CPE Catalog
Note
AICPA On-Demand & Self-Study courses take up to 24 hours to process.
Revenue Recognition, Financial Instruments, and Leases
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Online
1.00 Credits
Understand FASB's important accounting and reporting areas: financial instruments and leases. Learn to assess and implement the new standards and guidance that are applicable to your practice.
Payroll Essentials: Fringe Benefits: Taxable or Not?
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Online
2.00 Credits
Fringe benefits are just another way of paying your employees. Do you know how to correctly track fringe benefits, as well as apply and report the various withholding tax rules for those fringe benefits? The IRS says fringe benefits must be included in and reported as a part of employee pay, but with any good tax law, there are always exclusions to that rule. Knowing how to handle fringe benefits can be complicated, especially in an area that changes on an annual basis. Attendees will leave with an understanding of what the requirements are around fringe benefits, what constitutes a fringe benefit, and whether it is taxable or not. We will also explore the evergreen areas of reporting S-Corp Shareholder Health, HSA, and when cash is not taxable compensation. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
AI & You
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Online
1.00 Credits
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.
The Controllership Series - The Financial Close Process
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Online
1.50 Credits
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.
Preparing to be a Forensic Accountant - Focus on Digital Forensics
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Online
1.80 Credits
Forensic accounting, forensic accountancy or financial forensics is the specialty practice area of accounting that investigates whether firms engage in financial reporting misconduct. Forensic accountants apply a range of skills and methods to determine whether there has been financial reporting misconduct. Financial forensic engagements may fall into several categories. For example: Economic damages calculations, whether suffered through tort or breach of contract. Post-acquisition disputes such as earnouts or breaches of warranties Bankruptcy, insolvency and reorganization Securities and tax fraud Money laundering Business valuation Computer forensics/e-discovery This session is designed to delve into further investigative procedures used including digital forensics. Future sessions will focus on computer forensics, network forensics and mobile forensics.
Excel - From a Blank Sheet to a Finished Workbook
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Online
2.00 Credits
Have you ever opened a blank workbook in Excel and just stared at it, wondering where to begin? Or, do you spend most of your time just formatting cells to make your spreadsheet look pretty? Or, do you just wonder if there is a better way to create your spreadsheets? This course is designed to take you from a blank worksheet to a completed report. Our example will be a financial statement but you can use the knowledge gained in the course and apply it to your specific job function. You will learn to import data instead of manually entering it. Learn that you can use functions and formulas to build calculations that will eliminate the need to manually manipulate your data. Our goal is to make sure you have all the information needed to build reports without having to manually enter it every month. You will learn techniques to use your data to build your reports. This will include building formulas that are flexible with your changing data. You will learn techniques to validate your report calculations so you can improve the accuracy of your reports. You will also learn how to quickly format reports and techniques that allow you to efficiently change the format. Lastly, you will learn how PivotTables can provide a more dynamic reporting option instead of using pre-defined report formats. Obviously, we will be covering a lot of ground, so to enhance your learning experience all examples will be provided to each participant along with instructions. This will allow you to follow along and use as you apply your new knowledge to your spreadsheets. This session is presented using Excel 2019/Office 365. Regardless of the version you are using, most concepts covered in this course apply to all versions of Excel. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
Surgent's Use the Data Model to Build More Powerful PivotTables
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Online
2.00 Credits
Do you love PivotTables? Of course, we all do! Traditional PivotTables are incredible, but they do have limitations. If you have ever encountered one of these limitations, you'll be excited to learn that by using the Data Model as the source for PivotTables, you'll be able to bypass many of the restrictions that exist with traditional PivotTables. The data model (also referred to as Power Pivot) is included in Excel 2016+ for Windows and available as a free download for previous versions (excluding Excel for Mac). Using the data model enables you to build PivotTables that were previously not practical. If you frequently build PivotTables and would like to do more with them, you'll want to understand how to use the data model (Power Pivot) to enhance your reports. Note about Excel versions: Power Pivot is not available in all versions of Excel, including Excel for Mac. If you would like to see if Power Pivot is available in your version of Excel, visit the Microsoft site.
