CPE Catalog
Note
AICPA On-Demand & Self-Study courses take up to 24 hours to process.
Surgent's Perplexing Financial and Economic Issues for the CFO/Controller
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Online
8.00 Credits
For CFOs and Controllers, the emergence of regulatory, fiscal, and monetary policy directly impacting their organizations' costs, competitiveness, and financing options, are causing them to understand the effect of shocks well outside of their control. The Dodd-Frank Act, health care reform, shortfalls in Social Security, unfunded pension liabilities, and deficit spending will all be explored relative to their impact on the CFO/Controller and your organization.
Surgent's Excel Lookups: Moving Beyond VLOOKUP Limitations
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Online
2.00 Credits
How do you pull a value from a cell into another cell? Do you use a direct cell reference, like =G10? If so, you are probably missing out on some efficiency gains that could be achieved by using a variety of Excel's lookup functions. Veteran Excel users, who are aware of the VLOOKUP function, are also painfully aware of its limitations--especially that it cannot go left. We will explore how to bypass VLOOKUP's limitations by nesting functions and by moving beyond VLOOKUP altogether.
Surgent's Guide to Partner Capital Account Reporting
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Online
2.00 Credits
Tax practitioners are responsible for presenting partner capital accounts on the tax basis. But what does this mean and how have rules changed in recent years regarding partner capital accounts? This webinar covers exactly that. For tax practitioners preparing partnership 1065 forms, this course explains these complex rules in practical and understandable terms.This course qualifies for IRS credit.
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.
Surgent's Advising a Client Regarding the Tax Consequences Associated with Buying or Selling a Business
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Online
3.00 Credits
Buying and selling a business can be a complex transaction with many tax issues. These issues include whether the transaction is or should be a stock or an asset sale when the business involved is a corporation, as well as the tax consequences associated with the sale of a partnership or a C or S corporation. Tax practitioners who advise clients who are buying or selling a business primarily focus on the tax issues that apply. This program explains and analyzes the tax issues practitioners must address in order to properly advise clients who are either buyers or sellers of businesses.
Surgent's Current Issues in Accounting and Auditing: An Annual Update
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Online
4.00 Credits
Designed for accounting and attestation practitioners at all levels in both public accounting and business and industry, this course provides a detailed review of SAS No. 145 and brings you up to date on FASB and AICPA standards issued over the past few years. The course also provides many hands-on examples and illustrations to help apply the guidance in practice and discusses other important A&A practice matters to be aware of, including an update on peer review and audit quality.
Surgent's Anatomy of a Ransomware Event and Incident Response
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Online
2.00 Credits
The past two years have ushered in an explosion of ransomware attacks affecting businesses and individuals. Many of us read or hear about these attacks, but there is little understanding of how they occur, how a response is undertaken, and how the chances of experiencing one can be reduced. Join us to learn about these topics so you can be prepared with the best response and the knowledge to avoid common mistakes in a ransomware 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.
Surgent's Business Writing: Professional & Effective Emails
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Online
2.00 Credits
Good writing is good business. Studies show that the average business worker receives 121 emails per day. That's a lot of emails. Are your emails effective? Are they being read? Are they professional and tone-smart? In this course, you will learn techniques and skills to get your emails to stand out and improve their effectiveness and professionalism.
Surgent's Ethical Considerations for CPAs
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Online
2.00 Credits
As accounting firm's non-attest offerings to their attest clients become more diversified, such engagements increase firms' exposure to independence violations. In order to thread the needle of providing value-added services and upholding their independence obligations, firms need to have a strong foundational understanding of the applicable ethical and independence rules which govern these engagements. In this course, we'll review the relevant sections of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct regarding independence, objectivity, and conflicts of interest. The course will focus on the Code's Independence Rule and common threats to auditor's independence. In particular, the course will focus on those unique considerations related to non-attest services, both from the perspective of AICPA interpretations and other applicable rules and regulations. PLEASE NOTE: THIS COURSE COVERS GENERAL ETHICS AND IS APPLICABLE IN STATES IN WHICH STATE-SPECIFIC ETHICS IS NOT REQUIRED.
Surgent's Update on the SECURE 2.0 Act
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Online
2.00 Credits
This course provides a comprehensive analysis of the SECURE 2.0 Act. 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 legislation alters the landscape of retirement planning for taxpayers of all ages. Make sure you are up to date with the latest information available in order to effectively advise your clients on these important changes.This course qualifies for IRS credit.
Surgent's Top 20 Questions Advisors Ask About the SECURE Acts and Other IRA Rules
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Online
2.00 Credits
It takes a while for advisors to gain an in-depth understanding of all the changes made to the tax laws that govern IRAs. This course focuses on the top 20 advisor questions about SECURE Act 1.0, SECURE Act 2.0, and other hot topics. The objective is to help the advisor ask the right probing questions when interacting with clients and to provide clients with responses based on their IRA profiles.This course qualifies for IRS credit.
