CPE & Event Calendar

Are you getting the most from your staff? Are you paying top-dollar and still not getting high performance? New research gives us the insights to effectively motivate your people. This session discusses proven people motivation tactics. Many `old' methods really did not motivate in the past and certainly do not work today. Getting the most from your people requires new, very learnable, leadership techniques. Whether your business is large or a start-up, getting people to move forward as one is a challenge. This session will show you how to create an environment where your talented employees can excel. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The work for clients is not as linear as it used to be with the inclusion of more advisory services, more cross functional teams, and due dates moving. Quality client engagements are not just about a solid workflow, we need project management skills. In this session we will discuss how to apply project management techniques to designing a one firm, team approach to serving clients. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This session will explore key aspects of getting more satisfaction out of the work you choose to do and how to find greater balance between the demands of work and other lifestyle choices in an ever more complex and changing world. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Management Skills - Exhibiting Traits of a Balanced Leader-Manager provides tips and techniques for striking the right balance between managing individuals and engagement teams and leading the overall strategic direction of a firm. Short-term profitability and long-term viability are important objectives of any successful organization. Note: This course is recommended as a part of a 16-hour audit skills curriculum for managers, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has responsibilities for leading or managing others. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Tax return preparation and consulting always involves the accountant's review of – and reliance on – information provided by the client. Not everything can, or need be, verified. This workshop considers the duty of CPA tax return preparers to make further inquiries, from the perspective of Circular 230, preparer penalties and professional ethics.  

Do you ever import data into Excel, and then spend a bunch of time manually preparing it for use? Perhaps you delete extra columns or rows. Maybe you need to split a single column into multiple columns, or, combine multiple columns into a single column. The good news is that many of these transformations can be fully automated with Excel! The Get & Transform tools built-in to Excel 2016 for Windows, formerly available as the Power Query add-in, are incredibly powerful. At a high level, they enable us to retrieve data from a variety of sources and prepare it for use as needed. In this session, we'll use Get & Transform queries to help with several common tasks, including flattening data, splitting and combining columns, formatting data, unpivoting summarized data, and combining several csv exports. If you frequently export/import data from one system to another, you will want to understand how to use a Get & Transform query to streamline your work.

Those late-night commercials make it sound just so easy, but how do you get rid of tax penalties? This program covers the various penalties applied by the IRS, and the various ways practitioners can seek to have them removed. Additionally, First Time Penalty Abatement, abatement for reasonable cause, and how to lay the groundwork for avoiding penalties during the audit is covered. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

You could pay $0 for this course!This course qualifies for reimbursement through the State Workforce Training Express Fund. Firms/companies with fewer than 100 staff will receive 100% of the cost of training reimbursed. You must register for this course and apply for reimbursement through the Workforce Training Express Fund website a minimum of three weeks before the start date of the course to be eligible. The course code for this program is C-8906 . To learn more click here or contact Julia Ekelund at jekelund@mscpaonline.org. Develop your soft skills in training courses that benefit both the person attending and their organization. This course, part four of the five-course series, is applicable for various accounting departments (i.e. audit, tax, consulting, and accounting services) but because these are universal leadership concepts, they are equally applicable to other professional business leaders. AHI soft skills training will help improve efficiency, make managers and senior managers more effective with others, and increase the organization's bottom line. Also, as these courses often include other industries besides accounting, there is an opportunity to work and network with leadership professionals from other industries. Per NASBA's rules effective January 1, 2024, participants are required to be on camera and participate in the full and small group discussions to earn CPE credits for this Group Live - Virtual course. As such, please make sure you are set up properly with reliable internet (hard wired is best), a working camera, and a working microphone.

In a surprise twist, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed in short order after secret negotiations were revealed in late July 2022. Seismic changes in tax legislation are currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this two-hour program in order to stay abreast of these developments! This course will provide a concise look at these hot topics. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This two-hour course will cover the GASB standards that are effective this year with a deeper dive into GASB 94, Public Private Partnerships and GASB 96, Subscription Based IT Arrangements. We'll also look at smaller standards that are effective for 2023 year ends. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This two-hour course will cover the GASB standards that are effective this year with a deeper dive into GASB 94, Public Private Partnerships and GASB 96, Subscription Based IT Arrangements. We'll also look at smaller standards that are effective for 2023 year ends. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Seismic changes in tax legislation is currently taking place, and the well-informed tax practitioner will want to attend this two hour monthly program in order to stay abreast of these developments! Approximately one-half of the program is devoted to individual tax issues, and the remaining time is spend on business entity taxation, IRS procedure, tax legislation and other issues. Due to the changing nature of the topic, learning objectives, course descriptions and program content will vary and will be provided in more specificity closer to presentation time. This course provides a concise look at the hottest topics affecting every tax practitioner. The first presentation of this course each month will be delivered live. Subsequent presentations during the month will be a rebroadcast of the live presentation.