2024 The Preparation of Form 706 and 709 - Line-by-Line
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Online
4.00 Credits
Navigating the challenges of estate and gift taxation can be overwhelming for practitioners, especially those lacking extensive experience in this field. In this comprehensive course, participants will undergo a practical exploration through the preparation of the Federal Forms 706 and 709 - line by line. Through hands-on instruction, attendees will gain invaluable insights into the complexities of tax compliance, equipping them with the skills and confidence needed to seamlessly integrate estate and gift tax preparation into their practice. With a focus on practical application, this course offers participants a unique opportunity to master the preparation of crucial tax returns, enhancing their professional expertise and strengthening client service offerings. From a detailed overview of the Federal Forms 706 and 709 to insights on complying with "Portability" and navigating postmortem estate planning issues, attendees will emerge with a newfound proficiency in estate and gift tax preparation, ready to excel in their practice. **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.
Taxation of Property Transactions - Tax Staff Essentials
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Online
4.00 Credits
A fundamental understanding of the taxation of business property transactions is essential to any tax practice. This course prepares tax professionals to handle the tax effects of common property transactions, including like-kind exchanges and involuntary conversions. It also covers important property-related timing issues and planning opportunities that can lead to significant tax savings.
5 Ways Your Onboarding Process Fails to Engage and Retain New Hires
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Online
1.00 Credits
According to the Gallup Organization, only 10% of employees believe that their organization does a good job onboarding new employees. This means most organizations are overlooking this crucial phase of the employee lifecycle, which not only includes the often-neglected pre-boarding stage but also the continuous efforts to reduce uncertainty, bolster excitement, and foster connections for their new recruits. By streamlining these processes and crafting impactful moments from pre-boarding through the initial weeks, HR and Business leaders can significantly enhance efficiency, foster trust, and establish a foundation of psychological safety for years to come. In this session, attendees will discover strategies and resources that craft a holistic onboarding experience, mitigating risks like employee ghosting, and paving the way for heightened engagement and retention.
Top Employment Tools to Protect Your Business and Recommend to Business Clients
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Online
1.00 Credits
Overview of the most important labor and employment policies and practices that every business should have. The review will go over confidentiality agreements, arbitration agreements, restrictive covenants, training, and severance agreements, as well as compliance issues related to each of them.
Current Audit Environment and ASB Activity
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Online
2.00 Credits
Explore the current audit environment, and recognize audit challenges triggered by the current environment. Provide a comprehensive review of recent audit pronouncement and exposure drafts. Understand topics critical to success in today's rapidly changing regulatory environment. This course provides 4 hours of CPE credit in the Auditing field of study.
Exploring the New Lease Accounting Standard
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Online
2.00 Credits
It's a whole new world for lessees under ASC topic 842. This program will dive into the new standard on leases and its impact on every size entity, review effective dates, and address what you need to know now. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
Small Business Risk Avoidance
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Online
4.00 Credits
Enterprise Risk Management for SMEs
Audit 406: Auditing Revenue Recognition - Common Risks
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Online
2.00 Credits
Auditing Revenue Recognition - Grasping the Higher Risks and Special Audit Considerations will provide tips and techniques for obtaining sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to support conclusions related to accounting for revenues obtained from contracts with customers. Revenue recognition is presumed to be a significant risk for financial statement auditing purposes due to the increased risk of both fraud and error. Note: This course is recommended as a part of a 16-hour audit skills curriculum for supervisory or managerial auditors, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has responsibilities in auditing revenues. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
Making Culture A Competitive Advantage
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Online
1.00 Credits
In the world of work today, nothing is more critical than Culture. If people are your competitive advantage, then culture is the best way to help your people realize a great destination. While many leaders and companies talk a lot about culture, few take the time to really plan, build, and invest in a great culture. Today, the world of work could not be more challenging, and the changes that we are seeing in the workforce, such as the rise of remote workers and increasing turnover, are adding to the complexity. Now more than ever, Culture must become your competitive advantage. In this course, you will learn about the key macro changes in the workforce and what some leading companies and leaders are doing to create amazing cultures and high-performing organizations. From LinkedIn to Patagonia to Eventbrite, you will learn from some top organizations ow they have successfully leveraged culture. You will learn what Culture is and can be, and you will learn what culture is not. As you set sail in 2024 and beyond as a leader, you will benefit from this class and learn how to make culture your competitive advantage. Your teacher for the class is Steve Cadigan, whom many credit for being the architect of LinkedIn's world-class and groundbreaking culture.
