Professional Development and Event Catalog

Unlock the secrets to transforming workplace and client conflicts into opportunities for growth and innovation. As accounting professionals play an increasingly influential role in organizational decision-making, the ability to transform conflict into opportunity is paramount. In this course, learn how to elevate your conflict resolution skills with methods grounded in "Crucial Conversations," "Fierce Conversations," and "Leading with Questions." Discover how to build stronger client and colleague relationships and model constructive communication behaviors. This class breaks down transformative strategies into actionable steps that every CPA can master. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Properly designed and effectively operating internal control over financial reporting is critical for preventing, or detecting and correcting, material misstatement. This course describes how to satisfy the audit requirements related to taking a control reliance strategy by testing the operating effectiveness of internal controls, while promoting an effective and efficient financial statement audit. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

There are numerous federal laws that restrict what businesses can do in terms of hiring and firing employees. Many of these laws impose significant penalties if employers violate them. Accordingly, it is crucial that all employers and their professional advisors understand these laws and apply them to their employment practices.

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 webinar 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.

This course offers an in-depth exploration of the "vision" capabilities of ChatGPT specifically tailored for accountants. The session demonstrates how artificial intelligence can interpret and analyze visual content to revolutionize financial management. The curriculum covers a wide range of applications, from understanding GPT Vision and its unique benefits to leveraging aerial and street view imagery for comprehensive financial analysis. Through detailed case studies, participants will learn how to access and utilize GPT Vision effectively, incorporating it into tasks like data visualization, text and object recognition from images, and the use of descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive (DDPP) analysis methods to enhance decision-making processes. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

A discussion of recent law changes that impact capitalization, depreciation, and disposition of assets. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Join us for an insightful presentation featuring John Higgins, a renowned technology advisor to the CPA profession, who has assisted many firms with Microsoft 365 deployment. Discover how to leverage the Microsoft 365 suite of applications to unlock new efficiencies and opportunities within your business organization or CPA firm. Don't miss this chance to supercharge your operations with cutting-edge tools! Whether you are working in public practice or business and industry, this event will provide you with a return on investment many times greater than your investment to attend. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Financial statements prepared for stockholders and external users follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), while tax returns adhere to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). These frameworks differ in recognizing profitability, influencing reported income significantly. Companies often aim to minimize taxable income within legal bounds, while maintaining compliance with both financial reporting and tax regulations. - Timing Differences: Variations in income recognition and deductible expenses between GAAP and IRC create timing differences, impacting reported profitability and tax liabilities. - Deferred Tax Assets: Companies accrue deferred tax assets from overpaid taxes or carried-forward credits, which can offset future taxable income, reducing tax liabilities. - Deferred Tax Liabilities: When taxable income is less than reported income, deferred tax liabilities arise, necessitating future tax payments when temporary differences reverse. Join us to delve into these concepts, exploring how financial reporting choices and tax strategies shape a company's financial performance and compliance obligations. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

One of the biggest challenges, if not the most critical challenge in business, is attracting and keeping an engaged and productive workforce. Navigating the world of engagement and retention requires an understanding of human needs as well as deliberate and intentional actions to strengthen an employee's investment and connection to their place of work. For all the HGTV lovers out there, this session mirrors a television show where an individual/family must decide if they want to stay in their current home (after renovations and home improvements) or move to a new space. This webinar title seems apt in describing the current issues around engagement and retention. When an employee chooses to "love it" or stay with their current employer, it typically means they are engaged in their work and they feel seen, heard and valued- they are content. Conversely, the notion of "leaving it" typically symbolizes an employee who cannot wait to get out of their current job. These employees often have negative attitudes and/or behaviors at work. The purpose of this webinar is to recognize the significance of attracting and retaining employees, building your brand as an employer of choice and developing a culture where individual employees feel valued, cared for and ultimately engaged, all though an ethical lens. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The amount of electronic content that business organizations contend with is growing at incredible rates. Terms like "Big Data" and "Information Overload", are being used by overwhelmed information workers on a daily basis. Additionally, because of the move to a much larger telecommuter footprint, electronic data is now even more prevalently utilized. This session discusses the places that businesses keep digital information and addresses the importance of securing corporate electronic data. The material effectively shows ways to achieve high security standards for content stored in fixed locations, on mobile devices and in the cloud. Participants in this session will gain an understanding of the concepts needed to improve the way they, and their companies secure digital information. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Two college graduates built impressive careers: One worked in sales, the other in technology and investing. Both of those people made decisions in the course of their business that led to government investigations. They had to hire attorneys, go through judicial processes, face charges, and plead guilty. Each of those people are on their way to prison. Learn from the lessons they offer. We interview both financial professionals, and they tell us more about how their decisions influenced the consequences that followed. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This course provides a concise overview of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on the accounting profession. As we move into 2025, AI technologies are reshaping traditional accounting tasks while creating new opportunities for strategic advisory services. Participants will explore how AI differs from traditional software, understand various AI applications in accounting, and develop strategies to leverage these technologies while maintaining the essential human elements that clients value most. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This program covers three topics: the Department of Labor's changes in overtime rules, the Federal Trade Commission's ban on most non-compete agreements, and the Department of Labor's new rules relating to differentiating between employees and independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Understanding these new changes will allow accounting and finance professionals to discuss these important business law changes with their clients.

