CPE Catalog & Events
ACPEN: K2’s Mastering Advanced Excel Functions
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Online
4.00 Credits
Powerful new functions and features in Excel, such as XLOOKUP and Dynamic Arrays How to use "legacy" features and functions such as AGGREGATE Creating effective forecasts in Excel
Volume to Value: A New Era of Precision Hiring in Accounting
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Virtual
1.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this course include:The shift from volume to precision hiringWhy firms are moving to targeted, competency-based hiringTalent market impacts and competitive hiring realitiesAI in recruiting: practical use cases and implicationsWhere AI tools commonly support hiring workflowsBenefits and limitations of AI-enabled screening and assessmentThe skills mismatch in accounting hiringWhy critical thinking and professional communication gaps persistWhy traditional hiring methods miss these competenciesThe new competency hierarchy for high performersDefining and prioritizing the competencies that drive resultsAI ethics awareness and professional judgment in an AI-enabled workplaceAssessment methods for precision hiringStructured behavioral interviewing and scoring rubricsWork simulations, case presentations, and client scenariosUsing AI-enabled assessments responsibly and consistentlyMetrics and ROI: evaluating successQuality-of-hire measures (performance, ramp time, manager satisfaction)Retention and turnover measuresEfficiency measures (time-to-fill, cost-to-fill) and how to balance themImplementation roadmapA phased approach to adopting precision hiring (foundation → expansion → optimization)– Building governance, documentation, and consistency for scalability
Don Farmer's 2026 Federal Tax Update
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Virtual
8.00 Credits
* Key legislative and inflationary updates, including provisions of the 2025 federal tax legislation effective in 2026 for individuals and businesses. * Developments in retirement and employee benefits, estate and gift tax, digital assets, and disaster relief. * Planning for 2026 and beyond. * Practitioner issues, including changes to IRS procedures and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). * Specialized areas of tax practice, including syndicated conservation easements and SECA tax for limited partners.
Business Tax Update: OBBA and Recent Developments
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Recent legislation impacting business taxpayersThe One Big Beautiful Bill ActExtenders legislation updateMeals and entertainment expense reportingPartnership and S corporation updateIncome and deductions
Microsoft Copilot Deep Dive Hands-on Bootcamp for CPAs
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this course include:Getting started with Microsoft CopilotTour of the Copilot app and how to use itVariety of hands-on case study examples for accounting, finance and taxProtecting your data privacy in Microsoft CopilotAdvanced Microsoft Copilot features reviewIntegration with Microsoft 365 apps
Smart Formula Selection in Excel: What to Use When
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Introduction to Strategic Formula Use:Why choosing the right formula matters: clarity, performance, and maintenanceCommon traps: overusing IF, defaulting to familiar tools, ignoring modern functionsHow Excel offers multiple ways to solve the same problem and how to pick wiselyConditional Logic and Branching Tools:IFS vs SWITCH vs nested IF: comparing readability and structureWhen to simplify logic and how to avoid nested nightmaresSummarizing Data:SUMIFS vs SUMPRODUCT: multiple conditions, weighted sums, totalsFiltering and Output Control:FILTER vs IF + INDEX: dynamic data extraction with vs without Excel 365Trade-offs in backward compatibility and ease of useCustom Output and Decision Trees:CHOOSE vs SWITCH vs LOOKUP: logic trees and category mappingEmbedded Variables and Reusability:LET vs named ranges: clarity and efficiency for long formulasUsing LAMBDA with LET to create custom functionsSimplifying and documenting complex calculationsBest Practices for Formula Selection:Criteria for deciding: readability, flexibility, future maintenanceTips for avoiding overengineering and formula bloat
Surgent's Understanding S Corporation Taxation: Shareholder Basis, AAA, and Retained Earnings
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
S corporation earnings layers Observations on earnings layers S corporation basis calculation IRC 351 transactions Four loss tiers Appreciated property distributions
Surgent's Government and Nonprofit Frauds and Controls to Stop Them
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Virtual
0.00 Credits
