Professional Development and Event Catalog
Estate Planning for Today and Beyond
11:00am - 6:42pm
Online
8.00 Credits
Member Price: $225
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Estate planning continues to evolve, and staying informed about the latest trends and strategies is crucial for professionals in the field. This forward-looking course delves into the intricacies of estate planning, with a specific focus on current issues. Participants will explore cutting-edge techniques, emerging legal considerations, and industry developments to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to create effective estate plans that withstand the test of time and safeguard their clients' legacies. *Please Note: If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Handouts Tab and submit to kori.herrera@acpen.com
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Walkin', Talkin', Lookin' & Listenin' - Or Things Most of Us Don't Do Well
12:00pm - 1:47pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
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You often can perform an audit in accordance with all of the standards, and still have a substandard audit IF you did not get out among the clients employees (let them know you are there and where you located), talk to as many people as you can regardless as to whether you may think that they may have any helpful information; constantly observe your surrounding where ever you are at (you never now what you might see) and lastly, listen to not only what people are saying to you but are also saying around you. This presentation is designed to illustrate the importance of making yourself available to your client’s employees, let them know that you are there and where you can be found. Talk with them because if there is a problem, somebody knows and they will often tell you all about it IF you just ask them. Look at your surrounding everywhere you go. What are you looking for? I don’t know but I’ll know it when I see it. Lastly, listen to what they have to say. Every word is important because they may say something that you had not asked about. Remember, you never want to discover something and go to an individual who you determined knew about it and ask, why didn’t you tell me about this and their response was, you never asked me!
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Preparing to be a Forensic Accountant - Focus on Computer Forensics - Part 3 (Steganography)
1:00pm - 2:27pm
Online
1.60 Credits
Member Price: $59
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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.
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Just Ask Why - Searching for Answers: Generating Solutions
2:30pm - 6:04pm
Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $129
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Breaking the Wall of blind acceptance; avoiding habitual complacency and Yoking the dots between cause and effect.
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Revenue Recognition Topic 606 - Identify the Contract Part 1
3:00pm - 4:14pm
Online
1.20 Credits
Member Price: $39
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On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued converged guidance on recognizing revenue in contracts with customers (ASC 606). The objective of the guidance is to establish principles to report useful information to users of financial statements about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue from contracts with customers. The new guidance provides several benefits to financial statement users. This is one in a series of courses that outline the updated revenue recognition standard.
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The New Quality Management Standards - What Everyone Needs to Know
3:00pm - 4:48pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
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The AICPA issued the new Quality Management Standards as a part of its overall quality improvement initiative. This course will highlight the foundational principles within the new approach that everyone in the CPA firm should know.
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Navigating Leaves of Absence
4:00pm - 5:07pm
Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $39
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What obligations does an employer have when an employee needs to take a leave of absence? This presentation will provide an overview of the complicated, intertwined compliance obligations triggered when an employee requests a medical leave of absence (including for pregnancy, mental health, or addiction).
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Preparing to be a Forensic Accountant - Focus on Computer Forensics - Part 2 (Cryptology)
5:00pm - 5:56pm
Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $39
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This is a continuing part of our series on forensic accounting. Within this segment we discuss the concepts that are part of computer forensics known as cryptology. The term cryptography is from Ancient Greek and means “hidden secret”. It is the practice and study of techniques for secure communications in the presence of adversarial behavior. Cryptography is about constructing and analyzing protocols that prevent third parties or the public from reading private messages. Cryptography starts with secrets. Various aspects in information security such as data confidentiality, data integrity, authentication and non-repudiation (where a statement’s author cannot successfully dispute its authorship) are central to modern cryptography.
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Conducting Human Resource Investigations
10:00am - 11:11am
Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $39
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Human Resources professionals are often tasked with investigating allegations of employee misconduct, discrimination, and others. Investigation training is traditionally presented from the position of an outsider looking in, such as a governmental agency, law firm, or private investigator. HR investigations require similar skills, but the environment and the approach are quite different. This session explores these differences and provides best practices for planning, executing, documenting, and reporting the results of an HR investigation. Attendees will end the session with takeaways to immediately implement in future HR investigations.
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Performance Auditing Made Easy
10:00am - 11:24am
Online
1.50 Credits
Member Price: $59
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Unlike a traditional financial audit objective (Are the financial statements materially misstated), performance auditing can address a wide variety of objectives. Is this program working? Can it be improved? Where can we save money? How can we operate more efficiently and effectively? Are management’s assertions supported? And so forth. This session will explain what a performance audit is, describe the applicable standards, and provide examples that indicate the value of a performance audit. Performance audits can add value to any entity and practitioners can profit from adding these assurance services to their practices.
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Group Audits: Who is Responsible for What?
10:00am - 11:47am
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
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Financial statement audits often involve audits of components of a larger entity. This course will focus on the responsibilities for both the group auditor and component auditor, including implementation of SAS No. 149 relate to group audits.
