CPE Catalog
Note
AICPA On-Demand & Self-Study courses take up to 24 hours to process.
Business Tax Update for Industry
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Online
2.00 Credits
This course focuses on the key federal tax issues affecting businesses from the internal accountant's point of view, with a focus on recent tax legislation and developments. Planning alternatives and the potential risks associated with those strategies will also be discussed. **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.
Accounting for Leases
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Online
2.60 Credits
In February 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, which provides new guidelines that change the accounting for leasing arrangements. To be able to properly account for leases, financial professionals must understand ASU 2016-02 (also referred to as Topic 842). This guidance covers information on how leases should be accounted for. The previous leasing standard (ASC 840) had been in existence for almost 40 years. Under ASC Topic 842, lessors continue to classify leases as operating, direct financing, or sales-type. While lessees now classify leases as operating or financing leases. Previous guidance only required capital leases to be reflected on the BS. The new guidance requires all leases to be reflected on the BS. This is a major change for organizations and will cause their balance sheets to swell as leases must now be disclosed on the balance sheet. The standards original effective dates were prior to 2019. In April 2020, due to COVID-19, FASB voted to defer the effective date for ASC 842 for private companies and certain not-for-profit's for one year. For private companies and private not-for-profits, the leasing standard will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. For public companies the leasing standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The course covers elements of lease classification for both lessees and lessors. Also, numerous examples are incorporated as reference.
Ethics - Keeping the Good from Breaking Bad
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Online
1.00 Credits
Ethics are how groups define right from wrong. Codes of Ethics define good behavior from bad behavior for professionals. When we break those codes, we "break bad." For five seasons, the popular television show "Breaking Bad" explored the transformation of one good man breaking bad. This session provides an overview of ethics and why people break bad, while using examples from the TV show as well as case studies of good people who broke bad.
There is NO Such Thing as `Business Ethics' featuring John Levy and Don Minges
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Online
1.00 Credits
What happens when businesspeople think they can lie and cheat at work, as long as it makes a profit? Some believe that business is like war, and there are no rules! Do you really want to behave differently in business than in your personal life? Can, or should, ethics be ‘switched on’ or off?
Accounting & Auditing for Cryptocurrency
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Online
1.00 Credits
Bitcoin and crypto have been in the news recently for a variety of reasons. This course will cover the basics of accounting and auditing for cryptocurrency, including recent standard setting by the FASB as well as a look at the AICPA's Accounting for and Auditing of Digital Assets practice aid.
Maximizing the Tax Benefits of an Installment Sale
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Online
1.00 Credits
This course will explore the many complex rules of installment sales, with a focus on the tax treatment and strategies to maximize the benefits. *Please Note: If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Handout Tab and submit to kori.herrera@acpen.com
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.
The Controller Function - Cash and Investments
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Online
1.40 Credits
This course corresponds to our Controllership series. This course is dedicated to exploring the traditional controller role and stepping out of the box to identify areas where the controller can continue to add strategic value to their organizations. Within this segment of our controllership series, we discuss the area of cash and investments and explore how the controller can move these responsibilities into more of a strategic role. In today’s world, the role of cash management is often a pivotal role in the organization. In economically difficult times, controllers may find that they spend a great deal of their time on understanding and managing the organizations' cash position. This is certainly important and, in some areas, can be seen as a staple of the lifeblood of the organization’s ongoing viability. This course takes a look at some of the typical objectives involved in cash management and then evaluates how those objectives can be further stretched into strategic pillars of the organization.
A Guide to Sampling - Part 1
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Online
2.00 Credits
Sampling is often identified as a common audit deficiency in peer review. This course will review when is sampling applicable and basics of planning a sample. We'll then focus on the application of sampling in financial statement audits with a look at sampling for substantive procedures. We'll look at the use of monetary unit sampling and tools that can be leveraged to reduce bias in sampling.
Inventory, Expense and Payroll Fraud
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Online
2.00 Credits
Inventory is a wonderful place to both hide fraud and commit fraud. The reasons that inventory is subject to so much fraud is the it is often very large, spread out over a large area, and many people have access to it. When there are little or no internal controls related to inventory control, you are begging employees to steal it. No with so many ways to dispose of stolen inventory via the internet, i.e., EBAY, inventory fraud is much more appealing to a lot of individuals. The more common ways to commit expense fraud and how to cover it up will also be discussed. Travel and entertainment are some of the favorite areas of committing expense fraud. In addition, payroll fraud will be discussed. Although there are many ways to commit payroll fraud, it is very easy to prevent. This presentation is designed to familiarize the participants with the many ways to commit inventory, expense and payroll fraud, how to detect it, and more importantly, how to prevent it.
