Professional Development and Event Catalog

The role of financial professionals has and continues to change in organizations. The stereotype of collecting and reporting data has been replaced by a broader vision, which focuses on improving an organization's results today and preparing it for the future. This brief program offers specific actions that can be implemented by financial personnel to expand their role through improving their organization. The actions and techniques provided build upon and improve activities that exist in many organizations (measuring, budgeting, hiring, risk management, etc.), as well as providing insights into capital allocation, cash management, valuation techniques, variables that influence capacity levels, M&A activity and actions to increase efficiency and innovation. Updated to include the impact of regulations, additional examples of M&A, alliances and strategic spin-offs/splits, methods to improve efficiency from existing activities, the impact of COVID-19, as well as current organizational changes employed to manage and accelerate growth.

Working from home presents both benefits and challenges for professionals. For employees, working from home provides opportunities to be more productive and gain time that would otherwise be spent commuting to and from the office. Employers who utilize remote work enjoy fewer fixed costs, more efficiency, and greater employee satisfaction. Without proper planning, professionals who work remotely may experience increased anxiety and disorganization. They may also jeopardize data privacy. However, when executed properly, working remotely can help organizations become more efficient and profitable, while at the same time improving employee morale. This course looks at how firms and companies have successfully implemented work from home programs and discusses mistakes that can be avoided through proper planning.

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.

Learn the basics of employment law and how they affect best practices to help control the interview and discover hidden talents of applicants.

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.

By 2025, millennials will represent 75% of the workforce. Whether you are an owner of a small practice or manager in a multinational corporation, it is important to understand characteristics and expectations of this large segment of the workforce. Research reveals that many of the common stereotypes surrounding millennials are unfounded and counterproductive. This course provides an understanding of who millennials are in comparison to their predecessors, the Gen-Xers and baby boomers. Equally important, the presentation will look at common myths regarding millennials and why understanding this class of employees provides opportunities for your organization to grow and succeed.

While many entities maintain inventory, they are often challenged when applying the complexities of inventory accounting. The goal of this course is to provide a detailed overview of inventory accounting concepts that can be applied to a variety of inventory types. The course will cover the basics of inventory capitalization, for both book and tax, as well as the basic inventory valuation methods, LIFO, FIFO, weighted average, and specific identification. Then the course will give a more detailed review of the LIFO and retail methodologies. It will cover the topics of inventory obsolescence reserves and other issues related to inventory accounting, including a discussion of how COVID-19 has impacted these accounting considerations. This course will be the one-shop stop to get you up-to-speed on the accounting for this critical, revenue-producing asset.

Cash flow management is often the most important task of any CFO or financial leader. Regardless of whether one works in start-ups or established companies, non-profit or for-profit entities, cash flow makes our organizations run. Have you ever wondered whether you are optimizing your company's cash flow? In this course, we will explore how to improve your company's cash flow using analysis and financial theories in the context of real-world situations.

Starting and owning a small business has often been referred to as the "Third Pillar of Wealth," right behind investments and owning real estate. Essentially, all businesses start off as "small businesses." Small businesses, however, require a large amount of preparation in order to successfully launch and grow. Starting a business requires the owners and managers to address a host of issues, including an understanding of applicable laws, appropriate financing, staffing requirements, marketing, liability protection, and many more. This course provides a broad overview of the critical issues business owners, as well as their professional advisors, must consider when starting and growing a small business. There is extensive research regarding best practices in this area, and this program is intended to distill down such information and focus on what is critical to get a small business up and running as seamlessly as possible.

Planning may be one of the most important assignments of the finance professional; however, it is often accomplished in a way that can harm the organization. In many cases, huge sums are spent only to have a planning document developed that does not serve to bring the company together, but rather causes internal division. In some situations the budget can actually harm both productivity and alignment. This course is designed to bring planning, budgeting, and forecasting together into one fully aligned process that is easier, more efficient, and fully engages all parts of the organization. Rather than the plan being owned by the finance department, it is owned and followed by everyone from the CEO to the entry-level employee.

Professional standards are changing with the times and the desire of the AICPA to move the profession into a new era where use of technology will play a key role in an audit and professional skepticism, independence, and quality are emphasized. We are seeing changes already as the AICPA has issued 15 new standards since 2019. This program will discuss SASs 134 through 149.

Due to increasing scrutiny in the employee benefit plan area, it is imperative for auditors of 401(k) plans to remain up to date on the rules and regulations that may impact the audit engagement. In this course, auditors will enhance their knowledge by understanding the changes affecting audit procedures and reporting in accordance with recently issued Statements on Auditing Standards (SASs), identifying best practices, and performing efficient audit engagements.

Required minimum distributions (RMDs) must be taken from certain tax-deferred retirement accounts, starting when the account owner reaches their applicable age. The RMD rules are complex and must be simplified to help ensure clients understand them. Accounting and finance professionals must understand the basics of RMDs for IRAs and employer plan accounts so as to help IRA owners, plan participants, and beneficiaries meet their RMD obligations and avoid penalties that apply to RMDs not taken by their applicable deadline. Accounting and finance professionals should also be able to demonstrate tax-efficient solutions for RMDs. This course will walk accounting and finance professionals through the fundamental concepts and rules that apply to RMDs, demonstrate how to calculate RMDs, and explain how to correct RMD errors. It can be taken by anyone, including those without any experience working with RMDs. The course will include cases to promote understanding of the rules.