Examine real-world misappropriations of cash, check frauds, vendor scams, credit card abuse, grant frauds, benefit schemes, inventory thefts, and payroll frauds Identify and develop practical controls to prevent and detect fraud Tailor controls to the size and fit of the government or nonprofit
Surgent's Required Minimum Distributions: Compliance and Planning
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Virtual
4.00 Credits
Minimum distribution requirement changes by the SECURE Act 2.0 Latest IRS guidance, including final regulations The calculation of required minimum distributions using the Uniform Life Table Required minimum distributions from multiple accounts New §401(k) rules of SECURE Act 2.0 Inherited employer retirement accounts and IRAs: Changes to spousal and non-spousal beneficiary distribution options and stretch IRAs under the SECURE Act Required minimum distributions in the year of death Roth conversions for estate planning and avoiding required minimum distributions Timing of distributions for maximum tax-free compounding Section 529 rollovers to Roth accounts under SECURE Act 2.0 Qualified charitable distributions from IRAs and the relationship between deductible IRAs and QCDs under the new anti-abuse rules. Includes SECURE Act 2.0 rollovers to CRUTs and CRATs Taxation of distributions Penalties for missed required minimum distributions and reasonable cause for abatement of penalties. Includes SECURE Act 2.0 changes
ACPEN: Federal Tax Update for Business with Doug Van Der Aa
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Online
4.00 Credits
"Tax-mageddon" - the all-important impending expiration/extension/renewal of the TCJA Other recent legislative, judicial, and IRS developments impacting business taxpayers Current status of Research and Experimentation costs and Interest Expense Limitation Phaseout of Bonus Depreciation and MACRS issues S corporation and partnership developments Other miscellaneous business developments
Surgent's Advanced Individual Income Tax Return Issues
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Virtual
8.00 Credits
New issues for the current year tax return and §199A Installment sales — understanding the complicated issues Form 8582: Passive losses with carryovers — Complicated case with filled-in forms Puts, calls, straddling, and unusual investments — Understanding the tax laws and reporting them correctly on the tax return Capital gain and loss issues — The problem with proper reporting of installment sales issues; capital gains and losses; when is a stock worthless; and much more... At-risk rules: What a return preparer really needs to know Passive loss issues — You cannot just trust your software. What to watch out for and the questions you need your clients to answer in order to do it right! Incentive and nonqualified stock options — Reporting; key strategies for planning; dealing with the alternative minimum tax Alternative minimum tax — Understanding it; planning strategies to avoid it; using the minimum tax credit; explaining it to a client Form 6251: Detailed calculation example
Surgent's Annual Accounting and Auditing Update
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Virtual
8.00 Credits
Recently issued FASB Accounting Standards Updates, PCC Update, and items on the FASB’s Technical Agenda Recently issued ASUs covering derivatives, credit losses under ASC 326, government grants, and expense disaggregation FASB Final PIR Report for Leases (Topic 842) Statement on Quality Management Standards: SQMS 1, SQMS 2, and SQMS 3 Proposed SAS on the auditor’s responsibility relating to fraud Recently issued SASs and other AICPA activity Recently issued PCAOB standards and SEC rulemaking activities Other important A&A practice matters
Surgent's Compilations, Reviews, and Preparations: Engagement Performance and Annual Update
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Virtual
8.00 Credits
SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, and updates to SSARS No. 21 due to the issuance of SSARS No. 23, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services SSARS No. 22, Compilation of Pro Forma Financial Information SSARS No. 24, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services -- 2018 SSARS No. 25, Materiality in a Review of Financial Statements and Adverse Conclusions SSARS No. 26, Quality Management for an Engagement Conducted in Accordance With Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services Sample comprehensive engagement work programs for preparation, compilation and review engagements Reporting and disclosure illustrations for each level of service, including attesting on personal financial statements, prescribed form, special purpose framework and other engagement variations Other communication requirements, such as sample engagement letters and management representation letters
