What you document matters

Understand different parts of the employee benefit plan (EBP) audit process, and learn to think holistically about your level of audit documentation. Understand the appropriate level of documentation in the performance of audit procedures of employee benefit plans, which will involve testing items that are not typically tested in audits of other types of entities.

Real-life examples

Learn from real-life examples and solutions, guided by a former employee benefit plan expert panel member and someone who performs peer reviews. Work in templates to truly understand documentation in an EBP audit, and learn best practices for documentation to incorporate into your audits.

Payroll is everywhere. It is one of the most common tasks an employer can perform and can be found embedded in nearly every facet of the business and individual tax realm. For many, it is something they encounter regularly, but without any knowledge of how it really works, so it remains a black box. Join us as we un-box the Top 10 most commonly asked questions about payroll from an employer perspective. We'll cover the answers to questions you didn't even know you had and build on the fundamentals of payroll that will help make that black box a bit more transparent. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Surveys show that the average North American company completes its monthly financial statement closing in six days. However, some companies can close their books in one day or less. You don't have to sacrifice accuracy for speed. This session will show you how to close month-end faster, better and cheaper. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The presentation includes an in-depth discussion of the when the Forms 1065 and 1120S, Schedules K-2 and K-3 must be completed, as well as important developments for filing 2021 flow-through entity tax forms and other recent developments impacting both partnership and S corporation entities. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

CPA's are responsible for understanding (1) the presence of fraudulent activity, (2) that financial reports are complete and accurate, and (3) applying the going concern principle to a business. Appropriate cybersecurity controls, processes and oversight directly impact these three areas. Fraud Bad actors can exploit systems with weak security controls to perform fraud. The increasing prevalence of hacked systems reflect this. Bad actors are stealing data, intellectual property, financial assets, and other information. Digital fraud is becoming more prevalent and can be substantially more damaging than historical types of fraud. Not only can digital fraud result in financial loss, but it can subject companies to expensive lawsuits, damage reputations and can even put a company out of business. Complete & Accurate Financial Reports Having cybersecurity controls on systems and networks is critical to ensure information reported in financial statements is complete and accurate. Data residing in financial reports is processed, stored and transmitted using IT Systems. It is important for CPA's to understand the required cybersecurity controls to prevent or detect inaccurate data in financial reports. Going Concern With an increasing volume of system hacks (e.g. Target, Experian, Sony, and most recently the US Government), it is no longer "if" you're going to get hacked, it is "When." If organizations do not have appropriate cybersecurity controls in place to protect against an attack, then a malicious hack can put them out of business. An organization's cybersecurity posture should be a factor in evaluating the Principle of Going Concern. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Personality Styles - Adapting to Different Types of Personalities for Improved Relationships and Interactions provides guidance for effectively adapting to various personality styles. Every individual has a dominant personality style, which includes relevant strengths and weaknesses. Effective interactions require individuals to adapt behaviors to complement, balance or counteract the traits of others. Note: This course is recommended as a part of a 8-hour audit skills curriculum for managers, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has responsibilities for interacting with others. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

ChatGPT is the fastest growing application in the history of technology with over 100 million users adopting it in within two months. It is a revolutionary technology that boosts the quality and efficiency of business processes in every industry. As "knowledge workers", CPAs and CFOs are positioned to be prime beneficiaries of this technology. This half day hands-on course will get you well on your way to becoming a ChatGPT expert. John Higgins, a nationally recognized advisor and educator on CPA technology, will guide you through the process of accessing ChatGPT and applying it to a variety of practical accounting, finance and tax scenarios. This course will catapult you to the top of the pyramid of CPAs who are knowledgeable in ChatGPT and you will be ready to put it to use in your day-to-day tasks. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

During this presentation, the most common mistakes made by employee benefit plan auditors, as well as plan sponsors will be identified. Best practices for handling specific issues that arise during the course of the engagement will also be explored. This discussion will help auditors recognize potential pitfalls in audit procedures/documentation and assist plan sponsors with compliance issues. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This course will review common deficiencies identified by the AICPA and state boards of accountancy. It features discussion on a variety of topics, including analytical procedures, sampling, group audits and risk assessment. We will review the areas of concern and how you can overcome them by employing best practices. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Most Staff Accountants learned Excel in college and many others learned Excel on their own, however most users never learned the important productivity tips that help them build spreadsheets more efficiently. This course will teach new and experienced users how to leverage the many productivity tools built within Excel in order to build spreadsheets with maximum effectiveness. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.