Understanding the Tax Implications of Retirement Plan Distributions
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Online
1.00 Credits
This session will address the complex rules of retirement distributions, review key provisions of the SECURE Act 2.0, and provide practical strategies of maximizing tax benefits for your client. **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.
Revenue Recognition Topic 606 Contract with Customers - Identify the Contract Part 2
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Online
1.20 Credits
This course is a continuation of discussion over Step One in the revenue recognition process of Identify the Contract. Specifically, this session delves further into the considerations surrounding contract modifications, change orders, unpriced change orders, cancelations, non-finalized changes and accounting treatment when a contract does not exist.
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.
SAS 145: Modern Risk-Based Auditing
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Online
2.00 Credits
This program provides in-depth coverage of SAS 145, a major standard that helps auditors enhance risk assessment procedures through improved techniques for identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement. This session is essential for CPAs that perform audits. The discussion will also be insightful for auditees and other professionals who want to maintain awareness of current auditing guidance.
Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) Domain V - Part 1
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Online
2.00 Credits
The new Global Internal Audit Standards were released on January 9, 2024, and will become effective January 9, 2025. The previous version, the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, released in 2017, remains approved for use during a one-year transition period. The Global Internal Audit Standards guide the worldwide professional practice of internal audit. They serve as a basis for evaluating and elevating the quality of the internal audit function. The Standards use 15 guiding principles with five separate domains that enable effective internal audit implementation and examples of evidence of conformance. The Global Standards are organized into five domains. Domain I: Purpose of Internal Auditing Domain II: Ethics and Professionalism Domain III: Governing the Internal Audit Function Domain IV: Managing the Internal Audit Function Domain V: Performing Internal Audit Service
2025 EBP Update: Standards, Compliance, and Best Practices
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Online
2.00 Credits
Stay ahead in the evolving landscape of employee benefit plan (EBP) audits with this essential 2025 update. This course covers key regulatory changes, including the SECURE 2.0 Act, newly effective accounting and auditing standards (SAS 145 and Quality Management Standards), and insights from the Department of Labor's latest findings on audit quality. We'll also dive into emerging hot topics shaping the EBP audit environment, equipping you with the knowledge to enhance compliance, mitigate risks, and deliver exceptional audit quality. Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to EBP audits, this session will provide actionable insights to keep you confident and prepared.
GPT Builder for Accountants
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Online
2.00 Credits
This course provides a concise overview of using ChatGPT's GPT Builder to create custom GPTs specifically tailored for accounting professionals. Learn how to leverage this powerful tool to streamline accounting workflows, enhance client services, automate routine tasks, and improve financial analysis capabilities through customized AI solutions designed for accounting-specific applications. custom versions of ChatGPT with added skills and knowledge for specific tasks or industries. This course is designed to guide accountants on how to leverage these enhanced ChatGPT functionalities to streamline financial workflows, analyze data, and engage in more dynamic, multi-modal interactions. 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 Representing a Client in an IRS Audit
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Online
3.00 Credits
Recent legislation in Congress has provided the IRS with substantially increased funding to bolster its human staff and purchase software that will allow the IRS to audit many more taxpayers in a more effective way. The IRS believes it can target the right kinds of taxpayers for audits so that it will not waste its time on audits that produce little, if any, revenue. The purpose of this program is to discuss the current state of IRS audits and the anticipated increases in the IRS's ability to audit wealthier taxpayers in an efficient way. The course will discuss the state of the IRS's current audits and where the IRS is headed with audits in the coming years. Tax practitioners should also be aware of the state of the IRS's efforts to target efficiencies so as to produce the most revenue.This course qualifies for IRS credit.
Surgent's Management Fundamentals
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Online
4.00 Credits
In a recent Gallup study, 50% of respondents quit because of their manager, which makes your managers and supervisors your company's first line of defense against costly turnover. This program looks at management from a broad perspective and then drills down into key skills needed to manage effectively.
2025 Accounting & Auditing Update for Small Businesses
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Online
4.00 Credits
For many small businesses, the standards issued by the FASB may have little to no effect as they impact topics that do not reflect the type of transactions that these entities most frequently experience. This class will focus on the Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs) that are most likely to impact small businesses with a focus on ASUs initiated by the Private Company Council (PCC). We'll then look at alternative reporting options to GAAP including FRF for SMEs and IFRS for SMEs for entities who don't necessarily need to prepare GAAP financial statements but want to use accrual accounting. Finally, we will transition to audit standards that small business auditors will need to implement. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.