Surgent's Technical Business Practice Issues and Tax Forms for Experienced Practitioners
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Virtual
8.00 Credits
Bonus depreciation and §179 changes under the OBBBA Schedules K-2 and K-3 and filing exceptions Form 7203 IRS Tax Pro Account IRS modernization initiatives Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) Identity Theft warnings IRS guidance for the marijuana industry “Recycled” Form 1099-NEC to report nonemployee compensation Form 1065 steps for reporting capital Centralized audit regime; late filing penalties and small partnership relief “Substance over Form” argument of shareholder loans Advanced study of “At-Risk” loans Employer W-2 correction requests Don't get caught watching the paint dry -- What is hot and new What is terminating S corporations today? Special allocation issues of §704 Final regulations for allocating depreciation recapture to partners and members of LLCs
Start From Trust: An Evidence-Based Approach to AI Adoption
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Virtual
1.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this course include:Why one visible machine error collapses trust while identical human error does not, and what that asymmetry costs firms in both directionsWhere small and midsize firms actually stand on AI adoption, and why a firm that has not adopted broadly is not automatically behindCalibrated trust: the difference between misuse (overtrust), disuse (undertrust), and trust matched to what a tool actually does wellThe five-stop adoption spectrum: paralysis, accidental delay, informed caution, responsible piloting, and reckless adoptionThe AI Trust and Usage Quadrant: four firm postures and the next step each one impliesGoverned versus unstructured AI use, and why staff already bringing their own tools makes abstention a decision rather than an optionWhat the evidence says about human and AI combinations, and the two task questions that predict whether a tool will help or hurtReading vendor claims: the gap between a demo and production, and why fluent explanations increase acceptance of wrong answersFive trust questions to ask any AI vendor: permission, uncertainty, audit trail, explainability, and change controlThe NIST AI Risk Management Framework trustworthiness characteristics as a technical backboneThree vulnerabilities that current firm financial performance can conceal: client expectations, talent, and deferred learningCognitive offloading and skill retention: what firms lose by waiting, and the conditions under which offloading frees capacity insteadFive actions a firm can take this week, and four evidence-based rollout rules for a first pilot
Employee Benefit Plan Best Practices
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this course include:Current standards and developments affecting employee benefit plan audits Compliance considerations in employee benefit plan engagements Common compliance issues identified in 401(k) plan audits Correction of 401(k) plan compliance issues Participant data Payroll and compensation Contributions and remittances Participant loans Hardship distributions Plan investments Participant distributions Investment income allocations Plan mergers and acquisitions Audit best practices for employee benefit plans
Unlocking Deep Secrets: Case Studies in Financial Analysis
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this course include:Overview of financial statement analysisThe impact of GAAP on financial analysisOverview of the Balance SheetOverview of the Income StatementThe importance of the Statement of Cash FlowsCommon Size AnalysisTrend AnalysisProfitability Ratio AnalysisLiquidity Ratio AnalysisSolvency Ratio Analysis
ACPEN: Compensation Fundamentals and Pay Transparency: Driving Fairness & Engagement
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Online
1.00 Credits
Compensation
Surgent's How to Effectively Represent Clients Under IRS Audit
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
Why the IRS selects a tax return for audit What happens when the taxpayer disagrees with the results of the audit IRS employees who interact with taxpayers during an audit FATCA audits Types of IRS examinations Potential IRS audit outcomes Substitute for returns Large Partnership Compliance Program IRS’s shift in audit strategies Responding to IRS Notices online Audits of high income and high net-worth individuals The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA) and its impact on auditing partnerships IRS Letters of Concern
What's Behind the Data?
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this course include:Ways in which data and information can be misleadingCommon pitfalls when encountering dataHow to re-evaluate the data to avoid those pitfalls
