CPE Catalog & Events

The law is clear that to avoid liability for unlawful harassment claims, employers must take preventive steps. One such preventative step is effective, professional training. This course includes information specific to New York employees.

While great attention has been placed on new SASs, the AICPA has also issued new guidance on attestation and SSARS engagements which will soon be effective and are likely to have a significant impact on how such engagements are performed. In this course, we'll review the key features of SSAEs 19, 21, and 22, which provide greater flexibility for accountants in performing agreed-upon procedures and examination engagements by eliminating the requirement for a written management assertion. Next, the course will discuss SSAE 20's updated definition of materiality. Lastly, the course will discuss the key changes coming to SSARS engagements for 2021 reporting due to the effective date of SSARS No. 25, which conforms US review standards to international standards and makes a variety of other changes to relevant SSARS guidance.

This course provides an overview of non-GAAP financial measures with a particular emphasis on comments from the SEC, the FASB, as well as comment letter analysis from several of the Big Four accounting firms. Non-GAAP financial measures continue to rank at the top of the most frequent comment letters issued by the SEC. As a result, it's important to understand the guidance with respect to these measures to ensure that an entity's financial statements remain GAAP compliant and are not misleading.

For many businesses, preparing financial statements using a special purpose framework may provide an alternative to the complexity of U.S. GAAP. This course will provide you with an overview and hands-on application on preparing financial statements using common special purpose frameworks such as tax basis and cash or modified cash basis financial statements. You will learn the unique measurement and disclosure requirements of various Special Purpose Framework (SPF) options using example financial statements and illustrative disclosures. The course also includes common practice issues encountered when preparing SPF financial statements, including disclosure and reporting requirements. We will also review recent updates to both audit and SSARS standards that impact engagements performed on SPF financial statements.

Major programs are critical to the single audit process as they are the programs for which the auditor will be performing additional internal control work on and ultimately issuing a compliance opinion on as part of the single audit. This course is designed to help you understand and excel in determining major programs.

Cryptocurrency is heading mainstream. According to a recent study conducted by New York Digital Investment Group, there are 46 million bitcoin holders in the US, and institutions have also shown increased interest in this space. The rising popularity of cryptocurrency and the inclusion of the virtual currency question on the front and center of Form 1040 have made cryptocurrency a subject that tax practitioners cannot afford to ignore anymore. This course is designed to walk you through tax implications of common cryptocurrency-related transactions (trading, mining, spending, staking, etc.) and how to successfully service clients affiliated with cryptocurrency by using a tool like CoinTracker. This session also covers current developments surrounding this topic and some of the unique tax planning opportunities in the crypto space such as tax loss harvesting without being subject to wash sale rules, tax lot ID optimization (FIFO, LIFO, and HIFO), self-directed IRAs, etc.

It is no secret that accounting firms, like many other organizations, have begun launching operations in the metaverse. For those unsure, the metaverse is a digital or virtual space where participants simulate a host of activities ranging from shopping to entertainment and business transactions. Why wouldn't accounting firms and other professionals want to get in early on this new frontier? All types of businesses have begun purchasing and setting up shop in this new virtual world. These are no small endeavors - professionals are creating business plans to operate successfully in the virtual world that started off originally as a niche format for gamers. Accounting firms are starting to announce their acquisition of virtual real estate, and some are paying a premium to obtain prime locations. To operate successfully in the metaverse, professionals need to understand the environment and the rules of the game. This course provides an introduction to the metaverse and an overview of opportunities, risks and rewards for professionals who wish to stay relevant in the ever-expanding virtual world. Participants will walk away with an understanding of where we are in this rapidly developing space, plus gain insights on how to establish a presence or advise clients who wish to explore metaverse opportunities.

Many experts say that an organization's culture is the single most important thing that will determine its success. Assuming that's true, it's necessary for the finance professional to understand the effect that the finance function has on that culture. This program will take a good look at what causes a better culture, both within the organization and within the department. Then, we will examine how the finance professional can positively influence the culture within the financial function and how that will affect the entire organization.

Financial accounting can be complex. An integral part of a senior associate's job responsibilities is to perform effective and efficient research using the FASB's Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). In this session, participants will be introduced to the ASC, including how it is structured, organized, and updated. They will also learn about other information that can be accessed from the ASC. Next, the session will cover best practices for effective research using the ASC, including the ASC's search functionality and other tools that will make accounting research easier to perform. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 4.)

Analytical review procedures are performed in the preliminary and final stages of the audit. Auditors may also choose to perform analytical procedures as substantive tests. It is important to properly design and perform the procedures to ensure an effective and efficient audit engagement. This module will provide detailed guidance and methods for performing these techniques. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 2.)

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) states that if inventory is material to the financial statements, the auditor should generally obtain evidence regarding the existence and condition of inventory by attending the entity's physical inventory count. The types of inventory an entity might have varies from industry to industry as does the risk of fraud or error related to inventory counts. This module will discuss the procedures and risks involved in observing an entity's physical inventory. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 1.)

