CPE Catalog & Events

This program is an in-depth analysis of the Section 754 election and the two adjustments associated with the election under Section 743(b) and Section 734(b). The 754 election is a highly technical provision that provides great tax benefits to the owners of the partnership, and particularly in the case of Section 743(b), a new partner. In this webinar, our expert panel will cover the most common questions encountered by practitioners in their daily practices. The program includes a number of examples that provide insights into the mechanics of the two adjustments that follow upon a Section 754 election.

This course provides an overview of the similarities and key differences between the revenue recognition and business combination standards issued by the FASB and IASB. While these standards are similar in many material respects, there are notable differences that are good to understand. However, this course is not intended to provide an exhaustive discussion of these differences.

This course is a case study designed to provide a comprehensive overview of U.S. taxation of a foreign corporation. Using a specific example, the course will walk through step-by-step mechanics on how to calculate the income inclusions and foreign tax credits under GILTI (Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income), Subpart F, and PFIC (Passive Foreign Investment Company) regimes. The case study will further evaluate tax impact of subsequent distributions from the foreign corporation and sales of its stock. A compare-and-contrast approach will highlight the different outcomes of these regimes for individuals and for C corporations, empowering participants to advise their clients on the most tax efficient way to structure their international investments.

Surgent has partnered with UiPath(TM), the world's leading robotic process automation (RPA) software company, to provide this CPE course that gives learners practical application in RPA. Participants in this course receive an engaging introduction to RPA through an experiential, use-case approach. They learn how general, real-world problems can be solved in a non-RPA environment. The course teaches skills that enable participants to create a robot using free UiPath software to automate the solution. By automating repetitive tasks and streamlining workflows with RPA, firms and their employees can benefit from fewer errors, increased productivity, and job satisfaction.

Cryptocurrency transactions, once relatively uncommon, are becoming increasingly popular and mainstream. This heightened popularity is attracting the scrutiny of the IRS, SEC, and other regulatory bodies. In this course, advisors will gain an understanding of common virtual currency terminology and transactions as well as explore top issues facing their clients and the industry.

In 2006, Congress passed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act. Prior to the Act's passage, rewards to individuals who provided information to the IRS regarding tax fraud were capped at $10 million. The Tax Relief and Health Care Act authorized the IRS to create a Whistleblower Office dedicated to investigating, processing and recovering claims concerning the underpayment of taxes. Under the IRS' new program, whistleblowers may recover 15 to 30 percent of the amount collected provided the taxes and amounts in dispute exceed $2 million. If the whistleblower's claim does not meet these criteria, the IRS may still consider granting an award under its pre-2006 Tax Relief Act discretionary authority. Given the rapid growth of this program, practitioners should have a basic understanding of the procedure and content for IRS Whistleblower claims, both from the perspective of a claimant's potential to recover and a taxpayer's exposure to liability.

More and more employers rely on non-compete agreements to protect company assets. Although state laws vary, non-competes are often used to protect the creation and development of corporate goodwill, customer relationships and specialized training, among others. Today, employees are more likely to be asked to sign non-compete agreements as a condition to employment. Non-compete agreements are also a common component of a business sale agreement. This program surveys non-compete agreements from all angles. Whether you advise individual clients or work for an employer, the presentation provides an understanding of common issues that arise in the negotiation and enforcement of non-competes.

How debt is allocated to the partners in a partnership is important. It dictates how much money may be taken tax-free as a distribution, the losses that flow down to the partners, and the gain or loss on the sale of a partnership interest. However, the allocation of debt can differ depending on the type of debt it is and the type of partner we are talking about. Furthermore, 704(c) can complicate things. And what in the world is a constructive liquidation scenario? In this course, we will tackle the concept of debt allocations - how you do it, what it means, and why you do it.

Partnership tax law is always difficult. However, when certain transactions come up, not knowing how to handle them can be costly to clients and practitioners. In this course, we discuss several of these types of situations. We will explore the tax impacts of a PTE election and how a 754 election affects the inside basis of partnership assets. We will then examine those tricky look-through provisions on the sale of a partnership interest in order to properly calculate the tax implications.

According to a recent study, over 70% of accounting professionals suffer from burnout, leading to feelings of exhaustion, inefficiency, and dissatisfaction with their careers. Recurring challenges for accounting and finance professionals include long hours, repetitive work, pressing client demands, and changing rules and regulations. Together, these conditions contribute to chronic workplace stress. Burnout is real, and firms that ignore this common problem pay a high price. Nearly three out of five employees in accounting and finance professions report psychological harm from work-related stress, including an overall feeling of lack of interest, motivation, or energy. Fortunately, individuals and organizations are beginning to take career burnout more seriously, especially in the post-pandemic era. This course looks at the causes of accounting burnout and examines strategies organizations are implementing to address and reduce a well-known but often overlooked problem.

