CPE Catalog & Events

Are you self-taught on Excel?Have you ever wondered if you really know how to use Excel?Do you want to build a great foundation for using Excel?Are you new to using Excel?If you answered YES to any of these questions, this is for you.This course is designed to start with the basics of using Excel from the interface to the structure to data entry to formula basics. Whether you're a beginner or an intermediate user, you will gain valuable foundational knowledge for using Excel.This session is presented using Excel 2019/Office 365. Regardless of the version you are using, most concepts covered in this course apply to all versions of Excel.Speaker - Bryan L. Smith, CPA.CITP, CISA

Over the years, Excel has added MANY new features and functionality, yet most people still use it in the same way they first learned. Part of the reason is new features were added when the newest version was announced approximately every 3 years. The list was so extensive, making it difficult to learn what was new. Microsoft attempted to solve this for Office 365 customers by releasing new features more often, making it difficult to pinpoint the latest update.This class focuses on the specific added elements to Excel 2019 plus new functionality available to Office 365 users. Not only is this a great class to learn about what's new, it provides those who have not upgraded an opportunity to determine the value of upgrading or purchasing an Office 365 license.Speaker - Bryan L. Smith, CPA.CITP, CISA

This course is designed to build the foundation to becoming an Excel formula expert. Our focus will be on design techniques that should be used when creating formulas. Excel has over 500 functions and among those, Defined Names is one of the top choices in creating formulas that make your spreadsheets work better for you.After understanding what they are and how to properly create Defined Names, you will wonder how you managed without them for so long. You will learn how to use Defined Names and Excel Tables as an important and fundamental part of EVERY spreadsheet. You will learn techniques that most advanced users don't implement in their spreadsheets but should.This session is presented using Excel 2013. Regardless of the version you are using, ALL concepts covered in this course apply to ALL versions of Excel.Speaker - Bryan L. Smith, CPA.CITP, CISA

This course will show you how to use Excel's charting and formatting features to present financial data to a non-financial audience. As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." People tend to better understand the point when visuals are used. We will explore the many capabilities of presenting data without showing rows and rows or columns and columns of data. Help your audience visualize the meaning of the data, whether it is a trend, an exception, a distribution or a good vs. a bad relationship.This session is presented using Excel 2013. Regardless of the version you are using, ALL concepts covered in this course apply to ALL versions of Excel.Speaker - Bryan L. Smith, CPA.CITP, CISA

Excel is the #1 data analysis tool for accountants, yet many accountants have never learned the basics of data analysis using Excel or the tools that Excel offers to help with data analysis.This session is designed to teach participants the importance of PivotTables for analyzing data. We will demonstrate how PivotTables can make analyzing data an easy task for all accountants. Participants will learn the step-by-step process to create PivotTables and PivotCharts. We will also cover all the setup options and features.This session is presented using Excel 2013. Regardless of the version you are using, ALL concepts covered in this course apply to ALL versions of Excel.Speaker - Bryan L. Smith, CPA.CITP, CISA

In this course, we will focus on Text functions and Date and Time functions. Want to automatically update the date and time on your spreadsheet? Or pick text strings from other cells to automatically copy and update to a different cell? You will learn how to incorporate text, date and time functions in your spreadsheet that will make data entry a breeze. In the Text function section, you will learn how to use the various Text functions to join and separate text entries as well as formatting the results. In the Date and Time function section, you will learn how to perform various date and time calculations. This session is presented using Excel 2013. Regardless of the version you are using, ALL concepts covered in this course apply to ALL versions of Excel.Speaker - Bryan L. Smith, CPA.CITP, CISA

This course examines actual fraud circumstances through the lens of potential prevention. We will examine how selected frauds were accomplished and consider what internal controls may have prevented fraudsters' ability to accomplish their nefarious acts.Speaker - Chris Harper, CPA

It's a whole new world for lessees under ASC topic 842. This program will dive into the new standard on leases and its impact on every size entity, review effective dates, and address what you need to know now.Speaker - Chris Harper, CPA

