Professional Development and Event Catalog
Surgent's Shades Of Gray - Practicing Before The Internal Revenue Service - Circular 230 -Current State
1:00pm - 3:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $99
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Karen L. Hawkins, the former Director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, will discuss key Circular 230 provisions and how some have been changed through litigation. Since the current version of Circular 230 has not been rewritten to incorporate the results of IRS litigation losses since 2014, this is the only seminar where you will hear what the current law says (and does not say) about tax professionals' ethical obligations in federal tax practice. The presentation will draw not only on the six years Ms. Hawkins spent as Director, OPR but her more than 30 years practicing as a nationally recognized tax controversy lawyer in California.
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Surgent's Understanding How the IRS Rewards Whistleblowers
1:00pm - 3:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $99
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In 2006, Congress passed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act. Prior to the Act's passage, rewards to individuals who provided information to the IRS regarding tax fraud were capped at $10 million. The Tax Relief and Health Care Act authorized the IRS to create a Whistleblower Office dedicated to investigating, processing and recovering claims concerning the underpayment of taxes. Under the IRS' new program, whistleblowers may recover 15 to 30 percent of the amount collected provided the taxes and amounts in dispute exceed $2 million. If the whistleblower's claim does not meet these criteria, the IRS may still consider granting an award under its pre-2006 Tax Relief Act discretionary authority. Given the rapid growth of this program, practitioners should have a basic understanding of the procedure and content for IRS Whistleblower claims, both from the perspective of a claimant's potential to recover and a taxpayer's exposure to liability.
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Surgent's Understanding S Corporation Taxation: Late S Corporation Elections, Disproportionate Distributions, and Selling
1:00pm - 3:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $99
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S corporation taxation has a lot of pieces. There are helpful elections you can make that can potentially save your client money, but there are also rigid rules to adhere to. For example, if there is more than one class of stock, it can terminate the S corporation election. Learning how to successfully navigate these rules can make all the difference. In this course, we will discuss some of the more common specialty areas experienced by practitioners - late filing relief for S corporation elections, disproportionate distributions, and selling S corporation shares. While these items may not come up on every single Form 1120-S, you will be able to add more value to clients when they do.
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Global IIA Standards (GIAS) Fundamentals and Domain I and II - PART 1
1:00pm - 3:01pm
Online
2.20 Credits
Member Price: $79
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In May 2023, the IIA released a draft of the new Global Internal Audit Standards. The intent was to provide more effective standards for Internal Audit globally. 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
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Ethical Performance Management
1:30pm - 3:30pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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Today, more than ever, effective performance management is critical to the well-being of an organization, as well as the engagement and satisfaction of staff. Unfortunately, performance management is also often one of the most dreaded responsibilities managers face. This session will provide insight into what performance management is, how to prepare and conduct performance appraisals, how to coach the marginal employee, legal considerations to be aware of when conducting an appraisal, and ways to engage and motivate staff. In addition to providing tools to conduct effective appraisals, we will also look at the ethical implications of employee reviews. When done well, performance management has the power to improve communication between managers and their staff as well as help foster stronger career paths and routes for growth. It can motivate, re-engage, and energize everyone involved. Ethical values such as fairness, accountability, respect, intellectual honesty, and trust will be incorporated into this session. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Leadershift Ethics: Things Must Change!
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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With the rapid pace of change, change now happens daily in business and our personal lives. It can be difficult to navigate change when right and wrong get a bit fuzzy. New processes, new technology, new circumstances and new impacts to people must be measured and decisions made as the change evolves. Change always becomes something different than what was originally planned or imagined. In this session, learn how to measure your ethics through change. You will learn how to filter everything you do during change through a simple litmus test. Through the power of story, you will learn from the lessons of other organizations and their ethical mistakes. Lastly, you will take away what is required to manage yourself so that when ethical decisions arise, you have the mental capacity to manage through it well. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Surgent's Nuts & Bolts of Cryptocurrency Taxation
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $99
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Cryptocurrency is heading mainstream. According to a recent study conducted by New York Digital Investment Group, there are 46 million bitcoin holders in the US, and institutions have also shown increased interest in this space. The rising popularity of cryptocurrency and the inclusion of the virtual currency question on the front and center of Form 1040 have made cryptocurrency a subject that tax practitioners cannot afford to ignore anymore. This course is designed to walk you through tax implications of common cryptocurrency-related transactions (trading, mining, spending, staking, etc.) and how to successfully service clients affiliated with cryptocurrency by using a tool like CoinTracker. This session also covers current developments surrounding this topic and some of the unique tax planning opportunities in the crypto space such as tax loss harvesting without being subject to wash sale rules, tax lot ID optimization (FIFO, LIFO, and HIFO), self-directed IRAs, etc.
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Measuring Audit Risks
2:00pm - 4:49pm
Online
3.00 Credits
Member Price: $99
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In order not to perform an excessive number of audit procedures (over audit) auditors must perform procedures in order to determine in what areas are there weak internal controls that could result in a risk that the financial statements would be materially misstated and not be detected. SAS No. 122, AU 300 – 499, Measuring Audit Risk provides guidance as well as required procedures that must be performed in every audit in order to determine the risk of material misstatement. No longer can the auditor state that they assess the risk of material misstatement at maximum without having a basis for making such assessment. As a result, the standards now require that the auditor make such an assessment of a material misstatement of the financial statement on every audit in order to have a basis for such assessment. This program is an overview of the statement documentation requirements in assessing such a risk.
