CPE Catalog & Events

This course provides a concise overview of the emerging liability, malpractice, regulatory, insurance, and professional-conduct risks associated with CPAs' use of artificial intelligence. Participants will examine how traditional duties of care, competence, confidentiality, verification, and professional accountability apply when AI is used in accounting, tax, audit, and advisory work. Drawing on developments in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the course explores documented AI failures, regulatory expectations, insurance coverage gaps, data exposure, and practical controls CPAs can implement to make AI-assisted work more defensible This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Microsoft 365 is one of the most widely used business applications software suites used in business today. Microsoft Copilot is the generative AI application that is integrated directly into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. If your firm or business is a Microsoft 365 user, this course will teach you how to use Copilot AI to optimize the use of your Microsoft 365 apps. This course will provide a comprehensive review and demonstration of how to put Microsoft Copilot AI to work for you and your clients. It is designed as a "hands-on" course that facilitates following along with the presenter to apply the features of Microsoft Copilot on your computer. Practice files will be provided so that you don't have to expose your confidential data. 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 provides a concise overview of how artificial intelligence, particularly ChatGPT and other AI tools, is transforming accounting research methodologies and practices. Students will explore the shift from traditional search engine-based research to AI-driven insights, learning how to leverage various AI platforms for enhanced financial analysis, regulatory compliance, and strategic decision-making. The course emphasizes practical applications of AI in accounting contexts while addressing critical considerations such as data verification, ethical usage, and professional judgment. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Reconciliation is how you confirm that your QuickBooks Online checking accounts, savings account, credit cards, loan balances, and liabilities are correct. If you don't reconcile correctly every month, your reports will be wrong! Even if you use the QuickBooks Online banking feed, it's not a guarantee that your bank balances are correct. And when you have extra or missing transactions, your Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet are wrong! Reconciliation is the monthly step to confirm your checkbook balance, credit cards, liabilities, and loans have been entered correctly. The problem is that most businesses reconcile the transactions that ARE on the statement, but ignore the ones that are not. That's not Reconciling, that's "reconciling," and the result is that you may be paying your taxes wrong! In this class, not only will Alicia show you how to reconcile properly, but she'll show you how to trick out the interface to finish in seconds instead of hours. Even better, learn how to identify errors in your accounting data by how they appear in your Reconciliation window. Use reconciling as a troubleshooting tool for duplicated entries, misclassified categories, transactions coded to the wrong funding source, and receipt captures that didn't match the banking feed. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Technology has created numerous ways for us to communicate with each other - but it's also increased the number of ways in which the message can get garbled. Effective communications skills are crucial to successful management. Learn how to control your message with clear communications strategies. You'll learn to recognize communication barriers, assess styles and behaviors, and learn how to listen more effectively as well.

Our financial and economic series is designed to take key topics for financial executives and explore them in detail such that the CFO/controller/financial executive can take away useful and practical recommendations dealing with the topic at hand. The program explores the current economic trends and analyze their impact on you as the financial executive in areas professional skepticism, medical care costs, social security viability, the dollar as a world currency, the national infrastructure and the "fate of the states" as well as the AICPA's top 10 trends and technologies. Specific recommendations and insights will be offered to you to deal with the challenges.

When a new employee is hired, there are a lot of things the employer needs to take care of. Aside from getting employment contracts signed, training lined up, and the new hire breakfast planned, employers are tasked with making sure all of the payroll forms are filled out. For many small business owners, this can be a source of anxiety. They often wonder if they have everything they need. They also hear horror stories about potential IRS penalties for not having all of the boxes checked. In this course, we will explore the payroll compliance side of hiring new employees. From the alphabet soup of forms that need to be filled out to the initial payroll tax forms, we have you covered if you are a new practitioner or new business owner. We will even discuss the surprisingly difficult-to-navigate world of unemployment insurance.

Leaders in CPA firms often spend time on work that sits below their highest and best use: meetings they do not need to attend, work delegated upward by their teams, client scope creep, administrative tasks, and avoided accountability conversations. Survey data cited in the course indicates that most leaders say yes to commitments they know they should decline, at a cost of hundreds of hours per year. This course introduces the distinction between hard work (time-bound), smart work (skills-based and intellectual), and uncomfortable work (emotional), and shows why avoided "Uncomfortable Work" is the common root of these low-value commitments. Participants complete a structured 32-item self-inventory across five categories: meetings and events, unrealistic expectations, strategies and opportunities, tasks and projects, and suboptimal performance. They then quantify the estimated annual hours lost to the commitments they identified, select one commitment to decline over the next month, and name the higher-value leadership activity (such as delegation, business development, project oversight, or performance management) that the reclaimed time will support. With the self-awareness and clarity gained through this program, you will know exactly which gaps need closing before work ramps back up. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 called for delivering nearly $80 billion to the IRS over 10 years to allow the IRS to purchase new technology and hire employees. This funding would have provided the IRS with new equipment and new employees, possibly to handle more audits, many of them involving very complex tax issues. The Trump Administration has reversed this with prospects for a reduction in IRS employees and less money to fund the purchase and development of new software. This program discusses the current state of IRS audits. Trump administration changes will of course have enormous impacts on these audits going forward.

Financial statements tell a story. Ratios reveal the plot. Desegregate key ratios that show effective management of a company. Learn a compact, efficient approach to financial statement analysis. Be introduced to a set of basic-to-intermediate analytic techniques and tools that provide insightful outputs to a broad spectrum of users with varied analytical objectives. Evaluate management performance, address the changing economic landscape, and the need for a new way of thinking.