This course explores the FASB codification provisions and AICPA financial reporting framework for transaction with related parties, including business owners and special purpose entities. Real-life examples are used to illustrate the various authoritative standards and discuss the consequences of failing to comply.Speaker - Steven C. Dilley, CPA, JD, PhD

Senior management yearns to report positive news and impressive financial results that will please investors, bankers and drive value higher. While most companies act ethically and follow prescribed accounting rules, some take advantage of gray areas in the rules or ignore them altogether in order to portray their financial results in a misleading way. This session will discuss some common financial statement shenanigans to help prevent them from fooling you.Speaker - Jay Giannantonio

A well-organized chart of accounts supports robust responsibility reporting, makes it easy to answer "what if?" questions and helps eliminate data entry errors. However, many organizations cling to the primitive practices of a half-century ago that impose barriers to developing budgets, holding people accountable, gathering useful data and keeping errors from creeping into their financial statements. Best practices today look little like the examples you may have seen in business school. If you sense that your general ledger could do far more, this session will show you how to fix your problemsSpeaker - John L. Daly, MBA, CPA, CMA, CPIM

Fraud Trends - Applying Real-life Lessons to Small- and Mid-Size Entities will focus on real-life and practical examples of fraud in smaller- and mid-size environments, including nonprofits. Fraud involves an intentional act to deceive, which may result in material misstatement in the financial statements due to fraudulent financial reporting or misappropriation of assets. Management's responsibility is to design, implement, maintain and monitor a system of internal control to prevent, or detect and correct, fraud.Speaker - Jennifer F. Louis, CPA

Please join us for a introductory course on the fundamentals of preparing and filing an individual federal income tax return. We will cover topics such as what the federal income tax is and how it is computed. This course is ideal for CPAs, CFPs, EAs and other tax preparers.Speaker - Allison M. McLeod, LL.M., CPA

Companies operating in today's business climate are weathering a storm of major FASB updates. Companies and their advisors may want to consider non-GAAP options as they develop strategies involving revenue recognition, leasing, credit losses, and other FASB pronouncements. This session will provide an overview of special purpose frameworks that may present salient alternatives to U.S. GAAP for certain entities.Speaker - Chris Harper, CPA

Government leases are getting an overhaul. GASB Statement 87 was issued in 2017 and provides an update on the proper accounting for leases from both the lessee and lessor points-of-view.Speaker - Melisa Galasso

An audit is an investment in reliable financial reporting and compliance, and an increased return on those dollars can be achieved by hiring the right auditors. This course will provide key factors for you to consider when evaluating whether you are getting the most quality and insight from your auditors, to enable them to perform the most value-added audit possible in the given circumstances - while retaining the trust of a CPA.Speaker - Jennifer F. Louis, CPA

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.Speaker - Karl Egnatoff

Recent generally accepted auditing standards were written to improve the quality of risk-based financial statement audits, audit reporting, and required by-product communications. This course will discuss the important clarifications and enhancements intended to improve audit quality to ensure better compliance with requirements contained in SAS Nos. 134-145.Speaker - Jennifer F. Louis, CPA

Penalty abatement is a technique that tax practitioners can utilize to help their clients reduce penalties and interest they owe to the IRS if the taxpayer can prove "reasonable cause". This informative and insightful webinar will provide you with some insider tips, practical steps and effective strategies to help your client manage IRS tax penalties and interest. Learn about various types of penalties that you may face, and the various forms and procedures used for requesting penalty and interest abatement, including First Time and Reasonable Cause abatement. Plus, learn about the procedure to follow when requesting refund of paid penalties.Speaker - Allison M. McLeod, LL.M., CPA

Did you know that simply by utilizing the built-in headings found under Styles in Microsoft Word you can create an automatic table of contents that can be updated in a matter of seconds if the body of the document changes? Did you know that Word can be used to open, edit, and re-save PDF documents? How about the fact that by using the Insert Caption tool in conjunction with the Cross-Reference feature, users can rid themselves of the need to manually renumber figures, tables or illustrations and will not even need to update references to these in the document text? This material shows tools and features that are easy to understand and use, will save time, and add consistency to documents. Participants in this session will come away knowing the power of Microsoft Word; this knowledge will benefit them greatly!Speaker - Karl Egnatoff