Surgent's Engagement and Client Retention Best Practices
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Online
2.00 Credits
Positive client relationships require work. Miscommunication, unrealistic expectations, and differing personality styles may strain a client's relationship with professional advisors. Fortunately, there are tested strategies that foster and strengthen client relationships. Creating appropriate boundaries early on is one of many effective strategies that can help. This course explores actions accounting and finance professionals can take to create and grow their client relationships. This webinar provides actionable insights on how to engage new and old clients alike. Strained client relationships can harm both the client and the firm's profitability. Yet automation, for example, allows some firms to remain more engaged while others miss the mark. There is a science underlying client retention that involves understanding the client journey, ensuring consistent client interactions, and equipping employees with the tools needed to satisfy client needs. Understanding these skills should help you protect the relationships that sustain your business.
Surgent's Social Security: Dispelling Common Myths with Essential Truths
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Online
2.00 Credits
For roughly 90% of American retirees, Social Security income will be the foundation of their retirement income. Yet, many are ill-prepared and lack understanding of the critical aspects of making an informed claiming decision. Further challenged to separate fact from fiction, consumers crave accurate information from knowledgeable professionals to make the most out of these coveted monthly benefits. Join Heather Schreiber, RICPr, NSSAr, founder of HLS Retirement Consulting, LLC, and author of Social Security Advisor, as she dispels common myths about Social Security that lead to confusion and replaces them with the truth to an empowered retirement. Help your clients navigate their claiming age decisions with greater confidence, equipped with the essential truths they should consider before pushing the Social Security "on" button.
Surgent's Avoiding Deficiencies in Peer Reviews: Focus on Engagement Quality
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Online
4.00 Credits
With the AICPA's heightened focus on enhancing audit quality, increased oversight of the peer review process and the auditor's overall responsibility to provide high quality services, the focus on compliance with professional standards has never been greater. Recent peer reviews have indicated that auditors are often failing to perform and/or document certain critical components of an audit such as the auditor's assessment of risk and linking the results of the assessment to substantive procedures performed. In addition, auditors are not adequately documenting their consideration of fraud, expectations in analytical procedures and the appropriate level of work needed to understand an entity's internal control. Now is time to revisit the way that auditors are performing and documenting the work performed to meet professional standards since nonconforming engagements can result in an auditor's referral to the AICPA Ethics Committee. The ASB has not made significant changes to its quality standards since 2006. There are currently three standards on quality management in exposure draft that are expected to be issued in the second quarter of 2022. These changes will be substantive. This course will discuss the new standards. This course will also focus on the most significant items resulting in deficiencies identified in the peer review process. We will also discuss the applicable audit standards, documentation requirements and best practices. The objective of the course is to provide the insights necessary to help an auditor improve not just the quality of their work but also the perception of the accounting profession as a whole.
Surgent's Contract Law for Accounting and Finance Professionals
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Online
2.00 Credits
Accounting and finance professionals routinely encounter a broad range of legal issues while advising clients or performing routine job functions. Contract law tops the list as the most frequent issue that intersects with the accounting and finance professions. As trusted advisors, it is wise to understand the fundamentals of contract law for both personal and professional benefit. This course provides a broad overview of contract law basics geared specifically toward the accounting and finance professions. From contract formation to enforceability, this course offers an interesting look at how contract law intersects with accounting and finance. Participants should walk away with a better understanding of common issues that arise when reviewing contracts.
Surgent's Excel: Mastering PivotTables
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Online
2.00 Credits
PivotTable is a fancy term for an Excel report that summarizes data. If you have not yet had the good fortune of exploring PivotTables, it is about time. In this session, we'll dig into PivotTables, understand the report layout options, and examine PivotTable formulas.
Surgent's Implementing Subscription Pricing to Your Practice
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Online
2.00 Credits
This course is designed to provide accountants with a comprehensive understanding of the subscription pricing model. As the business world increasingly shifts toward subscription-based models, it's crucial for accountants to understand the financial implications and strategies associated with this pricing approach. This course will cover the basics of subscription pricing, how to set prices, and how to analyze the financial impacts of these decisions, as well as the specific impacts to your business. By the end of this course, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to effectively manage the implementation of subscription pricing to their practice.
Surgent's Excel Shortcuts for Accountants
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Online
2.00 Credits
This webinar presents a variety of time-saving ideas, shortcuts, and tips that are sure to boost personal productivity. We discuss better summing, address one of the biggest pitfalls that Excel users have faced over the past 25 years, present the most important keyboard shortcuts, demonstrate a better alternative to hiding rows or columns, illustrate how to quickly navigate to other workbooks and files, and demonstrate using Excel with styles.
Surgent's Basics of the Valuation of a Closely Held Business
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Online
4.00 Credits
An understanding of the basics of business valuation is an invaluable tool for practicing accountants to better assist clients who are considering buying or selling their business or an interest therein, contemplating estate tax planning or creating a buy-sell agreement, or dealing with the death of an owner, a shareholder dispute, or a divorce. Business valuation may also be a practice area an accountant would be interested in pursuing for increased billables. Many forward-thinking closely-held business owners are currently looking at possibly higher capital gain rates, particularly with a Democratic regime. Take this course to be well advised and prepared in order to better assist that potential selling owner. This course qualifies for CFP credit.