The control and compliance requirements for single audits differ from the requirements for GAAS audits. As a result, sometimes it's difficult to tell where the auditor's responsibilities start and stop in a single audit. This course is designed to help you proceed and succeed in applying the single audit control and compliance requirements. Over 15 focused exercises are included to provide an enhanced working knowledge of the most critical challenges in single auditing today.

The control and compliance requirements for single audits differ from the requirements for GAAS audits. As a result, sometimes it's difficult to tell where the auditor's responsibilities start and stop in a single audit. This course is designed to help you proceed and succeed in applying the single audit control and compliance requirements. Over 15 focused exercises are included to provide an enhanced working knowledge of the most critical challenges in single auditing today.

The information technology component of the COSO Framework's Information and Communication element is a very important part of an entity's business processes. Controls over information technology (IT) are effective when they maintain the integrity of information and the security of the data the systems process and when they include effective general IT controls (GITC) and application controls. GITC are policies and procedures that function as the foundation to support the effective operation of the system's application controls. The increasing complexity of IT systems in many entities has resulted in a greater focus around controls in the IT environment. There is a growing trend toward automation of processes and controls as more and more entities adopt advanced IT products and services to enable greater efficiency in operations, compliance, and reporting activities. This requires an increased focus on the entity and the auditor on GITC. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 4.)

With so much of significance going on currently in the world of A&A today, you need to be able to make sense of the key drivers of our profession. In this course, we will review the key aspects of the events that are impacting practitioners and financial statement preparers alike. Specifically, because technology is rapidly transforming our profession, we'll review current trends and risks related to technology. Next, while many COVID-19 accounting considerations have passed, the issue of going concern is likely to last for the next several accounting periods. We'll review the disclosure and reporting issues related to this complex topic. With the private company implementation date for ASC 842 now here, we'll review the new lease accounting guidance. Then, we'll wrap up the course with a discussion of peer review findings and engagement quality initiatives.

With so much of significance going on currently in the world of A&A today, you need to be able to make sense of the key drivers of our profession. In this course, we will review the key aspects of the events that are impacting practitioners and financial statement preparers alike. Specifically, because technology is rapidly transforming our profession, we'll review current trend and risks related to technology. Next, while many COVID-19 accounting considerations have passed, the issue of going concern is likely to last for the next several accounting periods. We'll review the disclosure and reporting issues related to this complex topic. With the private company implementation date for ASC 842 now here, we'll review the new lease accounting guidance. Then, we'll wrap up the course with a discussion of peer review findings and engagement quality initiatives.

Professional standards are changing with the times and the desire of the AICPA to move the profession into a new era where use of technology will play a key role in an audit and professional skepticism, independence, and quality are emphasized. We are seeing changes already as the AICPA has issued 15 new standards since 2019. This program will discuss SASs 134 through 149.

Quality should be the primary focus of all engagements. Since initiating its Enhancing Engagement Quality initiative in 2014, the AICPA has been using its peer review program as a way to assess the improvement in engagement quality. In this course, we'll review the latest results from the peer review program, identify areas of focus for both 2020 and 2021 peer reviews, and identify common findings in recent peer reviews of audits as well as SSARS engagements.

This course provides a comprehensive analysis of the SECURE 2.0 Act, which is part of a much larger legislative package entitled the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. The principal focus of the Act is to expand retirement coverage and increase retirement savings. As such, the Act has many important changes relating to IRAs and qualified plans. This long-awaited new legislation alters the landscape of retirement planning for taxpayers of all ages, and there are changes taking immediate effect in January 2023. Make sure you are up-to-date with the latest information available in order to effectively advise your clients on these important changes. In addition, this guidance will be of particular relevance to practitioners' own retirement planning.

During the audit of the financial statements, an auditor will obtain evidence from many sources to support the account balances, transactions, and events that occurred during the period, as well as the financial statement disclosures. This course discusses the use of management's specialists, the auditor's specialists, inventory counting services, pricing services and internal audit. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 5.)

As financial and tax professionals well know, information overload is a constant struggle we face because things change quickly, and the sheer number of changes being made on a daily basis is enormous. Of great importance to small and medium tax and advisory firms is differentiating between changes that are relevant to our practice and our clients and changes that are new but totally irrelevant. Distinguishing between the two is difficult and time-consuming. Mike Tucker and a team of experts are pleased to announce a new weekly series designed to eliminate the clutter and get you what you need to stay up to date and perform for your clients. We are all aware that the IRS, along with other state and federal regulators, is issuing guidance with increased frequency due to the coronavirus pandemic tax changes. New rules need to be analyzed, dissected, and explained more quickly than in days gone by so that our clients are kept informed of opportunities that may not last long. This weekly series will provide relevant and important tax and financial changes in a quick, concise format. Each week, Mike and his co-presenters will dispense news on current events impacting taxes, finance, and industry. The subject matter will differ each week and intermittently include topics such as Social Security and Medicare. The panelists will discuss personal and corporate tax matters as well as other late-breaking news related to practitioners' personal finances and those of their clients. Every financial professional will benefit from this series. Please Note: CFP credit is not available for this course in 2021.