CPE Catalog & Events

Accounting Fraud & Embezzlement: Case Studies from the Trenches

Embezzlement Theft of public money Circumstances that allowed the fraud to occur

2024 Listening to the Statement of Cash Flows

Preparation of the statement of cash flows Importance of identifying sources and uses of cash in financial reporting Financial statement analysis Cash-related financial statement disclosures

Surgent's Annual Update for Defined Contribution Plans

Common risks and pitfalls associated with defined contribution plans Nuances of the fair value disclosures New reporting and disclosure requirements for the current year Results of DOL Audit Quality Study

Surgent's Controllership Skills Update - Budgeting, Forecasting, and Big Data

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 Successfully Completing an Income Tax Return for a Trust or Estate -- Form 1041

Passive activity rules for trusts including the NIIT The different types of trusts for income tax purposes (e.g. simple, complex, grantor, charitable) The critical categorization of income (taxable income vs. fiduciary accounting income) Distributable net income (DNI) and how it works The “Tier” Rules The Separate Share Rule IRC 663(b) “65-Day” Rule IRC §691(c) Deduction QSST and EBST elections How to treat excess deductions on termination Grantor trust rules and how they impact planning and return preparation The income tax side of Domestic Asset Protection Trusts

Why Cybersecurity Matters to CPAs

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Recent cybersecurity attacks, their implications, and how weak cybersecurity controls enabled their successSpecific cybersecurity controls that help prevent fraud and support data integrity of financial reportsHow an effective cybersecurity program is needed to reduce losses, prevent fraud, avoid reputational damage, and protect critical data assets

The Seven High Quality Questions that Lead to Success & Solutions

Tolerations Goal setting Gratitude Setting a 'tone' of success Priorities as a means to mindful living Reflection & Planning as tools to generate clarity & intention Connecting with the wise resource often overlooked in business models  

New Businesses - Advising Clients on Related Tax Issues

Surgent's Guide and Update to Compilations, Reviews, and Preparations

SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, and updates to SSARS No. 21 due to the issuance of SSARS No. 23, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services SSARS No. 22, Compilation of Pro Forma Financial Information SSARS No. 24, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services -- 2018 SSARS No. 25, Materiality in a Review of Financial Statements and Adverse Conclusions Sample comprehensive engagement work programs for preparation, compilation, and review engagements

K2's 2023 Accessing And Managing Data In Excel

Using Power Query to link data into Excel Manipulating Excel data with data transformations Creating data models using Power Query Examples of common and useful transformations

Systems Thinking for CPAs 2024

• Pattern recognition and interconnectedness • Foresight • Emergence • Complexity • System mapping

Audit 102: Professional Skepticism - Finding Fraud and Error

The major topics covered in this course include:The importance of professional skepticism, especially when performing audit or other attest servicesSpecific fraud responsibilities in a financial statement auditThe varying levels of persuasiveness of evidence to support assurance conclusions or opinions

Understanding the Form 990 and its Preparation Prerequisites

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Overview of the Form 990's design and goals in play upon the Core Form and tack-on SchedulesAddress of the definition's key factors that make a third-party organization a "related organization"Exploring the definitions of parties who are to be disclosed as managers at Part VII-A (i.e., as a TDOKE -- a Trustee/Director (TD)/Officer (O)/Key Employee (KE) - or as a High 5) and understanding what is the definition and measure of "reportable compensation"Working with the definitions of "family member" and "independence" as same are used in Parts VI and Schedule LApplying the definition of "business relationship" as same is used in Part VISequencing of the form's preparation tasks and who to go to for informationWorking with the Board of Directors to have them understand what the completed Form 990 conveys to the public/regulators

Surgent's Yellow Book and Single Audits: How to Stay in Good Graces and Out of Bad Places with Your Peer Reviewer

The key requirements and audit areas that peer reviewers hone in on when reviewing Yellow Book and single audit engagements Avoiding common pitfalls seen in Yellow Book and single audits How to improve your performance on Yellow Book and single audits while staying in good graces with your peer reviewer

Creating a Culture of Trust: Build Loyal and Engaged Teams

Culture Trust

Ethics in the Real World - Living Values for Today

Four root causes of unethical business behavior Eight steps to create an ethical business environment                 1.  Establish a code of conduct and make it public                 2.  Hire and promote people with a well-grounded sense of  personal ethics                 3.  Interpret your code for ordinary circumstances                 4.  Communicate expectations for employees to act in an ethical manner                 5.  Lead by example                 6.  Teach employees the basic tools of ethical decision making                 7.  Back your code with enforcement                 8.  Factor values into every important organizational activity and  decision The financial manager’s responsibility to lead and implement good ethics in his/her organization

Progressive Management Accounting

A taxonomy of accounting: tax, financial, managerial A spectrum of direct and indirect absorption costing Fact-based Data with Activity Based Costing (ABC ) Why do we need advanced management accounting techniques, such as ABC? How the ABC cost assignment network structure connects costs to products and sales channels Learn to use ABC to manage product, service-line, channel, and customer profitability Understand two views of costs: (1) process view versus (2) product view Comparing ABC with time-driven ABC, resource consumption accounting (RCA), lean accounting, and other costing techniques Operational Costing to Optimize Process Costs - How driver-based budgets and rolling financial forecasts lead to productivity improvement and cost reduction Applying “Attributes” to assess ”value-added costs” and “costs of quality (COQ)” The Shift in ROI’s Source from Tangible to Intangible Assets Increasing the ROI from information – with Corporate Performance Management (CPM) as a Value-Multiplier Accelerating the Rate of Adoption for Implementing and CPM Understand the barriers that slow the adoption rate of CPM: technical, misperceptions, model design, and social / cultural How to overcome behavioral resistance to change

Transforming Strategic & Financial Management with ChatGPT - Insights for CPAs, CFOs and Controllers

Recognize the variety of ChatGPT uses in accounting. Determine how to use ChatGPT. Identify how ChatGPT improves customer, vendor, and industry research. Recognize how ChatGPT aids in financial benchmarking. Identify how ChatGPT can assist in financial analysis, budgeting and forecasting.

Talk This Way - Communication Skills for the CPA

The major topics covered in this course include:Pervasive best practices for effective communicationSpecific strategies for written materialsUnique considerations for verbal presentationsThe importance of recursive revisionTips for successPitfalls to avoid

Taxation of Judgements and Settlements

Types of damages or remedies that can be awarded or agreed upon pursuant to litigation. Review of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations governing the taxation of various types of litigation payments. Suggestions for drafting pleadings or settlement agreements.