CPE Catalog & Events

Business professionals can automate data collection processes by using today’s electronic forms. Learn about these tools and how to deploy them in this session.

Selecting the right KPIs for your organization can be complex and stressful. Rather than resorting to brainstorming and internet searches, there is a better way to discover the best KPIs for your organization - the ROKS method. In this session Bernie Smith, creator of the ROKS method, walks you through the first five steps of this powerful approach, using real-world stories to bring each step to life.  

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.

Many people, when they hear about feedbcak in organizations and the workplace, think immediately of performance reviews. But feedback should not be isolated to these formal structures. This workshop is about the more informal methods of feedback that managers and coworkers can use to have more productive conversations that drive behavioral change. Through understanding the importance of dialogue, strategic questions to drive conversation, and mistakes to avoid, you'll be able to have more productive feedback conversations in your workplace (and maybe even at home, too).

Award winning discussion leader Mark Hugh discusses both nexus basics and new developments in the dynamic, ever changing world of state income and sales tax nexus. This valuable course answers your frequently asked questions, reviews key factors in examining potential nexus consequences, takes a tour through the rules in states comprising 50% of the US, and identifies free, online multistate resources. 

More and more entities need Yellow Book engagements, including a growing number of for-profit entities. In this course, we will review the unique independence requirements in GAGAS. We'll also review the recent changes to quality management in Yellow Book. We'll close with a reminder of common deficiencies found in Yellow Book engagements.

Ready to make radical leaps in your critical thinking? In a world of rapid change and unreliable information, we need the ability to separate fact from fiction, recognize flawed assumptions, and have clarity under pressure. This course will teach you how to audit your thinking and build effective reasoning strategies for all types of situations. You will achieve dramatic improvements in judgement, problem solving, memory, and learning. This course will make you more flexible, adaptable, creative and resilient, and provide a cognitive toolkit you can carry for life. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Many organizations struggle to keep budgets current in an ever-changing business climate.  Twenty-first century performance metrics focus on determining what budgets should be rather than what they were in the past.  Using performance metrics effectively reduces work, reduces politics, provides flexibility and substantially improves the performance management process.  This session will show you powerful techniques to drive your organization’s performance.

In a competitive economy, CPA's  and their firms need a way to stand out. The best way to do this is to give outstanding service to your clients. In this experiential workshop, you’ll learn skills that lead to dramatic client satisfaction. In addition, you'll learn several specific ways to guarantee you'll get a lot of word of mouth referrals that will lead to a dramatic increase in your number of clients.

This course will provide an overview of 6 key areas of automation that accounting firms can leverage to effectively increase their lead generation and client retention efforts while reducing the burden on their time and budget. These areas include: 1. Social media 2. Content development. 3. Email marketing. 4. Text (SMS) marketing. 5. Chatbots and other interactive AI tools. 6. Drip marketing campaigns. Attendees will receive a practical guide to the technologies and tactics needed to improve marketing efforts with efficiency and ease! This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Most small and mid-sized businesses are at least considering cloud-based suites for business management, performance management, and productivity. Unfortunately, many owners and accounting professionals need to learn the difference between using cloud-native tools, employing a managed service provider, and utilizing a desktop hosting provider. This session helps participants understand the differences in the levels of service provided by these offerings and will also highlight some of the regulatory barriers which could create problems for your organization. Attend this session and learn what you need to know before saying “see ya” to your servers.

The AICPA issued new Quality Management Standards that require all accounting firms that perform audit, review, compilation, attestation, and agreed-upon procedures engagements to comply with the enhanced Quality Management Standards by December 15, 2025. The most significant change in the new Quality Management Standards is the requirement that firms identify and assess quality risks specific to their practices and then design and implement responses to each identified quality risk. This program will help you understand the new Quality Management Standards, provide practical guidance for adoption, and respond to the requirements of the new Quality Management Standards.