The Controllership Series - The Role of the Controller in ESG
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Online
1.50 Credits
Why do for profit organizations exist??? To make money!!!!! What a great concept. But if the organization does not have the proper collections and credit procedures in place, they may not be able to access that money. Hence the importance of the credit and collection process. Credit and collections are critical areas for the financial statement controllers. Customer credit is a form of payment that allows small business customers to purchase a product or service before paying for it in full. The process works similarly to the way a credit card does - you procure something and pay it back later. Collections is a term used by a business when referring to money owed to that business by a customer. When a customer does not pay within the terms specified, the amount of the bill becomes past due and is sometimes submitted to a collection agency. The sales and collection process includes business activities related to selling products and services, maintaining customer records, billing customers, and recording payments from customers. It also includes activities necessary to manage accounts receivable, such as aging accounts and authorizing credit. This course delves into the topics that impact the sales, credit and collections process for management. We discuss strategic steps management can take to ensure their processes are efficient and that they are able to actually collect their revenue.
Preparing to be a Forensic Accountant - Focus on Computer Forensics - Part 3 (Steganography)
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Online
1.60 Credits
This course is a complement to our series on Becoming a Forensic Accountant and the focus of the course is on steganography techniques. Steganography is the art and science of embedding secret messages in a cover message in such a way that no one, apart from the sender and intended recipient, suspects the existence of the message. The first use of steganography can be traced to 440 BC when ancient Greece, people wrote messages on wood and covered it with wax, that acted as a covering medium Romans used forms of Invisible Inks, to decipher those hidden messages light or heat were used. During World War II the Germans introduced microdots, which were complete documents, pictures, and plans reduced in size to the size of a dot and were attached to normal paperwork. Null Ciphers were also used to hide unencrypted secret messages in an innocent looking message. Given the amount of data being generated and transmitted electronically, it’s no surprise that numerous methods of protecting that data have evolved. There are various types of steganography: Text Steganography - Hiding information inside the text files. This involves changing format of existing text, changing words in a text, generating random character sequences or using context-free grammars to generate readable texts. Image Steganography - Process of hiding text in an image without distorting the picture. Video Steganography - Technique to hide any kind of files into a cover video file. Audio Steganography - The secret message is embedded into an audio signal which alters the binary sequence of the corresponding audio file. Network Steganography - The process of utilizing active network protocols as carriers to transmit a covert message, undetectable by an uninformed party, from a host to its destination. This session will review these methods and also discuss relevant software.
Performing Preparation, Compilation and Review Engagements
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Online
2.00 Credits
Comply With All Standards As You Prepare, Compile and Review Engagements This webcast is a go-to reference for staying in compliance with all professional standards surrounding engagements performed in accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARSs).
Project Management: Getting the Best Out of Your Team
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Online
2.00 Credits
With capacity challenges on the mind of many tax and accounting leaders, finding ways for their teams to work more efficiently is crucial. They need their teams to not be busy, but deliver value, and continue to develop their skills and knowledge. Project Management techniques help uncover inefficiencies and gaps in current processes, as well as, manage the planning and forecasting needed to drive necessary changes for future success. In this session, learn when to incorporate project management best practices that can help you get the best out of your team.