CPE Catalog & Events

Latest state of the economy Expense control that works Understanding our changing workforce and working environment Financial risk analysis Enterprise risk management Improving bank relationships

Introduction to the Power BI ecosystem, including Excel’s Power BI features (Power Pivot and Power Query) and standalone tools (Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, Power BI Report Builder, and Power BI Report Server) Introduction to the interfaces of Power Pivot, Power Query, Power BI Desktop, and Power BI Services Strengths and limitations of Excel’s Power BI features versus standalone Power BI tools Deciding when to use each tool for optimal efficiency and accuracy in data analysis tasks

Challenges of marketing CPA firms Developing marketing strategy  Elements of a marketing plan Example: CPA firm marketing plan Marketing regulatory/AICPA issues Picking the right marketing channels  Marketing channel statistical analysis  Developing marketing metrics

Current FASB accounting standards related to going concern, including the new requirements of ASU 2014-15 Evaluating risk of material misstatement in financial reports related to improper presentation and disclosure of going concern uncertainty The responsibility of an independent accountant for evaluating going concern uncertainty under various levels of engagement to perform attest and nonattest services New requirements of SAS No. 132 and SSARS No. 24 related to an auditor’s responsibility for considering going concern uncertainty?

Financial planning pyramid What to consider when picking an entity Single member LLC vs. sole proprietorship Corporations – S vs. C Double taxation

Initial recognition of goodwill Subsequent measurement requirements including the accounting alternative allowed for certain eligible entities Disclosure requirements for goodwill

Goodwill impairment testing FASB accounting and reporting requirements related to goodwill ASC Topic 350-20 Goodwill disclosure requirements

Introduction to Form 7203 Introduction to the calculation of stock basis Introduction to the calculation of loan basis Taxable and nontaxable S corporation distributions to shareholders The election to reduce basis by deductible losses and expenses before reducing basis by nondeductible expenses

Basis and at-risk basis How to calculate the amount of annual at-risk basis Forms 6198 and 7203 When activities may be aggregated for at-risk purposes Qualified nonrecourse financing

Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, including recently issued ASUs impacting Topic 606 The FASB’s new five-step revenue recognition model, including hands-on examples and illustrations of the new guidance Presentation and disclosure requirements Accounting considerations related to COVID-19-driven changes to revenue recognition processes Lessons learned and best practices for improving business processes related to revenue recognition going forward

A basic overview of the requirements imposed by HIPAA on professionals What businesses and individuals are subject to HIPAA Best practices for HIPAA compliance Issues unique to accounting and finance professionals concerning HIPAA Recognize common areas of liability under HIPAA

Timely coverage of breaking tax legislation Applicable coverage of any basis considerations within any recent tax legislation   Passthrough basis calculations required as attachments to certain individual returns  Executor’s form for disclosing basis in certain distributed property; what about the basis of a property distribution from a trust?  How §179 limitations affect basis and how tax-benefit rule is applied  Basis implications of personal assets converted to business use  How to calculate basis of inherited qualified and joint tenancy property  Tax basis capital account reporting requirements  S corporations: Beware of final IRS regulations regarding “open debt”; determine how to calculate basis; worksheets are included; understand the effect of stock basis and debt basis and IRS’s recent focus on “at-risk basis” for shareholders; recognize how AAA applies or doesn’t apply to S corporations; learn to apply the complex basis ordering rules and special elections that can have a big tax result; discuss loss limitation rules in depth; when you can have a taxable dividend in an S corporation; understand distributions of cash and property; understand the post-termination transition rules, and temporary post-termination rules for eligible corporations, which will be important for S corps returning to C corps  LLCs and partnerships: Learn the detailed rules of §704 for preventing the shifting of tax consequences among partners or members; learn to calculate basis under §704 & for “at-risk” under §465; recognize how recourse, nonrecourse, and qualified nonrecourse debt can create significantly different tax results; learn the difference between basis and “at-risk basis”; review §754 step-up in basis rules; the economic effect equivalence test or “dumb-but-lucky” rule; learn to apply the complex rules of distribution of cash vs. property, and the basis treatment of charitable contributions and foreign taxes paid 

Be familiar with the nature and sources of difficult behaviors in the workplace, as well as strategies for addressing them Understand a proven formula for handling difficult people Utilize a problem-solving model to brainstorm strategies for working effectively with challenging individuals Implement a step-by-step process to resolve conflicts between yourself and others within your organization Apply the hostility curve as a tool to maintain control in situations involving angry or upset individuals Implement new strategies for managing your emotions in difficult interactions Understand the impact of attitude on interactions with others Create a personalized action plan for applying course strategies in your workplace

Employment at will—what this means in a practical sense Implied employment contracts What a prospective employer can ask about, and test for, during  employment interviews Federal anti-discrimination rules applicable to hiring and firing How to fire an employee and not get sued

Common fraud prevention strategies Common fraud detection methods

Development costs that should and should not be capitalized How these costs are amortized and how they are tested for impairment Presentation and disclosure requirements

Why the IRS selects a tax return for audit What happens when the taxpayer disagrees with the results of the audit IRS employees who interact with taxpayers during an audit FATCA audits Types of IRS examinations Potential IRS audit outcomes Substitute for returns Large Partnership Compliance Program IRS’s shift in audit strategies Responding to IRS Notices online Audits of high income and high net-worth individuals The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA) and its impact on auditing partnerships IRS Letters of Concern

What are Excel tables are and why are they important? How to create Excel Tables from scratch The art of sorting and filtering data within Excel tables to quickly identify patterns, trends, and outliers How Excel tables use structured reference formulas to create accurate calculations How Excel tables increase spreadsheet creation productivity

Best practices when designing spreadsheets Creating a proper worksheet structure Using Excel's built-in features to find errors Creating custom controls to prevent and find errors Using links to quickly move to controls Using conditional formatting to highlight errors

What keeps companies from becoming streamlined?  Behavioral biases Information processing biases Emotional biases How to deal with behavioral biases  Connecting behavioral biases to cost cutting Creating a culture of cost cutting Rules of thumb for cost cutting  Managing headcount Post-COVID common areas of excess cost Budgeting techniques Budget variances Benchmarking Common size financial statements Horizontal analysis Negotiation and contracting techniques Cash flow and the business cycle