CPE Catalog & Events

Understanding the dynamics of family interaction is one of the most important skills in helping a family business succeed. This course takes a candid look inside the family business, and will help the participant navigate delicate issues while learning to provide counsel that will grow - or protect - the family business and non-family staff.

Learn why creating an employer brand is so important and instrumental in competing in today's competitive marketplace. Elevate your recruiting experience for candidates and onboarding process for new hires to enhance your employer's brand.

On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued converged guidance on recognizing revenue in contracts with customers (ASC 606). The objective of the guidance is to establish principles to report useful information to users of financial statements about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue from contracts with customers. The new guidance provides several benefits to financial statement users.   This is one in a series of courses that outline the updated revenue recognition standard.

Today’s economy and all of the digital enhancements have impacted the way companies engage with their customers as well as how the company manages their internal practices. The business control function needs to keep pace. The rising importance of analytical capability is critical when defining the role of the modern controller. Execution of analytics can vary but there are still key questions that must be asked. What are the options and what we need to understand to decide the best way forward? This course focuses on the value that can be brought by the Controller when becoming involved with data analytics powered by technology and also Big Data. The digitized world we live in has made it important for the Controller function to evolve and take on this advanced task.  

Form 709 is filed by many tax practitioners but are frequently filed incorrectly. Especially troublesome is reporting the gift correctly on Schedule A, making the correct GST allocations and meeting the adequate disclosure requirements. This program will review common problems for preparers and provide examples of presentations for many of the frequently reported gifts in recent years.

Accounting and finance practitioners are continually asked for strategic planning advice. In this course, we will cover topics that will make clients, and their advisors, tax smart and tax prepared for the coming year and beyond. This program is a two-hour review and analysis of what we consider some of the most important changes from the OBBBA impacting both individual and business clients.

This course provides essential knowledge for Client Advisory Services (CAS) professionals navigating multistate taxation and managing tax deadlines. We'll start by exploring the implications of the Wayfair decision, focusing on general rules for sales and income tax nexus across states. You'll learn what to look for in state statutes and gain a solid foundation for filing requirements. Additionally, we'll cover key tax due dates, how to handle missed deadlines, and potential relief options. Whether you're new to the field or running your own practice, this course will equip you with the tools to succeed.

A significant number of projects fail to achieve their initial goals and/or are not completed within budget and their original timetable. As a team member, a CMA has a unique skill set and experiences to assist in project management. In addition to their analytical training and knowledge of budgets and controls, they typically have ongoing contacts with other professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Familiar analytical tools/techniques can be applied to managing projects. This brief program is designed to aid both experienced and less experienced participants in increasing their knowledge of, and comfort with, the steps and skills needed for success.

Apportionment has never been more challenging. States use different methods and sourcing rules for the same transaction. Become the expert in your office on current issues affecting apportionment, such as the apportionment formulas used by other states. Understand sourcing rules, and most importantly, learn to structure transactions so clients aren't taxed on the same income in multiple states. Review how apportionment applies to flow-through entities and their owners. Companion Course: Multistate Nexus Requirements

You only have one chance to make a good first impression.  In the fast paced world we live in, being able to create immediate rapport and a sense of trust with people is more important than ever.  Fortunately, this is an easily learnable skill that can serve you in both business and in life.  People who can master the one minute relationship end up making more money, being better liked, and enjoying their clients more.  

What The Big Beautiful Bill Means for You and Your Clients: Breaking Down Key Tax Provisions The “Big Beautiful Bill” is the most significant tax law package since the TCJA, and it’s now law. With dozens of TCJA provisions made permanent and plenty of new rules introduced, this session is packed with critical content for tax professionals. You’ll walk away understanding what’s changed, what’s new, and what to prepare for across individual, business, and estate taxation. Art Werner breaks down key topics like bonus depreciation, enhanced 199A deductions, Trump accounts, SALT cap changes, estate planning, charitable limits, 1099-K thresholds, and much more. He’ll also examine areas with future sunsets, business incentives, and international tax provisions that could impact clients at all income levels. *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

The Secure Act 2.0 was passed in a flurry of year-end legislation. This one hour program will cover the important changes that employers need to know about company retirement plans. Employers will also need to consider how Secure Act 2.0 will the administration of existing plans or the creation of new ones.  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.