This comprehensive tax update is designed to prepare the practitioner for the upcoming filing season by providing an in-depth analysis and update of the business tax provisions enacted under OBBBA and other recent business tax developments. Participants will examine statutory changes affecting corporate, pass-through, and individual business taxation, including modifications to depreciation, credits, deductions, compliance requirements, and planning strategies. 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 provides a concise overview of critical thinking and professional skepticism in AI-augmented CPA work. As artificial intelligence increasingly performs drafting, analysis, calculation, research, and other preparation tasks, CPAs are shifting toward higher-value roles involving review, verification, challenge, and professional judgment. Participants will examine professional standards, human cognitive biases, AI failure modes, evidence requirements, questioning techniques, vendor claims, documentation practices, and firm-level controls. The course emphasizes a central principle: AI output should be treated as an unverified claim requiring appropriate human challenge before professional reliance. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Positive client relationships require work. Miscommunication, unrealistic expectations, and differing personality styles may strain a client's relationship with professional advisors. Fortunately, there are tested strategies that foster and strengthen client relationships. Creating appropriate boundaries early on is one of many effective strategies that can help. This course explores actions accounting and finance professionals can take to create and grow their client relationships. This webinar provides actionable insights on how to engage new and old clients alike. Strained client relationships can harm both the client and the firm's profitability. Yet automation, for example, allows some firms to remain more engaged while others miss the mark. There is a science underlying client retention that involves understanding the client journey, ensuring consistent client interactions, and equipping employees with the tools needed to satisfy client needs. Understanding these skills should help you protect the relationships that sustain your business.

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of capital assets taxation, basis determination, and related tax planning strategies. Participants will explore the fundamental classification of capital assets, the distinction between realization and recognition of gains and losses, and the complex rules governing disallowed losses. The course thoroughly examines the various types of capital gains and losses, including short-term, long-term, and special categories such as unrecaptured Section 1250 gains and collectibles. Attendees will learn the intricacies of netting capital gains and losses, calculating tax liabilities across different income types, and distinguishing between marginal and effective tax rates. The course also covers advanced topics including basis adjustments, wash sale rules, related-party transactions, and inherited property treatment. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to guide clients in implementing effective capital asset strategies that minimize tax liabilities while ensuring regulatory compliance.

AI is now built into software that CPA firms already use, and the pressure to have a position on it keeps rising. For most small and midsize firms the question is not whether these tools matter, but how to engage with them on terms that fit a practice built on trust, confidentiality, and professional judgment. This course makes an evidence-based case that professional skepticism is an asset in technology decisions, provided it is aimed at the right target. Drawing on research in trust calibration, human and AI decision making, cognitive offloading, and professional identity, it examines why experienced professionals discount sound algorithmic advice, what that discounting costs in accuracy, and where reasonable caution turns into accidental delay. Participants locate their firm on the AI Trust and Usage Quadrant, apply five trust questions to vendor claims, and review bounded first steps designed to protect independent judgment during a pilot. The course is vendor neutral and recommends no product. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This session provides a comprehensive analysis of meals and entertainment regulations under IRC 274 as amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Participants will learn how to identify deductible vs. nondeductible expenditures, interpret the regulatory definitions surrounding "entertainment," "business associate," and reimbursement arrangements, and apply the numerous exceptions under IRC 274(e), including compensation, recreational activities, public availability, and goods or services sold to customers. Using examples from the final regulations, we will dissect key distinctions such as separately stated food and beverage costs, employer-provided meals, and the treatment of per diem reimbursements. This course equips practitioners with the technical precision required for compliance, documentation, and audit defense. 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 introduces key cybersecurity concepts tailored for financial professionals. It emphasizes the CPA's role in cyber risk management, key terminology, and practical steps to foster a security mindset, integrating cybersecurity with financial reporting.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing forensic accounting, giving professionals powerful new ways to trace funds, uncover fraud, and analyze massive volumes of financial data in minutes instead of weeks. In this engaging course, you'll discover how AI can enhance financial investigations, strengthen expert witness reports, and support litigation and discovery efforts. Learn where AI can create strategic advantages in the courtroom, as well as the disclosure, reliability, and admissibility challenges that every expert must understand. Through practical examples and real-world applications, you'll see how AI can uncover hidden patterns, identify critical evidence, and generate actionable insights. Whether you investigate fraud, support litigation, or serve as an expert witness, this course will help you harness AI with confidence, credibility, and defensible results. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Employee benefit plan audits present unique compliance and audit considerations that require auditors to remain alert to both recurring issues and evolving requirements. This course addresses current standards and developments affecting employee benefit plan audits while focusing on practical considerations encountered during EBP engagements. Participants will review common compliance issues identified in 401(k) plan audits and considerations related to correcting those issues. The course also covers best practices for audit areas such as participant data, payroll and compensation, contributions and remittances, participant loans, hardship distributions, investments, distributions, investment income allocations, and plan mergers and acquisitions. The program is designed for auditors of employee benefit plans who have basic knowledge of EBP audits and want to review best practices, common compliance issues, and considerations that arise during EBP audit engagements. 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 rapidly changing world, finance professionals are required to wear many hats and are often the keys to the success of the organization. On one hand, they need to be abreast of the latest proven financial skills for making the best decisions, and on the other hand, they need the best skills to motivate, manage, and lead people. Being pigeonholed into one area or another is neither good for career building nor good for the organization. We'll cover the latest issues that all CFOs and controllers need to know about and provide how-to guidance to allow for immediate use in their organizations.