivered to the entity's stakeholders. This course will provide guidance on fulfilling the responsibility for challenging how much risk and uncertainty to accept through the application of COSO's Enterprise Risk Management Framework.

This course is essential and designed to keep you informed of proposed and current authoritative guidance issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Learn about proposed and final auditing and attestation standards addressing group audits, fraud, and sustainability. Understand the eight quality management components, hear about frequent peer review matters and so much more.

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.