One of the most difficult things for any Client Advisory Services (CAS) professional to learn is how to communicate financial information to non-financial people. To be successful, it's crucial to master this skill, as we frequently explain accounting jargon to those unfamiliar with the field. In this course, we will explore how to properly communicate with stakeholders, including investors, clients, boards of directors, and even other departments. We will explore biases that people have when viewing financial information and even how to make sure we keep our message on point. If you are looking to move up in the financial services world, this course is a must for you.

This comprehensive course delves into the intricate world of executive compensation, focusing on the taxation and reporting procedures for various types of compensation arrangements. Participants will gain a deep understanding of the key differences between incentive stock options (ISOs) and nonqualified stock options (NQSOs), as well as the tax treatment and reporting requirements for restricted stock awards, stock appreciation rights (SARs), phantom stock plans, and employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs). The course will also cover the accurate analysis of tax forms and schedules used for reporting executive compensation, common tax reporting errors to avoid, and strategies for handling extensions, estimated taxes, and increased IRS scrutiny.

We see multiple stories about the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and its entry into our lives in the form of AI tools, including ChatGPT. They seem to be everywhere. It is difficult to overstate how much things will change with the rise of these new technologies, or how important it is that companies embrace the opportunity to execute them correctly. Having conversations regarding the proper adoption of these technologies and tools is a crucial first step, including drafting policies to assist companies with their beneficial and thoughtful implementation and use. This course will define the state of AI tools, what benefits and risks exist, and which steps to take to begin adopting these technologies with appropriate guardrails, policies, and training. It is less likely that AI will destroy industries, and more likely that companies that embrace AI will overtake those companies that do not.

The Internal Revenue Service has targeted complex partnerships it believes are not in compliance with the tax law for audit. One of the abuses the IRS has attacked is transfers of interests in partnerships which result in an increase in the basis of a partner who is subject to a high marginal income tax rate. This perceived abuse results in lower income tax and/or a higher basis in partnership property for the higher marginal income tax partner. The final regulations basically characterize certain partnership-related basis adjustments as transactions of interest on the part of the IRS. In a practical sense, this means that property transfers in a partnership with related party partners may run the risk of IRS scrutiny if audited. It is common for certain types of partnerships, such as real estate limited partnerships, to have related-partner partnerships. The IRS may decide to scrutinize partnerships with related party transfers. Since these final regulations presume an understanding of the rules for partnership distributions and Section 754 elections, the program begins with coverage of those two topics, with time devoted to adjustments under both Section 743(b) and Section 734(b). It would be hard to understand the IRS's claim of abuse without a working knowledge of these transactions.

Since its inception nearly 30 years ago, many have continued to struggle with applying the current model for accounting for income taxes, ASC 740. But this does not have to be you. This course will provide you with the basic knowledge necessary to understand the complexities of this challenging topic. Through discussions and use of exercises, this course will analyze the authoritative literature to provide a thorough understanding of such topics as deferred taxes, income tax expense, uncertain tax positions and other classification and disclosure requirements related to income taxes. We will also explore some specialized areas of income tax accounting, such as intra-period allocations of income tax expense and accounting for changes in tax laws and rates, and we will review proposed updates to ASC 740 disclosures on which the FASB is contemplating. In summary, this course is the place to be to enhance your accounting for income taxes IQ.

Globalization continues to make it easier for taxpayers to live abroad, do business in other countries, or invest in foreign enterprises. This creates significant complications and tax planning opportunities when it comes to filing U.S. tax returns. This course provides an overview of the unique tax challenges and solutions presented to U.S. expats or investors living or investing abroad. It examines how foreign-source income is taxed in the U.S. and how the tax consequences could be mitigated by applying the tax treaties, claiming credit for foreign taxes paid, or excluding foreign-earned income. Additionally, the course discusses the numerous foreign informational form reporting requirements and the significant penalties that could be imposed by the IRS. Examples from real-life client scenarios are included.

Recent feedback from the AICPA has emphasized the importance of performing an effective risk assessment to identify and evaluate the risk of material misstatement in a financial statement audit. SAS 145, the 2023 amendment to AU-C 315, makes significant changes to the extant risk assessment standard and certain changes to other standards as well. The amendments clarify confusion that the AICPA believes auditors experienced under the existing standard and also conforms, for the most part, to the IAASB standard on the same topic. SAS 145 has been effective for two years now starting with December 31, 2023 audits. This course will focus on how to perform the risk assessment process under the new standard, providing participants with a summary of the changes to existing guidance. It will discuss linking the results of the risk assessment to further testing (internal control and substantive testing) and procedures performed in concluding on the evidence obtained. In addition, it will also discuss documentation and audit communications.