Professional Development and Event Catalog

By far, the biggest contributing factor that leads to a profitable, yet high quality, financial statement audit is the proper identification, evaluation, and response to assessed risk of material misstatement. When designing your detailed audit plan, how and where you decide to spend your time is largely a matter of professional judgment. The proven tips and techniques for critically rethinking how you plan and design your audit taught in this course will help auditors enhance audit quality and manage profitability in all engagements.

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

Debt is typically a critical component of the financial statements, impacting the economic decisions of financial statement users. This course will address common issues that may impact the proper presentation and disclosure of debt, including debt covenant compliance and other issues that impact classification of the liability between current vs. noncurrent. 

As discussed in the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations, 86% of all frauds are misappropriation of assets.  Why is the misappropriation of assets so large?  Because there as so many of them it creates many, many opportunities.  And the asset which is stolen the most?  CASH!  Because it’s easy to conceal and you don’t have to convert it.  During this presentation, the many, many different ways to misappropriate (steal) assets and which assets (besides cash) are most subject to misappropriation are discussed as well as how to recognize such and more importantly, how easy it is to prevent it!

This course provides a high-level overview of the most important issues facing nonprofit entities and their auditors.  The focus of this course is on explaining the theory behind major issues and trends, enabling professionals to understand the most important aspects of relevant professional and regulatory standards related to reliable financial reporting for nonprofit entities.      

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.  

There is simply no denying that a sufficiently designed and effectively operating system of internal controls over reliable financial reporting is more important than ever. The primary objective of this course is to give participants "hands-on" practice in designing, evaluating, and communicating conclusions related to design and operating effectiveness of internal controls over reliable financial reporting and other risks for nonprofit environments. 

Over 80% of all employment-related lawsuits relate to termination. Every termination should be treated as a potential lawsuit. The facts supporting a leader's recommendation of discharge must be fully investigated. The discharge of an employee requires prior review and approval. Narrow self-interest, spite, or personal animosity must not play a part in making termination decisions. This course provides practical knowledge and scripts for handling discharges with good judgment such that personal and employer liability is avoided.

Auditors are required by Generally Accepted Auditing Standards to perform audit procedures to determine if the financial statements are materially misstated due to error OR FRAUD.  Unfortunately, in the past the profession has focused on misstatements due to errors and largely ignored to possibility of misstatements due to fraud.  While SAS No. 122, AU 240, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit sets forth the procedures that auditors are required to perform in each audit to determine if the financial statements are materially misstated due to fraud, this program presents a practical approach to making such a determination.  It’s not a substitute for the requirements in SAS 122, AU 240, but rather an informal supplement to the standard with some common-sense procedures which are designed from my over 30 plus years of directing fraud investigations.  After attending this session, you will more than likely never look at a financial statement audit the same way.

The new Standards emphasize that quality performance requires conformance to the Standards. Each standard within Domain III specifically identifies the responsibilities of the CAE and the board, as well as joint responsibilities. 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

When the leadership in any organizations carries out their responsibilities of establishing, maintaining and monitoring internal controls, it significantly reduces the possibility of fraud occurring.  When and if it does occur, a good system of internal controls will often detect it early on.  This presentation is an illustration of what can happen when top management fails to carry out their responsibility of protecting an entity’s assets through a good system of internal controls.

Preparation, compilation and review engagements continue to be a hot topic for peer review despite SSARS 21 having been around for nearly a decade. This course will concentrate on the most common peer review findings with a focus on how to comply in an efficient but practical perspective. This course will discuss the root cause of noncompliance so that overall engagement quality increases.

Learn how to enhance your Excel workflows with AI in this course, "AI-Powered Excel: Leveraging AI and ChatGPT for Supercharged Productivity." Discover the various AI features built into Excel and how to use ChatGPT to create, understand and troubleshoot Excel functions and formulas. Imagine turning two-hour Excel tasks into two minutes of effort! This course will help you streamline your Excel work, research and documentation, saving you time and effort in your day-to-day tasks.

