CPE Catalog & Events

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.

In this introductory course, you'll learn the fundamentals of integrating forensic data analytics into your anti-fraud risk management program. We will cover key definitions, use cases, methodologies and some of the leading innovations and techniques driving this ever-evolving field of "finding hidden money."

A team member is not performing satisfactorily.  Tried several corrective actions – none worked.  We must dig to determine the root causes.  We will review a 15-step process to assess all the reasons why they are not performing, so you can reduce and hopefully eliminate performance issues.  Proper planning is essential.  If none of the remedies or suggestions work, we will review how to part ways.  The sooner you address the issues, the sooner the situation can improve.  If you have had one employee problem, this session is for you.  

Cash does not manage itself.  It is up to the CFO to establish practices and procedures for the short-term, mid-term, and long-term management of cash.  Every organization needs to control the availability of the right amount of cash, at the right time, at the right place.   This webcast will help you gain insights in cash management that will allow you to function at the highest level.

This course begins with a look at the GASB standards effective this year, including GASB 100, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections and GASB 101, Compensated Absences. We'll include practical application of the topics in the form of case studies. 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 examines the critical issues and special opportunities facing partnerships and their partners, with a focus on reporting tax basis capital accounts.  **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.

Hacks, attacks, ransomware, malware – where does it end? Unfortunately, tech crimes continue to plague businesses of all sizes. Participate in this session to learn how you can reduce the risk of becoming yet another victim.

Regardless of size, most public accounting firms are mandated to have a written security plan in place. Failing to have such a plan in place can lead to substantial fines. Join us in this session to learn what your security plan should include and how to implement it.

If you... - Produce or revise dashboards and reports - Find your current reports and dashboards confusing - Are frustrated by the length, complexity and structure of your existing reports - Have many different styles of dashboards and reports in use and want to simplify things - Need to create a consistent “house style” that can be replicated by different teams - Want to look like a star by creating reports and dashboards that your internal customers love ... this workshop can help. In this session we explore the principles of what makes reports and dashboards easy, or hard, to understand, distil this into a simple set of rules and show you how to apply these rules using Excel.

Professional Athletes have multiple coaches - business people rarely utilize coaches. This course will focus on creating the coaching skills that are required to raise the performance of your employees. Coaching Model / Strategies Successful Communication Techniques Root Cause Analysis Performance Gap Analysis Personality impact on coaching model.

This program provides an update to the latest tax developments, rules and regulations affecting individual taxpayers, including a review and integration of late 2023 -24 legislation.   **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.

Stay up-to-date on rapidly changing developments by participating in the 2024 Governmental Accounting and Auditing Update! Take advantage of this opportunity to find out about breaking government issues. This is your opportunity to hear about the latest challenges facing state and local governments and practitioners who work with them and audit them, presented by leading experts on governmental accounting and auditing, both those who work in the trenches and those from the regulatory world. With all of the fiscal, regulatory, and new standards challenges facing governments and their auditors, it is important to keep current on critical issues and developments. In 2024, governments and their auditors continue to operate in a rapidly changing environment as they continue to face the many challenges associated with significant federal funding with complex requirements. From a governmental accounting, auditing, and compliance perspective, 2024 will be a critical year for addressing the complex federal funding challenges as well as focusing on implementing new standards and requirements! Plus, it is imperative that you start planning for the significant changes coming in 2024 and beyond! Exciting new topics this year include focused discussions on addressing the new GASB pronouncement on risk disclosures and the GAO’s 2024 Yellow Book! You’ll receive an update on the most recent accounting and auditing developments affecting governments and government auditors. This includes Single Audit issues, AICPA and Yellow Book issues, new and recently effective GASB pronouncements, audit issues, and a look at what’s on the horizon. Join ACPEN’s panel of experts as they discuss, not only the technical requirements of new standards, but also the key implementation issues that must be addressed by auditors and their governmental clients! Benefit from their experience and insights from many perspectives, as well as their long experience in governmental accounting and auditing. **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.

LLCs and partnerships continue to present some of the greatest challenges for return preparers and advisors.  This program will address the latest developments: New IRS audit initiatives An SE tax update for LLCs and partnerships Disregarded entity rules and transactions Common allocation problems Identifying various types of partnership debt properly for basis purposes The 754 election in the sale of interests and at death Reporting LLC and partnership interests on gift and estate tax returns and valuation of closely held businesses and minority interests **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.

Attracting and retaining staff is critical to an organization's success, especially in the age of the millennial worker who will change jobs multiple times in the course of a career. This course will focus on best practices for nurturing the human element of your organization, especially millennial workers who comprise a growing percentage or the workforce. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The topic of internal control has long been an issue for business. Management may view internal control as a set of forms, checklists, and templates that auditors require. However, internal control is much more. Since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), internal control (especially over financial reporting) has become a major focus for all organizations, regardless of their status as public, private, not-for-profit, sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. It is essential that managers understand and establish sound, effective, and proper internal controls for operations, compliance, and financial processes within the organization. Internal control can truly provide ultimate organizational value. Internal controls are defined as the mechanisms, rules, and procedures implemented by a company to ensure the integrity of financial and accounting information, promote accountability, and prevent fraud. Internal controls are a means by which an organization’s resources are directed, monitored, and measured. This includes operational and compliance activities. It plays an important role in preventing and detecting fraud and protecting the organization’s resources. Internal control is affected by an organization’s structure, work and authority flows, people, and information systems, and is designed to help the organization accomplish specific goals or objectives. For instance, a small organization with limited resources may not be able to segregate duties with the same rigor that a larger organization can. However, that does not give small organizations an excuse to ignore the importance of that control. They must find other ways to mitigate potential issues. In any event, internal control is part of an organization’s overall responsibility and requires due diligence to ensure its operations are effective. Management is the “keeper” and “inventor” of internal controls and must take ownership.

This course examines actual fraud circumstances through the lens of potential prevention. We will examine how selected frauds were accomplished and consider what internal controls may have prevented fraudsters’ ability to accomplish their nefarious acts.

When federal prosecutors contemplate charges against business owners, two of their most potent and readily available tools include charges for mail fraud and wire fraud. The elements to convict for these crimes are clear: 1) The defendant devised or intended to devise a scheme or artifice to defraud, and, 2) in executing or attempting to execute the scheme, the defendant used or caused the use of mail or an interstate wire or wireless transmission. Mail, emails, cell phone calls, text messages, Internet transmissions, and even tweets could form the basis for charges of wire fraud or mail fraud. The crime of wire fraud is a reason that many business owners go to prison. In this course, we'll learn about a few people who've experienced a conviction for wire fraud. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.