CPE Catalog & Events

Audit 204: Auditing Basic Inventory - Focus on Observations

The major topics covered in this course include:Typical inventory observation procedures and special considerationsHandling various inventory observation real-life scenariosHigh level overview of valuation and pricing methodsKey controls related to inventory

Surgent's Integrated Planning, Forecasting, and Budgeting for Organizational Success

Differences between planning and budgeting The business model Strategic plan, marketing plan, and technology plan Financial forecasting and financial risk analysis Five-year operating plan and the sales/income plan Intermediate planning and capital equipment planning One-year operating plan and monthly planning Cash plan and risk plan

Excel for Accounting Professionals Session 3: Workbook Design Principles and Organization

Surgent's Improving Your Profits: Identifying Cost Cutting Opportunities

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

Will Your Ethics Be Burned by Burnout?

The major topics covered in this class include:Explore the effects of crisis and burnout on ethical decision-makingDefine the stressors, pressures, and biases that can lead good people to make less than optimal choicesDiscuss ways to offset the pressures, ways to reduce stress on ourselves and on our team, and ways to support our teamsLearn how to recognize when an individual or an organization is heading in the wrong direction and how to stop sliding down the slippery slope

Keeping Up with the FASB

The major topics covered in this class include:Review of current items on the FASB agendaDiscuss the new revenue recognition standardProvide an update on the new lease accounting standardAddress U.S. GAAP alternatives for certain entities

Grading Your Auditors - Are You Getting the Most Value?

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Limitations in roles and responsibilities an auditor can accept without impairing independenceAssessing the strength of your auditor's ability to think critically, strategically, and creatively in appropriate circumstancesEvaluating your auditor's time and project management stillsGrading your auditor's communication and interpersonal skills, in exceeding your expectations on an audit

Money Laundering Awareness for Accountants

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Money laundering overviewRole of tax examiners and auditorsTax return examinationPre-audit indicatorsAudit flagsReal estate issuesCash indicatorsInternational trade signalsLoan considerationsProfessional service provider concernsMoney laundering and ethics

What If Your Client Didn't Take Reasonable Compensation

The major topics that will be covered in this course include:Review best practices to help your client evaluate if an S election is an appropriate choiceHow to be proactive and head off common reasonable compensation issues before they happenExplore strategies for cash management if cash isn't available at year endExplore what’s at stake when reasonable compensation isn’t paid timely

Simplify Outlook Meeting Scheduling with Office 365 Bookings

The major topics covered in this course include: Overview of the Bookings app functionalityStep by step demonstration of how to setup your private Bookings web pageDefining your meeting types / servicesConfiguring text message reminder notificationsSetting your scheduling policiesCustomize your Bookings page form to capture important information while booking an appointment.Integrate with Microsoft Teams Meetings

Excel for Accounting Professionals Session 4: Conditional Summing and Lookups

Building Security and Efficiency With Internal Control

The major topics covered in this course include:An overview of control frameworks and conceptsStrategic considerations that can be incorporated into control developmentUnderstanding and controlling risk that arises when organizations change or choose not toThe COSO Internal Control Framework and the COSO ERM Framework

How-To Guide to Fraud Investigations

The major topics covered in this class include:Typical asset misappropriation schemes and how they are carried outRed flags of asset misappropriation schemesData analysis, including financial ratios that may identify irregularitiesAnalyzing financial statements for fraud investigationsIn-depth asset misappropriation case study

Surgent's A Complete Tax Guide to Exit Planning

Gain exclusion and tax-free reorganization planning Gain exclusion with sales of C corporation stock – Section 1202 Deferral of gain with installment reporting Gain planning with partnerships Basis planning – basis step-up at death, gifts of interests to family Restructuring the business entity – C vs. S corporation, partnerships, LLCs Real estate planning – retention vs sales, like-kind exchanges Employee stock ownership plans – special tax incentives Employee benefit planning with ownership change Taxes other than the federal income tax – state tax, estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes, and property taxes Prospects for tax law change

Surgent's Opportunities in the Metaverse for Accounting and Other Professionals

Understanding what the metaverse is and what it is not How to access the metaverse Why accounting and other professionals should use the metaverse Where accountants can find their space in the metaverse How the metaverse is changing the way we work Ownership opportunities in the metaverse Work and taxation in the metaverse

Surgent's The Art of Delegation: Strategies for Improving Your Skills

What is delegation? Why is delegation important? When and to whom should tasks be assigned? How can you delegate effectively? How do you deal with problems and issues when they arise?

Circular 230 and Rogue Return Preparers

The major topics covered in this class include:The authority of Circular 230 on return preparersThe possible penalties for violating Circular 230How to answer ethical situations with clientsCharacteristics of return preparers who prepare false tax returnsHow to identify the violations in real life examples

Audit 205: Auditing Liabilities and Long-Term Debt Risks

The major topics covered in this course include:Typical audit procedures related to accounts payable and accrued expenses, including the search for unrecorded liabilitiesKey controls related to liabilitiesAuditing long-term debt, including compliance with covenantsDetermining the proper classification of financing arrangementsProper form of noncompliance waiver lettersImpact of noncompliance on disclosures

Excel - Using PivotTables for Data Analysis

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:The advantages of PivotTable for Data AnalysisStep-by-Step PivotTable creationCreating PivotCharts

Payroll Essentials: Ethics in Payroll

The major topics covered in this class include:Ethical framework in the payroll processThe role of ethics by stakeholders involved in the payroll processReal-life examples of what happens when stakeholders in the payroll process make the decision to decouple ethics from payroll