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Topic 842 - Implementing Leases Workshop
2:00pm - 5:40pm
Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $129
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This updated course offers an in-depth look at the FASB leases standard (ASC 842), which requires organizations to recognize lease assets and liabilities on the balance sheet. This comprehensive course will cover recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure requirements, while also focusing on a critical area of change which is the proper identification of a lease using a principles-based approach. We will discuss implementation requirements from both the lessee and lessor accounting models. In addition, we explore a variety of scenarios, including short-term leases, purchase options, variable lease payments, and remeasurement. This course offers practical journal entry examples and lessons learned from implementation, while exploring recently issued amendments to the lease accounting guidance.
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How Fraud Can Affect Smaller Organizations
2:00pm - 6:00pm
Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $149
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Many small to medium sized companies do not properly address the risk that arises related to fraud because these organizations do not have the resources needed to mitigate this risk or because owners or those in top level management underestimate the scope of the issue. All organizations, regardless of size, must be aware of the risks associated with intentional fraudulent acts and know that a significant and effective fraud scheme could even create going concern issues for some entities. In this session, we delve into the reasons that fraud takes place. The material discusses the types of defalcations that are often executed against smaller entities and then explores measures that organizations can implement to help stop fraud activities and add security. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Everyday Ethics at Work: Don't be the Next News Story!
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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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.
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Microsoft Excel: Moving Beyond the Basics
3:00pm - 4:52pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
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This course explores the increasingly complex features of Excel that facilitate efficient data analysis. We will introduce numerous analytical methods and techniques by using practical examples to illustrate how to unleash the power of Excel when manipulating, analyzing and reporting information.
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AI Revolution: The Big Picture for CPAs
3:00pm - 5:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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Discover how artificial intelligence is transforming the accounting, tax and finance landscape. This course offers CPAs a comprehensive overview of AI technologies, with a special emphasis on generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Learn how these advancements are reshaping business operations and what they mean for your professional role. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Ethics: IRS Criminal Investigations: Key Lessons for Accountants
3:30pm - 5:30pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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This course provides a concise overview of recent IRS criminal investigations and what practitioners can learn from these cases to help fight economic crime and even avoid personal criminal prosecution. While accountants are numbers people by training (not detectives per se with the exception of forensic accountants), practitioners are increasingly being called upon by governments and economic organizations at all levels to step up and help law enforcement battle financial impropriety. The stakes are huge. In the United States alone, the OECD estimates that 5% to 10% of the annual budget of the US health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid, is wasted as a result of corruption. Every dollar lost to monetary malfeasance has a crippling effect that ripples through countries, industries, companies, communities and individual lives. Government resources are wasted, public services are compromised, companies are financially destabilized, shareholders are cheated, employers are swindled, charities are undermined and much more. By increasing their awareness of what and how the IRS investigates and prosecutes, accountants can heighten their "spidey sense" of what doesn't look right in financial records. This includes honing skills to more readily notice -- and report -- ledger anomalies and irregularities, and even rethink a "silence is always safer" mindset. As technology disrupts and automates many fundamental accounting functions, practitioners can add value by more diligently scanning for "creative accounting" red flags on the frontlines. Prioritizing transparency and behaving ethically -- the core of the profession -- not only helps society and the economy as a whole, it can help accountants boost their reputation as highly trusted business advisors and even supercharge their bottom line. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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A New Productivity for the New World. Goal Achievement for the 21st Century, A Whole Brain Approach
4:00pm - 4:59pm
Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $39
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Most productivity planners could have been made in 1975. However, we have learned more about the brain in the last 5 years than in the last 500! If productivity involves filtering out distractions, focusing, and executing on what is most important, shouldn’t there be a brain-based approach that incorporates the new science to help your organization fight distractions and find time? Yes, there should be, and now there is! It is time for a new productivity for the new world. In this course, you will learn science-based whole brain approach to help people across your organization boost focus, energy, and motivation toward what matters most so they can increase their opportunity to achieve your organizations most important goals.
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Individual Tax Update: Recent Developments
4:00pm - 6:00pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $89
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A discussion of the latest 2021/222 tax developments impacting individual taxpayers, with a focus on important provisions, rules and concepts. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Real Estate Tax Update
4:00pm - 8:00pm
Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $129
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This program addresses the recent changes imposed by recent tax legislation that real estate owners and investors need to know, including Section 199A, the new Section 163(j) interest expense limits and the opportunity to elect out. An introduction to opportunity zones and other important issues 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.
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Integrity, Objectivity and Judgment: Values in Action
5:00pm - 6:00pm
Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $55
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This course focuses on how to integrate integrity and objectivity in situations accounting professionals face daily. The participant will be able to know not just what is the right thing to do according to the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, but how to put values into action! As part of this course, we will also walk through real world examples of individuals and companies faced with these dilemmas. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
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Preparing to be a Forensic Accountant - Focus on Computer Forensics - Part 3 (Steganography)
5:00pm - 6:27pm
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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Fraud Unmasked: Understanding and Preventing White-Collar Crime with Dr. Richard G. Brody
5:00pm - 6:38pm
Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
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Fraud poses a significant risk to businesses, organizations, and individuals, leading to financial losses, reputational damage, and legal consequences. This comprehensive course, led by Dr. Richard G. Brody, an esteemed expert in forensic accounting and fraud prevention, explores the underlying mechanisms, motivations, and methods of fraudulent behavior. Through real-world case studies, expert analysis, and interactive discussions, participants will gain critical insights into the psychology of fraud, organizational vulnerabilities, and ethical breakdowns that enable misconduct. The course equips attendees with the latest fraud detection techniques, risk assessment strategies, and internal control best practices to proactively identify and mitigate fraud risks while fostering a culture of integrity and accountability.