WICPA CPE & Special Event Catalog
Ethics for CPAs: The Practical & the Possible
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Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
Award winning discussion leader, former AICPA Council Member and former state accountancy board member Mark Hugh will review the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and its interpretations; discuss new developments in regulation at the national and state level; and discuss examples of best practices, case studies and disciplinary actions.Note: This course qualifies to count toward the WICPA membership Ethics CPE requirement.
What's Changing in Risk Assessment
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Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
SAS 145, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, was issued in October 2021. The audit standard amends AU-C 315, including many changes to address common audit deficiencies. This course will provide an overview of SAS 145 and its changes to AU-C 315. Attendees will have an opportunity to evaluate the impact on audit methodology and documentation.
Budget Mastery: Process, Problems & Solutions
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Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
The budgeting process can be a mundane one for accountants. Let's be realistic and agree that even the word "budget" does not bring excitement to you and your departmental colleagues. The constraints and pressures can lead to poor decisions in both the technical and human components. This session is the first part of a four part series and will cover the big picture of keeping the process fresh, pragmatic and useful. We discuss these keys in an engaging manner by discussing both our flaws and strengths, including how to build on these characteristics towards an enjoyable solutions-based method that should deliver effective results for your organization.
Preparing & Reviewing Workpapers for Higher Quality Audits
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Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $129
This course will focus on preparing financial statement audit documentation critical for high quality audits that can pass peer review.
Retirement Planning Issues: Where We Stand Now
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Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $129
This course is designed to equip CPAs, EAs, attorneys and tax professionals with the essential knowledge and strategies needed to navigate the latest developments. Explore innovative approaches to maximize retirement savings, discuss tax- efficient retirement plan options and align estate planning techniques with current trends. Gain a thorough understanding of altered rules for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and discover how to optimize estate plans in response to changing regulations. This update is tailored for professionals seeking practical insights in the realm of contemporary retirement planning. **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.
How to Make Difficult People Disappear...Without Going to Jail
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Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $39
Have you ever found yourself wondering why people won't just listen to you? Or maybe you have found yourself surrounded by people that make your jaw clench...you know the people...the challenging people. HR Professionals walk a tight rope of being strong, but not aggressive, polite, but not a push over. It is exhausting! In this session, you will uncover the secrets to working with (and overcoming) challenging people derived from the decades of experience Summer brings from her time on the frontlines and as an HR Professional working with companies such as Walt Disney World, H-E-B and even a dude ranch.
Budget Mastery: Walkthroughs & Real World Calculations Towards Tying Budgets To Value
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Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
This session takes a unique review of the fundamental budget issues faced by all and walks through a detailed modeling process intended to generate discussion and best practices to improve your organization's financial modeling. From the beginning of the accounting process: `the chart of accounts' to the end of the process: `the valuation of the company', the budgeting cycle via a live case model to learn best practices common to successful companies. This course stands on its own but is part two of a four part budget mastery series.
Schedule C of Form 1040
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Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
Many self-employed or sole proprietors find themselves having to navigate Schedule C in reporting business income. While this attachment to Form 1040 seems straightforward on the surface, there are many traps for the unwary. This course is ideal for CPAs, EAs, or other tax professionals. **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.
Defending Your Workplace Culture: Tackling the 4 Biggest Threats to Your Team Engagement & Cohesion
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Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $39
In today's dynamic business environment, preserving a unified and engaged team culture is more challenging than ever. As the rhythm of work accelerates and organizational structures evolve, silent threats can begin to undermine our established team dynamics. These undercurrents, if left unaddressed, can erode morale, dampen productivity and weaken the team's cohesion. This session offers a deep dive into strategies that can help identify, address and neutralize these challenges, ensuring a positive, resilient and inclusive workplace culture. Attendees will be equipped with a blend of insights and actionable strategies, enabling them to both recognize and respond to these potential pitfalls.
Securing Executive Buy-In for Your Initiatives: Communication Techniques to Persuade Decision-Makers
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Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $39
For HR and Business professionals, navigating the intricate dynamics of executive decision-making can often be a daunting task. Despite the meticulous hours invested in research, strategy formulation and planning, the true challenge often lies in effectively communicating and gaining acceptance for these transformative ideas. A key aspect of this is the art of persuasion, ensuring that the merits of our proposals are not just understood but wholeheartedly embraced by decision-makers. This session is designed to empower leaders with the tools and insights needed to craft persuasive pitches, build a robust business case and confidently communicate the ROI of their initiatives. Moreover, attendees will gain insights into the common pitfalls that can hinder their pitches and learn techniques to address objections frequently raised by executive leadership.
Common Yellow Book & Single Audit Deficiencies
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Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $129
Yellow Book and Single Audit engagements are considered must-select engagements for peer review. This course will review the common deficiencies noted by peer reviewers and federal agencies. We'll focus on the requirements of Yellow Book independence, CPE and reporting. We will also review deficiencies related to internal controls over compliance, compliance testing and major program determination for Single Audits. We'll close the course with a look at the deficiencies often identified in COVID-related funds.
Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) Domain II: Part II
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Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
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
Common Deficiencies in SSARS Engagements
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Online
4.00 Credits
Member Price: $129
Preparation, compilation and review engagements continue to be a hot topic for peer review despite SSARS 21 having been around for nearly a decade. This course will concentrate on the most common peer review findings with a focus on how to comply in an efficient but practical perspective. This course will discuss the root cause of noncompliance so that overall engagement quality increases.
Introduction to Forensic Accounting
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Online
1.80 Credits
Member Price: $59
This course provides a high-level overview and introduction into the world of the forensic accountant. Most accountants have an understanding of the concept of fraud and how it impacts companies, but many individuals do not have a full comprehension of the variance in the work performed by a forensic accountant versus a typical management accountant. This course is meant for those individuals interested in understanding the variances in the job tasks and responsibilities of forensic accountants versus typical financial or management accountants. Forensic accountants or auditors take a unique focus on performing their work. Typically, when a person with forensic experience is called in to examine financial records, it is due to suspicion of fraud, evaluation of assets, or even to track down fundamentally incorrect accounting: intentional or not. As fraud continues to raise its head in business processes, forensic accountants are discovering new and unique ways to identify, examine and support their hypotheses and investigative techniques. The work performed by a forensic specialist can be interesting and full of potential potholes if evidence isn't examined according to proper protocols and standards.
Performance Management
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Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $39
The tools for managing performance and addressing misconduct are not identical. The failure to point this out to leaders has often resulted in the use of the wrong tool. Reinforcing good performance and securing improvements in performance requires skill in coaching employees, making effective requests and providing effective feedback. This course provides practical knowledge and scripts for setting, communicating and enforcing performance expectations, such that personal and employer liability is avoided.
Creating Terrific Equity Compensation Plans: Beware of the Pitfalls
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Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
In today's business world, there is a war for talent and organizations with the best talent will win. We clearly need to motivate talented personnel. Equity compensation plans are useful to retain, reward and recruit. The GAAP and tax accounting for equity compensation plans is not static and decisions that you make during plan set-up can have major consequences to your organization's bottom line and your management team's personal tax situations. We will review nuances and details that impact proper accounting. Whether you are the CFO or CEO who has not been happy with prior equity compensation plans or the accountant who performs the intricate analysis and detailed accounting for these plans: this session will help you understand the issues and get it right the first time.
Preparing to be a Forensic Accountant: Cloud Forensics
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Online
1.40 Credits
Member Price: $59
Cloud computing has become a source of cyber-crime. "Cloud forensics is the application of digital forensics in cloud computing as a subset of network forensics to gather and preserve evidence in a way that is suitable for presentation in a court of law." Cloud forensics is a combination of the varied types of accounting forensics including: • Digital forensics • Network forensics. • Hardware forensics In cloud crime, the cloud is considered the object when the target of the crime is the cloud service provider they are directly affected by the act. It is considered the subject of the crime when the criminal act is committed within the cloud environment. It is considered the tool when it is used to plan or conduct a crime. This course will delve into the many concepts involved in cloud forensics. The course complements other courses in the series of Becoming a Forensic Accountant.
Contract & Procurement Fraud
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Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
This session will focus on the most common types of fraud in the procurement and contracting arena, with a focus on fraud in construction. The session will examine fraud vulnerabilities in the four key phases of the procurement process: Presolicitation. Negotiation. Performance. Closeout and Claims. Within each phase, "red flags" will be discussed. These are the indicia of possible fraud that managers should be alert for. Also, within each phase, the most common fraud schemes will be highlighted and discussed. Finally, the session will describe the generally accepted safeguards or controls that should be established to prevent the various fraud schemes that can occur. This part of the program will make extensive use of actual fraud case studies designed to demonstrate fraud risks and fraud detection strategies.
Auditing For Fraud
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Online
2.00 Credits
Member Price: $79
Auditors are required by Generally Accepted Auditing Standards to perform audit procedures to determine if the financial statements are materially misstated due to error OR FRAUD. Unfortunately, in the past the profession has focused on misstatements due to errors and largely ignored to possibility of misstatements due to fraud. While SAS No. 122, AU 240, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit sets forth the procedures that auditors are required to perform in each audit to determine if the financial statements are materially misstated due to fraud, this program presents a practical approach to making such a determination. It's not a substitute for the requirements in SAS 122, AU 240, but rather an informal supplement to the standard with some common-sense procedures which are designed from my over 30 plus years of directing fraud investigations. After attending this session, you will more than likely never look at a financial statement audit the same way.
Thanks for the Feedback: Lessons in Giving & Receiving Feedback
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Online
1.00 Credits
Member Price: $75
This session will cover the three types of feedback, the barriers to receiving good feedback and how we can be empowered to seek feedback for our own growth.