Cover the basic requirements for performing preparation, compilation, and review engagements under Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS), including the new SSARS No. 25, Materiality in a Review of Financial Statements and Adverse Conclusions. Review common issues found on SSARS engagements in connection with peer reviews and the impact of various findings on the results of a peer review. Identify key issues to consider during SSARS engagements, and determine how to incorporate quality control recommendations and tips for performing high-quality SSARS engagements. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event

Microsoft Teams is one of the most exciting personal and organizationally productivity tools to ever appear on the business landscape. With Teams, you can communicate and collaborate easily and securely with others, including colleagues outside your organization. Further, you can extend the already-robust functionality in Teams by incorporating add-in solutions with just a few clicks of the mouse. Unfortunately, despite Teams’ power and relatively simple interface, many organizations struggle with deploying and using Teams.  In this session, you will learn how you can get up and running quickly in Teams so that you can take full advantage of this powerful tool. More specifically, you will learn how you can get started in Teams and critical decisions that will affect your deployment. Also, you will learn how to work in Teams, including how to take advantage of the chat, voice, and video call services and how to share documents securely with others. Moreover, you will learn how to extend your Teams platform to external organizations for improved communication and collaboration. Additionally, you will identify how you can add other applications into Teams and optimize Team's configuration for the best overall efficiency and security. If you are working with Teams or plan to do so, this is one CPE session you can’t afford to miss!

Navigate the intricate world of tax compliance for fiduciary entities with confidence through this comprehensive course tailored for financial professionals. Gain practical insights and expertise in preparing the U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts (Form 1041), addressing specific issues surrounding decedents' estates and trusts. Delve into the fundamentals of Subchapter J of the Internal Revenue Code and master the art of compliance while decoding complex tax regulations. With engaging case studies and line-by-line instruction, participants will acquire the skills necessary to recognize and address key components of Form 1041, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in tax preparation. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your proficiency and advance your career in fiduciary taxation. **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.

Microsoft Teams is one of the most widely used applications for communications, collaboration and knowledge sharing in business today. Most users are unaware of many time saving features available to help you manage your conversations, files and related content on a daily basis. John Higgins, a strategic advisor to the profession on Microsoft 365, will teach you how to leverage all the functionality Teams has to offer to compose, organize and retrieve your conversations, files and related content for 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.

Every organization today is facing an onslaught of pressure to master Artificial Intelligence “AI” strategies across their enterprises. Never before have we witnessed such a steep expectation for how a “technology” can transform a business, and never before have we been expected to leverage a technology so quickly and so completely.  There is no denying AI presents perhaps the opportunity of a lifetime to transform and improve operations, but to date few plans or roadmaps on how to unlock the promise of AI exist. In this class, Steve Cadigan, a globally renowned future of work expert, will present a practical plan for how you can build your own AI strategy, and how you can thrive in the AI revolution. Steve will show present a roadmap of how to build your confidence with AI to address this massive change management challenge.

In this course, participants will gain a broad understanding of the various anti-fraud preventive and detective tests available to practitioners and take initial steps in building their own library of tests unique to their business or industry risks. Specific discussions and examples will include vendor analysis to look for potentially improper payments around conflicts of interests, fake vendor schemes, bribery & corruption, sanctions and trade compliance, anomalous payments, segregation of duties, among other risk categories.  Participants will also explore tests around customers or distributors that include margin analysis, free goods, discounts and revenue recognition. Further, we will explore employee related test to mitigate travel & entertainment expense abuses. We will also point out various online and public resources for participants to start building their own library of tests to support both reactive investigations as well as proactive prevention and detection.

In the modern corporate landscape, the challenge for lean HR departments isn't just managing administrative tasks—it's about curating a meaningful and enriching employee journey. Small HR teams are uniquely poised to offer a level of personalization and touch that larger departments might struggle to replicate. These compact teams have the potential to craft individualized experiences, ensuring that each step of an employee's journey, from onboarding to advancement, resonates deeply and positively. Yet, knowing the potential and harnessing it are two distinct tasks. This session provides attendees with a deep dive into three transformative engagement strategies tailored for lean HR environments. By placing the employee journey at the heart of these strategies, HR professionals can ensure every interaction, every milestone, and every touchpoint is optimized for engagement, satisfaction, and growth. Discover methods that don't just streamline processes, but elevate the entire employee experience, creating a lasting impact on both individual careers and the organization's culture.

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.