Cybercrime is on the rise and CPAs that handle sensitive client data are often the target of cybercrimes.  By attending this session you'll learn what the eight biggest threats are to your business and uncover the three pillars of cybersecurity that you can build your firm's defense around.

It is easy for us to get caught up in our work, but it is better to examine the ‘big picture’ by studying the outside factors that impact our business beyond our internal processes and day to day responsibilities. We are sometimes so busy with our tasks that we miss new developments until the developments have a profound impact on us and the organization. This session is designed to review many of these current trends, while thinking and discussing how these trends can impact our organizations and us. This is a fun and lively session that is intended to be interactive with participants either live, virtual or both. Our ever-changing world is evolving more than many realize.

What were they thinking?  Why do some people make horrible decisions that severely damage themselves and their organizations?  It is tempting to assume that a poor choice must be due to a leader’s incompetence, inexperience, bad character, or low intelligence – but such easily attributed factors generally aren’t the true cause when leaders blunder.  In such situations, many turn to finance and accounting professionals for evaluation, answers, remedies, and solutions for improved decision-making.

This course focuses on the main elements of financial education and will help accounting and finance professionals guide their clients, and their clients' children, through a personalized teaching roadmap. Clients with wealth face questions about how to teach their children about money to raise financially capable children. Often, clients' first contact is with their accounting and financial professionals, so it is important to be able to provide a framework to help teach clients how to prepare their children for life with privilege. This course is designed for all practitioners who want to help their clients navigate the process of teaching the next generation about personal finances. Because every family and child are different, it is critical to develop a specific plan for each client, and likely each child and grandchild. By working with their clients' descendants, accounting and finance professionals not only build rapport and trust but also get to know the children and grandchildren, building firm value and long-term connection. With new and updated information and tactics, professionals can learn best practices to engage clients and their children.

A common challenge for the controller role is in closing the month-end and period-end books in preparation to issue financial statements. This duty requires precision, timing and efficiency. In today’s digital world, many organizations have access to financial accounting software that will assist with the steps in the financial close. However, even with this aid it is critical the accountant understand the various steps for the close process and how they inter-relate to other accounting processes. This course gives you an insight into the inter-relationships between many processes that impact the financial close. The closing process has traditionally been a slow one with many companies taking two weeks to close its subsidiary’s books and another two to three weeks to roll up and consolidated the results. With the introduction of technology much has been done to help accelerate that process with integrated enterprise resource planning systems and general ledger and consolidate software. Within this segment we will discuss the elements of the financial close and also important concepts to assist the controller in accelerating their close timeline. This includes addressing all functional areas of the close including payroll, invoicing, payables, inventory, cash, and the general ledger. We will also discuss important concepts of ensuring your financial close is accurate by discussing bank reconciliations, overhead allocations, bad debt reserves, unpaid wages and accruals for vacation time, account reconciliations, deprecation and overall financial statement review. Note: This course does not address utilizing technology in the financial close. Its focus is to understand the varied procedures involved in the financial close whether or not technology is utilized.  

This session is the beginning in a series on the new revenue recognition standard. The standard outlines five steps for proper compliance. At the surface, these steps seem simplistic. However, there are many considerations that should be considered within each step based on your process and industry. This course is designed to provide an overview of the technical guidance and outline the five steps involved in the revenue recognition model. We also explore some concepts to consider within each step and then evaluate some challenges that specific industry's may have when complying with the standard. Future courses will further delve into each step and provide example and scenarios that should be considered to properly apply the step.

Effective teamwork pays its own way by creating greater productivity and profitability in any accounting organization. A team of people working cooperatively can produce more than the sum of individual members working alone. One good idea stimulates another — but only if the team members are engaged and motivated to do so. Teamwork is inhibited in today's high-stress and changing accounting regulatory environment. Integrated into this informative yet pragmatic seminar are tried-and-true motivational principles for the realities of today's changing accounting workplace. It's not easy, but it can be done. You will learn how to form, motivate, steer, and get greater results from all team members by understanding what makes them tick and strategizing approaches to engage all team members.

Microsoft Teams is now one of the most widely used tools in the business world today. Yet, most business professionals take advantage of only a fraction of its features. Participate in this session to learn six essential Teams features you should use and how they will improve your productivity.