Professional Development and Event Catalog

Working with a small business, you know that keeping the company's finances in order is critical to success. While numerous software programs and tools are available to help you do this, they vary substantially in many significant aspects. In addition to conventional options like QuickBooks and Sage 50, you can choose from Cloud-based tools such as Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online, Spire Systems, Xero, Accounting Suite, Accounting Power, and many more. In this session, we'll look at the best accounting tools for small businesses and discuss the benefits of each one. This session covers accounting solutions that should work for startups and companies with up to $10 million in annual revenue. We also cover various add-on solutions that can enhance the overall functionality of your accounting platform. Join us to learn your options for achieving your small business management financial goals.

For the ambitious female finance professional, working hard and going above and beyond are necessary for success. Sadly, taking time to care for themselves can be seen as counter-productive to meeting their career goals. Over ninety percent of women executives are feeling significantly higher levels of stress that they attribute to increased responsibilities and priorities outside the workplace compared to life before the pandemic. Burnout is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that causes exhaustion, negativity toward one's job and reduced professional efficacy. It has become so pervasive that it's now recognized as an occupational phenomenon by the World Health Organization. To reignite your enthusiasm at work, you don't necessarily need to find a new job or time for a spa day or bubble bath. You need concrete strategies to invest in your mental health without compromising your ability to rise to the next level in your career. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Effective governance is the cornerstone of any nonprofit organization. This course delves into the foundational elements of nonprofit governance, emphasizing fiduciary duties, board responsibilities, and best practices for board operations. Participants will explore key compliance requirements, risk management strategies, policy development, and regulatory obligations. By the end of the session, you'll be equipped with practical tools and insights to confidently navigate the complexities of nonprofit governance.

This program presents a detailed analysis of the self-rental passive activity rules, including forms reporting examples and integrates them with the flow-through entity rules related to self-rental.  *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

This course examines actual fraud circumstances through the lens of potential prevention. We will examine how selected frauds were accomplished and consider what internal controls may have prevented fraudsters' ability to accomplish their nefarious acts. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

In this cutting-edge course, participants will gain a deep understanding of how to leverage ChatGPT, OpenAI's powerful language model, to innovate and enhance business advisory services in the accounting sector. The course integrates theory and practice, demonstrating how various enterprise evaluation methodologies can be applied in conjunction with ChatGPT for increased business analysis efficiency, profitability, and growth. It also provides hands-on training for implementing these techniques in real-world scenarios. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Do you understand the root cause for many professional and personal goals not being achieved? The SMART acronym is valuable in setting goals but insufficient for achieving them. You need two types of goals to boost your chances of success. Outcome goals focus on the results you want to attain. Process goals identify the action steps required to accomplish those desired outcomes. This session explores the essence of both types of goals, and practical examples and tips for the execution of your goals.

Overview: Ethical challenges in finance and accounting can be complex and far-reaching, impacting not only individual careers but also entire organizations and the public trust. This webinar will provide a practical exploration of the ethical considerations professionals face in today's financial landscape. Through real-world case studies, participants will examine common ethical issues, learn to navigate conflicts between financial performance and ethical integrity, and gain tools for making sound decisions under pressure. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Why can it be hard to automate accounting? Because many accountants don’t know their options and, therefore, fail to reap the rewards of accounting automation. This session will teach you how easy and profitable accounting automation can be. In it, you will learn how to automate many traditional accounting processes, often with technology you already own. In addition to bank feeds, you will learn about automation options for processing accounts payable and receivable, approving transactions, and linking data from one platform to another. If you are serious about improving efficiency and accuracy, you should make plans to attend this session.

This course will provide an overview of 6 key areas of automation that accounting firms can leverage to effectively increase their lead generation and client retention efforts while reducing the burden on their time and budget. These areas include: 1. Social media 2. Content development. 3. Email marketing. 4. Text (SMS) marketing. 5. Chatbots and other interactive AI tools. 6. Drip marketing campaigns. Attendees will receive a practical guide to the technologies and tactics needed to improve marketing efforts with efficiency and ease! This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Following the ever-changing tax deprecation rules is not a game for the faint hearted! This course analyzes the current landscape of depreciating, capitalizing and disposing of business assets, with examples and illustrated case studies to enhance the CPAs understanding of the most current tax depreciation provisions. *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

Sometimes the vernacular of accounting seems more challenging than technical aspects. This session offers suggestions for translating the foreign language of taxation into tangible terms for non-accountants. We explore techniques for simplifying the complexity of taxation terminology. This course will equip you with tools for demystifying tax technicalities so you can help clients and other non-tax professionals grasp fundamental concepts. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

You'll learn about current and upcoming requirements in accounting standards (except financial instruments and leases) and understand how to apply the guidance in practice.

This program reviews the statutory and regulatory guidance as they relate to fringe benefits. There will be an emphasis on entertainment, meals and business transportation expenses, including qualified employer-provided parking, with a focus on planning opportunities. Recent federal tax legislation, cases and rulings will also be addressed. *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

Embark on a journey to master Power BI, a powerful tool for data analysis and business intelligence, in our comprehensive course, "Get Started with Power BI." This course is meticulously designed for professionals who seek to understand the full spectrum of Power BI capabilities, including its integration with Excel's Power BI features like Power Pivot and Power Query, and its comparison with standalone Power BI tools such as Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, and Power BI Report Server. In the first part of the course, participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of Power BI. This includes an overview of Power BI's interface, key features, and its seamless integration with Excel. The course will cover Excel's Power BI tools - Power Pivot, for advanced data modeling, and Power Query, for efficient data transformation and preparation. This segment is essential for understanding how Power BI extends and enhances the data processing and analytical capabilities of Excel. The second section of the course delves into the standalone Power BI tools. Here, participants will explore Power BI Desktop for creating complex data models and sophisticated reports, Power BI Service for cloud-based collaboration and sharing, and Power BI Report Server for on-premises report deployment. This part of the course will focus on the unique features and strengths of these standalone tools, providing attendees with the skills to leverage Power BI in a variety of business contexts. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

In today's rapidly changing world, finance professionals are required to wear many hats and are often the keys to the success of the organization. On one hand, they need to be abreast of the latest proven financial skills for making the best decisions, and on the other hand they need the best skills to motivate, manage, and lead people. Being pigeon-holed into one area or another is neither good for career building nor good for the organization. We'll cover the latest issues that all CFOs and controllers need to know about and provide how-to guidance to allow for immediate use in their organizations.

While ethics training is required by many states, the true value of the CPA license is in understanding how critically important ethical behavior is to our customers, our firms, and the public. This course will explore the basic tenets of ethical behavior and use case studies to explore ethical dilemmas in various companies and organizations with a focus on dilemmas that may face CPAs in the industry.

This course will review common deficiencies identified by the AICPA and state boards of accountancy. It features discussion on a variety of topics, including analytical procedures, sampling, group audits and risk assessment. We will review the areas of concern and how you can overcome them by employing best practices. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The latest GASB developments and federal audit changes affecting governments and not-for-profits (NFPs) are explored in this update overview.

This course focuses on the most common aspects and tax implications of Limited Liability Companies and S Corporations. It will further compare forms of entities, along with corporate formalities compliance issues of each entity type. Electing Subchapter S status as well as reviewing the mechanics of electing Subchapter S status will be discussed. Highlights of entity specific tax forms will be discussed, as well as accountable plans, taxable fringe benefits, officer reasonable compensation, estate planning, business continuation planning and audit strategies. Schedules K-1, K-2, K-3, and effectively connected income will be reviewed in this course as well. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.