CPE Catalog & Events
ACPEN: Partnership Essentials: Review & Update
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Online
4.00 Credits
Recent legislative, rules and tax developments impacting partnerships and their partners Transfer of partnership interests TCJA §461(l) Excess Business Losses and §163(j) Business Interest Expense Importance of capital accounts Form 1065, Schedules K-1 and M-2 Schedules K-2 and K-3 update Reporting partner capital accounts Effect of the Ceiling Rule Alternative and Remedial Methods Effect on financial capital accounts Tax basis capital accounts
Corporate Finance Technology Selection: Practical Frameworks
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Virtual
1.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this course include:The changing finance technology landscape: continuous processing, modular ecosystems, automated controls, and real-time visibility (and the risks these shifts introduce)Technology trends and “AI” definitions: automation vs. machine learning vs. generative AI vs. agentic AI—what each means for governance and auditabilityFive common challenges in finance tech projects and how to address them:Cutting through vendor claims and AI hypeIntegration complexity and hidden costsChange management and proving ROIData quality readiness for AI and automationRisk, security, and governanceVendor Evaluation Scorecard: 20 criteria across five categories, including control “deal-breakers” (audit trails, segregation of duties, logging, SOC reporting, error handling)Five-Year Total Cost Framework: software, implementation, data migration/cleanup, integration build & maintenance, internal costs, training, and ongoing operations (plus common underestimates)Industry-specific considerations (manufacturing, distribution/wholesale, SaaS/tech, professional services)Four-phase implementation roadmap with checkpoints and red flags: Assessment & Planning; Selection & Negotiation; Implementation & Testing; Optimization & Ongoing GovernanceWorking with external advisers (CPA/auditor involvement, implementation partner expectations, and common deficiencies to avoid)
ACPEN: IFRS Update
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Online
2.00 Credits
Explore where financial statement preparers should focus the most time and attention on now when preparing interim and annual financial statements, such as: o Costs charged to PP&E in the "testing&" phase o Calculating onerous contract costs o Calculating the 10 percent test for determining substantially different cash flows Discover highlights of recently-issued IFRS pronouncements, focusing on changes with upcoming effective dates, such as: o Classification of liabilities as current o Defining accounting estimates
ACPEN: Leases Accounting under Topic 842 – Answers to FAQ After Implementation
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Online
2.00 Credits
Alternatives to adopting Topic 842 Short-term lease and related-party leasing arrangements Identifying lease agreements under the new rules Proper treatment of lease incentives, leasehold improvements, and lease modifications
Streamlined Excel Reporting Series Session 4: External Data and PivotCharts
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
GETPIVOTDATA Text Files and Power Query Data Preparation PivotCharts
ACPEN: Strategic CFO Series - Big Picture Skills
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Online
8.00 Credits
Strategic CFO – Strategic Financial Communications Financial literacy versus math literacy Common financial terms that confuse non-accountants Simplifying financial language without "dumbing it down" Building narratives and stories around financial data Using visuals and graphics effectively Communicating strategy, risk, and performance together Strategic CFO – Developing Strategy and the Why Understanding capital structure and financing priorities Debt capacity, leverage, and cost of capital considerations Cash flow versus GAAP results Financing options: debt, equity, crowdfunding, and alternative capital Strategic cash policies and liquidity planning Raising cash at different stages of an organization's life cycle Communicating cash flow and financial health to stakeholders Strategic CFO – Strategic Risk Management Overview of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and COSO standards Evolution of COSO and why it matters today Governance, culture, and board oversight of risk Defining risk appetite and linking it to strategy Identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks Risk responses: avoid, reduce, share, and accept Black swan events and managing uncertainty Communicating and reporting risk across the organization Strategic CFO – Strategic Cash Management What strategy really means and who is involved in developing it Common reasons strategic plans fail and how to avoid them Cost leadership, differentiation, and niche strategies Using metrics, KPIs, and the Balanced Scorecard to measure success The role of non-financial drivers in financial performance Benchmarking and competitive analysis Aligning mission, culture, and strategy Case discussions on strategy execution and performance measurement
ACPEN: Ethical Leadership: Power, Influence, Integrity, and Trust
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Online
2.00 Credits
The difference between personal power and positional power How proper use of power can be used to influence an ethical culture Leadership requires trust Knowing why trust cannot exist without credibility Understanding why ethics and trust require one another Appreciating the competitive benefits of commitment to ethical leadership
How to Audit: Property, Plant, & Equipment
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this course include:The foundation of auditing PP&E, including the related audit assertions, risks, & threats to the PP&E balance.The various substantive auditing procedures that staff should perform.Real world auditing examples.