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Taxation of Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs)
10:00am - 11:52am
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
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Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), unique, identifiable digital assets based on blockchain technologies, have become a fast-growing industry. This course will provide a background on how NFTs came into the mainstream marketplace. These materials will assist the practitioner to understand the tax implications of the creation, purchase and sale of these assets. **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.
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Achieve Competency in Three Basic Tool Categories - Master the Fundamentals
10:00am - 1:33pm
Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $129
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Financial skills needed in many situations are constantly changing. It is prudent to routinely look into your toolbox to restock or revise your tool set. In this course we will examine three tool categories that form the foundation for many analytical processes.
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Futuristic Audit Trends: The Future is Now
11:00am - 12:00pm
Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $75
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Cloud technology, AI, Machine Learning and Blockchain are upon us in the accounting profession. The data entry and non-value added tasks continue to decline as automation increases. This technology enables clients to keep their books up to date in real-time and better understand the effect of the financials on their business. As an auditor, it's time to learn how to take advantage of this technology to streamline your workflow and utilize remote applications to eliminate the amount of time you have to physically visit a client site as well as to create greater team engagement internally At the same time, it's important to know how to utilize ecosystem applications to speed up the non-value added time in an audit to create more profitable engagements and a better work environment for your teams.
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Resolving Ethical Dilemmas-You Make the Call
11:00am - 12:17pm
Online
1.50 Credits
Member Price: $59
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By now, we should all understand the ethical obligations we have as CPAs. So, theoretically, if we just all agree to remain ethical, we should not have CPA ethical violations. But, of course, our professional ethics committees still have plenty of cases to investigate. This session will examine several ethical frameworks, including the AICPA’s Code of Professional Conduct’s and the GAO Yellow Book’s Threats and Safeguards approach to remaining ethical and resolving ethical dilemmas. The session will present several ethical case studies that illustrate the complexities of and challenges to staying ethical. By exercising our “ethical muscles”, we should be better positioned to effectively deal with the ethical dilemmas that we will inevitably encounter.
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Current Fraud Trends - Nonprofit and Government Entities
12:00pm - 1:50pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
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Nonprofit entities and governmental entities have a high degree of public accountability. This course will examine the most common fraud schemes and provide multiple examples of how to prevent or detect these schemes.
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Overcome Your Obstacles to Abundance
1:00pm - 4:34pm
Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $129
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Getting rich requires many things. First, you need to know how to overcome previous limitations you may have had about making a lot of money. Second, you need to know and use the best financial strategies for becoming wealthy--including the latest investment and marketing strategies. And third, you need to be able to enjoy your lifestyle, and look at what obstacles get in the way of you being rich and fully contented. By exploring the latest methods for achieving financial and personal success, you'll be able to make a lot more money and have a great time doing it.
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Crypto, Blockchain and Taxes
2:00pm - 3:46pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
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For accounting and tax professionals, understanding the inner workings of blockchain and cryptocurrency is no longer just an advantage—it’s a necessity. This course provides an in-depth look into the mechanics of digital currencies and revolutionary blockchain technology, equipping attendees with the knowledge to navigate benefits and risks effectively. Special emphasis is placed on the tax implications for both individuals and estates, ensuring that attendees can confidently advise on these issues, which are becoming increasingly relevant in financial planning and asset management. This offering is more than just a learning experience; it’s an investment in one’s professional growth. By understanding the tax complexities and estate planning challenges posed by digital assets, participants will be able to offer valuable insights and strategic solutions. They will emerge from this course not just with theoretical knowledge but with actionable skills that can be applied immediately. In a landscape where digital assets are becoming commonplace, this is the education that will differentiate the exceptional from the average. Join today and step into a role as a leader in finance for the digital age. **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.
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Coaching Leaders to Handle Sensitive Employee Relations Situations
2:30pm - 3:35pm
Online
1.20 Credits
Member Price: $39
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This session provides HR Professionals with scripts for and tactics for coaching leaders in handling an array of employee relations situations with sensitivity, good judgment, and high confidence. Topics include employee complaints, personality & attitude problems, performance counseling, personal hygiene problems, disability-related performance issues, misconduct due to mental conditions. You will learn how to use a unique process, “Reset the Clock,” that prevents attorneys from taking something leaders did wrong or did not do in the past and using it to support legal challenges in the future. Liability is replaced with credibility. Lawsuits are then avoided rather than won. Financial assets are protected, morale stays high, and bad publicity is averted. HR Professionals avoid hearing from senior leaders: “You should have anticipated this” after an avoidable legal claim.
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White-Collar Crime: What Every CPA Should Know
2:30pm - 4:15pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
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According to the FBI, “white-collar crime is … synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals … characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust …. The motivation behind these crimes is financial—to obtain or avoid losing money, property, or services or to secure a personal or business advantage.” CPAs can and should play a crucial role in preventing and detecting white-collar crime, as well as in prosecuting the perpetrators. This session will explore whether we are up to this challenge, heighten awareness regarding the CPA’s role as a front-line defender of the public interest, and assess whether we are deserving of the public trust we enjoy.