Keep current on ethical requirements imposed by standards-setting organizations and legislative action. Discuss regulatory, legal and ethical requirements affecting the profession. Take a pragmatic approach to ethics, recognize potential regulatory problems, and avoid liability.

FASB has proposed changes to the principal financial statements. This course presents examples of each new statement and discusses the changes-existing and proposed-in disclosure. Stay at the cutting edge of change in the financial reporting environment in this lively session as we also consider the business issues associated with these changes. Walk away with Ten Action Items for you to consider implementing immediately. You can find a summary of relevant background information to these changes in the course New Way to Look at Financial Reporting.

CPAs today face greater challenges than ever to maintain the high ethical standards of their profession. It is vitally important that all CPAs understand their professional responsibilities related to all aspects of their job. This course, which focuses on key components of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, reviews a history of the CPA profession and focuses on ethical requirements that CPAs must adhere to in their everyday practice, including practical examples of potential ethical dilemmas that practitioners may encounter, particularly those related to objectivity and independence. PLEASE NOTE: THIS COURSE COVERS GENERAL ETHICS AND IS APPLICABLE IN STATES IN WHICH STATE-SPECIFIC ETHICS IS NOT REQUIRED. This course does not qualify for IRS credit.

To get started in estate planning, learn the basics of intestate succession, probate, wills, health care directives, general powers of attorney, trusts, gift and estate tax planning, as well as transfers of assets. Become familiar with some basics of transfer tax planning, including A-B trusts and QTIPs/marital deduction planning, portability, planning with life insurance trusts, family limited partnerships and more. Also, particular attention will be paid to planning for estate tax law changes and advanced planning strategies, such as trust protectors and the human elements that are impacted by estate planning and related tax strategies.

Retirement accounts may be the largest financial asset your client has. Learn to provide retirement planning input more than mere calculations. Beneficiary rules have changed. Improper choices and faulty distribution calculations can result in penalties or unnecessary taxes. Retirement benefits will be paid to beneficiaries much earlier than was required for pre-2020 deaths. Plans may require an update based on recent legislative changes and IRS interpretations. Course materials contain regulations governing plan distributions and copies of appropriate IRS forms and rulings, updated with the latest cases, rulings, regulations and legislation.

One of the most cost-effective methods for storing your files safely and economically in the cloud is with the Microsoft 365 OneDrive and SharePoint apps. If you use either or both of these cloud storage apps, this course is a "must take." There are often times when you want or need cloud-based files to be stored on your local laptop or desktop PC for application compatibility purposes. With the OneDrive Sync app, you can have the best of both worlds. You can have copies of a file stored locally and, in the cloud, simultaneously. The Sync app will update both copies of the file in real time for any changes that are made in the local or cloud copy of the file. A classic example is if you have a QuickBooks Desktop data file that you need to store locally to work with the files in QuickBooks. However, you also want the file stored in the cloud for anytime, anywhere access and enhanced security. The Sync app facilitates this scenario effortlessly. Nationally recognized accounting technology advisor and thought leader John Higgins will take you through the step-by-step process of setting up and using the Sync app. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

One of the most cost-effective methods for storing your files safely and economically in the cloud is with the Microsoft 365 OneDrive and SharePoint apps. If you use either or both of these cloud storage apps, this course is a "must take." There are often times when you want or need cloud-based files to be stored on your local laptop or desktop PC for application compatibility purposes. With the OneDrive Sync app, you can have the best of both worlds. You can have copies of a file stored locally and, in the cloud, simultaneously. The Sync app will update both copies of the file in real time for any changes that are made in the local or cloud copy of the file. A classic example is if you have a QuickBooks Desktop data file that you need to store locally to work with the files in QuickBooks. However, you also want the file stored in the cloud for anytime, anywhere access and enhanced security. The Sync app facilitates this scenario effortlessly. Nationally recognized accounting technology advisor and thought leader John Higgins will take you through the step-by-step process of setting up and using the Sync app. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Casey Crowther did not have a college education, but he had an outstanding work ethic. With little more than a pickup truck and some hand tools, he built a roofing company that grew. Over time, Casey's company employed more than 100 people and generated more than $20 million in annual revenues. With a company of that size, Casey relied upon advice from his bookkeeper when filling out financial documents. As a result of representations he made on bank statements and loan documents, authorities charged Casey with criminal behavior related to PPP loan fraud. What should an accounting professional learn from Casey's story? Stay tuned to find out! This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.