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.

Trusts are not cookie-cutter documents. In fact, they can be rather unwieldy, especially in explaining the functions to a client and then having the client comply with the trust terms. This course delves into best practices. Given common scenarios, what are the best trusts to use? And how can the client be best protected?

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.

Two of the hottest topics in the CPA profession today are CAS (client advisory services) and ChatGPT. This course will explain how to bring these two worlds together by integrating ChatGPT and other generative AI applications into your client advisory services. John Higgins, a leading advisor to the profession on ChatGPT and a seasoned client advisor on technology based solutions, will show you how you can position your firm and yourself as a "go to" advisor on how to embrace this technology in virtually any type of business. John will address how to use this technology as a research and writing assistant in your client services and how to advise your clients on this revolutionary technology and all benefits and "gotchas" that come with it. If you want to step up your advisory game, this course is a "must take." This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This course is a 'deep dive' into many aspects involving the taxation of real estate for the mid-level practitioner moving into this complex area. You will deepen your understanding of the complex considerations and strategies that individuals must navigate in acquiring, operating, and selling real estate. You will leave the course able to navigate critical issues associated with the relevant returns and plan strategically for your company or clients. We will discuss in detail the impact that recent tax changes have had on the real estate industry, as well as new credits that are available after the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

When asked, most people would say they are an ethical person. So why is it that every month there are reports of ethical breaches at major companies? The concept of ethics is easy to understand, easy to talk about, but incredibly hard to implement on a consistent basis. In this course, we will discuss current ethical issues, and walk-through a nine-step ethical decision-making model. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Consumers and businesses file for bankruptcy to seek protection from creditors and to reorganize or liquidate debts. Bankruptcy filings rise and fall with the economy. Surveys show that loss of income is the leading cause of consumer bankruptcies, followed by medical expenses and foreclosure. Corporate bankruptcies, on the other hand, are often the result of several factors, including excessive debt, decreased demand, increased costs, lawsuits or poor accounting practices. It is no secret bankruptcy filings will see a tremendous uptick in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. As an accountant, CFP, attorney or other professional, you need to be able to discuss the process and different available courses of action with your clients. Both landlords and tenants will be influenced tremendously. Individuals will look to your advice for a discharge and new start. Businesses will do the same and will also need to advise loyal employees. Creditors will receive proofs of claim and look to you for your expertise. Take this webinar and make sure you can speak fluently to both creditors and debtors. As trusted advisors, then, professionals should have a basic understanding of the bankruptcy process. This course provides a thorough review of the consumer and corporate bankruptcy practice. Participants in this webinar will gain an understanding of how consumer and corporate bankruptcy proceedings begin and end, as well as learn about key issues that affect debtor and creditor rights during bankruptcy. This webinar provides information from the perspective of both debtor and creditor. Although bankruptcy concerns the debts of the debtor, the Bankruptcy Code provides substantial protections to creditors. Creditor rights, however, vary widely depending on the status afforded the creditor under the Bankruptcy Code. Do yourself, your clients and your profit margin a favor and sign up for this invaluable webinar.