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.

Workpapers are the primary support for findings, conclusions and opinions on any audit or other attest engagement.  This course will provide the essential tips and techniques for ensuring workpaper documentation is of a high quality, yet efficient, nature.

Managerial accounting provides economic and financial information for managers and other internal users. Managerial and Financial Accounting have similarities and differences. Each field of accounting deals with the economic events of a business. Both managerial and financial accounting require that a company’s economic events be quantified and communicated to interested parties. This another course in our series on the controller’s role. The controller’s role encompasses many traditional functions. Within this segment of our controllership series, we discuss the area of managerial accounting and the basic concepts that surround this discipline as it primarily relates to cost accounting issues.  

Yellow Book and Single Audit engagements are considered must-select engagements for peer review. This course will review the common deficiencies noted by peer reviewers and federal agencies. We'll focus on the requirements of Yellow Book independence, CPE, and reporting. We will also review deficiencies related to internal controls over compliance, compliance testing, and major program determination for Single Audits. We'll close the course with a look at the deficiencies often identified in COVID-related funds.

The budgeting process can be a time consuming and frustrating process for accountants.  The constraints and pressures can lead to poor decisions in both the technical and human components.  This series will offer solutions to the budgeting woes from both the big picture and in the details.    Budget Mastery: Process, Problems, and Solutions The budgeting process can be a mundane one for accountants. Let’s be realistic and agree that even the word “budget” does not bring excitement to you and your departmental colleagues.  The constraints and pressures can lead to poor decisions in both the technical and human components.  This session is the first part of a four part series and will cover the big picture of keeping the process fresh, pragmatic and useful. We discuss these keys in an engaging manner by discussing both our flaws and strengths, including how to build on these characteristics towards an enjoyable solutions-based method that should deliver effective results for your organization.  Budget Mastery: Walkthroughs and Real World Calculations Towards Tying Budgets to Value This session takes a unique review of the fundamental budget issues faced by all and walks through a detailed modeling process intended to generate discussion and best practices to improve your organization’s financial modeling.  From the beginning of the accounting process – ‘the chart of accounts’ to the end of the process – ‘the valuation of the company’, the budgeting cycle via a live case model to learn best practices common to successful companies.   This course stands on its own but is part two of a four part budget mastery series. Budget Mastery: The Human Side of Budgeting-Navigating People's issues with 360 Insight You have a fantastic budget, but certain players are not pleased. Financial plans have a technical component and human component.  We can resolve some of our budget issues by exploring the process’ human aspect.  Understanding what makes you and others operate can enhance your understanding of the entire organization and build upon the respect and influence needed to navigate and lead the budgeting cycle. This session includes a case study that measures an individual’s personality type and then explores how to use our strengths and weaknesses to create a better budget process and quite frankly maybe a better you.  This is a great and fun course on its own, but is also part three of a four part series on budget mastery. Budget Mastery: From Numbers to Narrative: Effectively Presenting Your Budget and Reporting  Perhaps the most important element of the budget process is its communication.  If management does not understand the budget – there is an issue. Knowing the right ways to communicate at all levels is essential to stakeholders laying an ownership claim to successful budgets.  This session reveals several key guidelines in successful budget presentations and will identify key problems in how people often communicate financial plans. Presenting your budget and reporting is the final part of a four part series, but can easily stand on its own course that is intended to be fun, enjoyable and educational.

Substance abuse and mental health issues among CPAs has become of great concern among many state boards and the AICPA in recent years. This program will cover the factors that push CPAs to unhealthy behaviors, the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse, and possible options in addressing the situation.  We will also discuss steps that friends and family can take to support their struggling CPA find hope and healing.

Two seemingly similar products can have very different costs, yet many companies are completely oblivious to these differences causing them to lose money or competitive bids.  When companies compete, those with good information win the “gravy” contracts and those with bad information lose money on “dog” jobs.  Attend this session to gain insights on how to win bids for the best opportunities and give the money-losers to your competitors.  Achieve your target profitability in the process.