Integrate ChatGPT into Your Client Advisory Services-Updated
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
The major topics covered in this course include:ChatGPT and generative AI technology primerBuilding your generative AI vocabularyDig deeper into your engagement research to develop a higher quality advisory servicePolish your client reporting with the help of ChatGPTDeveloping your ChatGPT client advisory servicesStart with client education. You don’t need to be a technical expert to be an educatorUse AI to help your clients automate their workflows / business processesBuild better spreadsheets with ChatGPT and ExcelHelp your clients identify, evaluate and select applications for their business
ACPEN: Tricks and Treats to Avoid Litigation
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Online
1.00 Credits
Key concepts of effective employee relations Balancing employee and employer rights Handling employee complaints Addressing personality & attitude problems
Applying AI in A&A: Creating Effective Prompts
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Virtual
1.00 Credits
Leveraging artificial intelligence in A&A Writing effective prompts. How an effective prompt improves results. Examples of effectively written prompts.
ACPEN: Mastering Charitable Remainder Trusts and Form 5227 Compliance
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Online
2.00 Credits
Introduction to Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) Types of CRTs and their Benefits Formation and Funding of CRTs Identifying Suitable Candidates for CRTs Understanding Form 5227: An Overview Line-by-Line Breakdown of Form 5227 Reporting Trust Assets and Income Distributions and Charitable Beneficiaries Compliance Updates and Recent Changes to Form 5227 Best Practices for Accurate Completion and Filing
Surgent's Controllership Skills Update – Budgeting, Forecasting, and Big Data
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Virtual
1.00 Credits
Why forecasts and budgets are frequently wrong: behavioral finance; improper goal setting, games, continuing the status quo, traditional budgeting techniques Incorporating strategy into budgets: improving measurement systems; common errors, developing strategies and appropriate measurements Expanding the budgeting framework: rolling forecasts; mission-based budgeting, zero-based budgeting, post-completion evaluations, contingency planning, black swan events, identifying improvements Big data: definition, challenges, goals, current uses/examples, sources of information Analytical tools: ration analysis, benchmarking, Pareto analysis, trend analysis, regression, simulation, dashboards
Surgent's Governing Agentic AI: Cybersecurity, Data, and Risk
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Virtual
0.00 Credits
Cyber risks: prompt injection, drift, model manipulation, data leakage Red-teaming and simulation exercises (CSA, IBM frameworks) Controls mapping: COSO, SOX, and NIST AI RMF Regulatory context: GDPR, CCPA, EU AI Act, SEC guidance Platform security discussion and comparisons
Surgent's Improving Your Profits: Identifying Cost Cutting Opportunities
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Virtual
2.00 Credits
What keeps companies from becoming streamlined? Behavioral biases Information processing biases Emotional biases How to deal with behavioral biases Connecting behavioral biases to cost cutting Creating a culture of cost cutting Rules of thumb for cost cutting Managing headcount Post-COVID common areas of excess cost Budgeting techniques Budget variances Benchmarking Common size financial statements Horizontal analysis Negotiation and contracting techniques Cash flow and the business cycle
Surgent's The AI-augmented Professional: Practical Tools, Real Risks, and Immediate Use Cases
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Virtual
0.00 Credits
Explore from the history of automation to the current landscape of large language models (LLMs) and generative tools to demystify the technology Free, accessible apps to enterprise-grade solutions and specialized accounting software tailored for tax, audit, and advisory workflows Ethical obligations and professional standards that govern AI use, including data privacy, client confidentiality, and the management of "hallucinations" or inaccuracies Through specific use cases and prompting demonstrations, understand how to use AI to draft complex communications, summarize research, optimize Excel workflows, and enhance client advisory services
ACPEN: Creating A Coaching Leadership Style
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Online
3.00 Credits
What the Coaching Leadership Style Coaching Leadership Style Competencies Solution Focused Coaching Framework Leadership Competency Pillars Historical and Current Views of Coaching Coaching Culture Definition and Framework Coaching Results Measuring Success of Coaching
How SAS Nos. 134-145 Improve Risk-Based Audits
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Virtual
4.00 Credits
The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Key changes to audit report elements intended to improve the understandability of the nature and results of financial statement auditsEnhanced required by-product communications with management and those charged with governance to promote more reliable financial statementsClarifications related to obtaining sufficient and appropriate audit evidence, including significant unusual transactions, related parties, going concern uncertainty, and accounting estimatesNew definitions and requirements related to identifying and evaluating risks of material misstatementOther important matters contained in SAS Nos. 134-145
Reviewing Partnership Tax Returns: What Are You Missing?
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Virtual
4.00 Credits
Common errors made involving the following: Form 1065 Schedules K and K-1 Schedules M-1 and M-2 Calculating recourse and nonrecourse liabilities Partner inside and outside basis Partner's capital account analysis Sections 704(b), 704(c), 721, 722, 732(b), 734(b), 737, 743(b)
Surgent's You’ve Got This: An Introduction to Yellow Book and Single Audits
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Virtual
0.00 Credits
What’s included (and excluded) in a Yellow Book audit Key qualification, performance, and reporting standards under the Yellow Book How single audits differ from financial statement audits, plus core concepts like the SEFA, major program determination, and findings reporting Fundamentals of testing internal controls over compliance and performing compliance testing