CPA firms generally perform a significant number of preparation, compilation and review engagements under the Statements of Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS). Compilations and reviews are performed as attest engagements where preparation engagements do not require independence and as such are considered non-attest engagements. Reviews, like audits are considered assurance services. Reviews provide limited assurance that financial statements are free of material misstatement. In addition, the CPA may perform other non-attest services, such as bookkeeping. CPAs must fully understand the professional responsibilities related to each of these varying levels of services, in order to effectively and efficiently satisfy engagement objectives and ensure compliance with professional standards relative to independence. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 1.)

Be the go-to person for financial statement compilation engagements. Specifically designed for compilation practitioners and their staff, this course will provide you with a hands-on application for performing compilation engagements under AR-C Section 80. You will learn the ins and outs of relevant sections of SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, the most significant change to the SSARS since their inception over thirty years ago. This course will bring you up to date on all SSARSs requirements and guidance as it relates to compilations, including SSARS No. 25, effective for 2021 reporting. The course will also provide an overview of the different services that an accountant can provide under the SSARS and review the requirements of AR-C Section 60 as it relates to compilation engagements.

Be the go-to person for financial statement preparation engagements. Specifically designed for preparation practitioners and their staff, this course will provide you with a hands-on application for performing preparation engagements under AR-C Section 70. You will learn the ins and outs of relevant sections of SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, the most significant change to the SSARS since their inception over thirty years ago. This course will bring you up to date on all SSARSs requirements and guidance as it relates to preparation, including SSARS No. 25, effective for 2021 reporting. The course will also provide an overview of the different services that an accountant can provide under the SSARS and review the requirements of AR-C Section 60 as it relates to preparation engagements.

Did 2020 show us that planning doesn't work? It might seem that way. But, obviously some organizations survived far better than others due to their ability to handle unexpected change. Sick and tired of taking CPE that has no practical application or just regurgitates the same information over and over? Join us for this practical course, which will present a fresh approach to planning and strategy formulation for your organization. Often thought of as a painful process, planning and strategy formulation is probably one of the most important processes any organization undertakes in order to achieve financial success. We'll explore this fresh approach to many different planning stages, including the marketing plan, the technology plan, the capital plan, the five-year operating plan and much more! The pandemic has shown us that our planning process must be far nimbler and allow our organization to shift rapidly. Today's dynamic economic environment requires much more careful planning and strategy execution. Come find out how to make that happen for your organization.

Power BI Desktop is the authoring tool for the Power BI Ecosystem and is an essential component of the Power BI ecosystem. Power BI Desktop is a free application that is available for download. This one-hour course will demonstrate the capabilities of Power BI Desktop as your company continues its journey to increasing its data skills and data literacy.

A data-driven culture can only occur when there is collaboration, communication, and cooperation between everyone in your organization. Collaboration can only occur in the Power BI ecosystem when your organization works in the cloud with Power BI.com, also known as the Power BI Service, a software as a service available on the Power Platform. This one-hour course will demonstrate the capabilities of Power BI.com as your company continues its journey to becoming a data-driven organization.

Using a variety of hands-on exercises, this course enables users to learn how to add columns using Power Query (Excel version). Power Query is an "ETL" tool that extracts, transforms, and loads data. This tool has a user-friendly interface that enables the Excel user to connect to data sets they previously did not have access to. It also enables powerful data transformations without requiring any coding and will save the Excel user time in performing their cleanup of data. This course is the fifth in a twelve-part series, Power Query: Beginning Data Analytics for the Excel User. The series is designed so the Excel user can learn the functionality of Power Query and the many benefits of this powerful tool. Each 1-hour webcast has hands-on examples to enable the Excel user to experience the active learning of Power Query.

Append queries combine two or more queries into one output query that is a combination of the originals. This course discusses best practices for creating append queries using Power Query (Excel version) and includes hands-on exercises to enable the user to demonstrate what they have learned. Power Query is an "ETL" tool that extracts, transforms, and loads data. This tool has a user-friendly interface that enables the Excel user to connect to data sets they previously did not have access to. It also enables powerful data transformations without requiring any coding and will save the Excel user time in performing their cleanup of data. This course is the seventh in a twelve-part series, Power Query: Beginning Data Analytics for the Excel User. The series is designed so the Excel user can learn the functionality of Power Query and the many benefits of this powerful tool. Each 1-hour webcast has hands-on examples to enable the Excel user to experience the active learning of Power Query.

This final course in the series covers advanced features in Power Query (Excel version), including functions and parameters and basics of data modeling in Power BI and Power Pivot. Multiple hands-on examples help to reinforce these concepts. Power Query is an "ETL" tool that extracts, transforms, and loads data. This tool has a user-friendly interface that enables the Excel user to connect to data sets they previously did not have access to. It also enables powerful data transformations without requiring any coding and will save the Excel user time in performing their cleanup of data. This course is the last in a twelve-part series, Power Query: Beginning Data Analytics for the Excel User. The series is designed so the Excel user can learn the functionality of Power Query and the many benefits of this powerful tool. Each 1-hour webcast has hands-on examples to enable the Excel user to experience the active learning of Power Query.