CPE & Event Calendar

This course delivers a comprehensive, practitioner-focused analysis of 401(k) plans, emphasizing rules, planning opportunities, and common execution risks faced by employees, executives, and business owners. Participants will develop a detailed understanding of plan mechanics, contribution limits, testing requirements, and timing rules, with particular attention to avoiding overfunding, coordinating multiple plans, and maximizing employer benefits. The course examines employee and employer contribution structures, including elective deferrals, catch-up contributions, after-tax contributions, matching and profit-sharing formulas, and special coordination issues for executives, multiple employers, and solo 401(k) plans. Participants learn how to identify and implement advanced strategies such as Roth vs. traditional optimization, mega Roth planning, in-plan conversions, and effective use of employer stock through net unrealized appreciation (NUA). Distribution planning is a core focus, including tax treatment, early distribution penalties, rollover mechanics, and basis tracking across pre-tax, Roth, and after-tax sources. The course emphasizes practical decision-making when evaluating lump sum vs. annuity options, executing rollovers correctly, managing withholding and tax payments, and applying penalty exceptions. Special scenarios, including inherited 401(k) accounts, trust beneficiaries, and Roth-specific timing rules, are also addressed.

Clients often ask accounting and finance professionals whether they have the "best" pension plan and whether they are using it to its maximum advantage. This program explains how various pension plans work and analyzes why a small or medium-sized business owner would choose one plan over another.

Many partnerships and S corporations are now required to complete the voluminous Schedules K-2 and K-3 to report foreign-related tax information. Updated for the 2024 tax year, this course is an essential guide for tax preparers on how to identify which entities need to complete these schedules and how to identify which parts are applicable to a given taxpayer. The filing requirements are broad and often not very intuitive, catching many practitioners unaware that more schedules and parts are applicable to more taxpayers than anticipated. This course includes a deep dive into the domestic filing exception, a discussion of filing requirements of each part of Schedule K-2, and numerous examples of common taxpayer scenarios. Please note: Surgent also offers a companion course, "Schedules K-2 and K-3: Preparation of Forms" (KPF2).

Many of us expect to use logic when it comes to how we allocate our investments. The adage of "buy low, sell high" is a saying that makes logical sense. So, why do we always seem to do the opposite? Every day we are faced with decisions, and we are often influenced by two seemingly opposing voices that come from two different parts of our brain. The frontal cortex processes lots of information to help us make logical and informed choices. But there's also a small part of the brain, known as the reflexive brain, that is responsible for emotions and survival instincts. Often, this reflexive brain can have a detrimental effect on the way we handle our investments. This course will discuss some behavioral biases that affect our financial decisions. As humans, we need to be aware of how our reflexive behavior impacts our investment decision-making ability. By uncovering and understanding these biases, we may have a better chance of meeting our long-term financial goals.

This course provides tax and accounting professionals with a comprehensive framework for transitioning from a compliance-driven busy season model to a sustainable, year-round advisory practice. Participants will explore strategies for expanding services into tax, financial, and estate planning. The course addresses both transitioning existing clients and attracting new, higher-value clients while improving efficiency, client value, and revenue stability. 

Embark on a journey to master Power BI, a powerful tool for data analysis and business intelligence, in our comprehensive course, "Get Started with Power BI." This course is meticulously designed for professionals who seek to understand the full spectrum of Power BI capabilities, including its integration with Excel's Power BI features like Power Pivot and Power Query, and its comparison with standalone Power BI tools such as Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, and Power BI Report Server. In the first part of the course, participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of Power BI. This includes an overview of Power BI's interface, key features, and its seamless integration with Excel. The course will cover Excel's Power BI tools - Power Pivot, for advanced data modeling, and Power Query, for efficient data transformation and preparation. This segment is essential for understanding how Power BI extends and enhances the data processing and analytical capabilities of Excel. The second section of the course delves into the standalone Power BI tools. Here, participants will explore Power BI Desktop for creating complex data models and sophisticated reports, Power BI Service for cloud-based collaboration and sharing, and Power BI Report Server for on-premises report deployment. This part of the course will focus on the unique features and strengths of these standalone tools, providing attendees with the skills to leverage Power BI in a variety of business contexts. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

In every audit, the auditor must identify and assess the risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. This process includes understanding the entity and its environment, including its internal control, thereby providing a basis for designing and implementing responses to the assessed risks of material misstatement. This program explores efficient ways to conduct audits (primarily for private companies), including discussing the applicable standards and their requirements.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued a new accounting standard for leases. This new standard—ASC Topic 842'replaces the existing ASC Topic 840, changes the accounting for operating leases (requiring capitalization in the financial statements), and upgrades many other lease accounting and reporting aspects.

Enhance your career with an invaluable skill set in this two-part series, where you'll explore the cost system of a real company from the ground up. Learn how to link variable and base costs, identify fluctuating and semi-fixed direct costs, and accurately trace direct materials, labor, and labor burden to products. Gain practical tools for budgeting, setting standard costs, and seamlessly embedding Activity-Based Costing (ABC) into a comprehensive cost system. Be sure to also register for Part 2: World Class Cost Accounting: A Practical Application - Part 2

Accurately identifying and testing controls over compliance is critical, yet it remains a common deficiency highlighted in peer reviews. This course offers a comprehensive overview of internal controls over compliance, with a focus on their application to Single Audits. Participants will learn how to effectively align internal controls with specific compliance requirements. Additionally, we will address one of the most frequent findings in audits of governmental entities receiving federal grants: the misidentification of controls and the confusion between compliance and control processes. This course will help clarify the distinction, equipping you with the tools to enhance audit quality and ensure compliance effectiveness. 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 allows you to get reacquainted with the statement of cash flows. We will refresh your skills regarding both the preparation and utilization of the statement of cash flows. Significant emphasis will be placed on the informational role of the statement of cash flows and insights that can be obtained using the statement of cash flows in concert with the other elements of a company's accrual-basis financial statements. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Thsi course provides a comprehensive overview of Written Information Security Plans (WISP), focusing on their purpose, requirements, and implentation. All PTIN holders must certify they have a WISP prior to renewal, along with certifying the training of employees, staff and contractors as necessary. Participants will explore the history and legal foundation of WISP under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and how compliances is enforsed through IRS Circular 230, AICPA Statments of Standards, The American Bar Associations and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Each course in the Fraud Stories Series will examine a fraud case in detail. What factors lead the company to go astray" What could have prevented the fraud" What lesson can be learned" A new case presented Live at every session! Fraud Stories Series September 2026 Fraud Stories Series November 2026 Fraud Stories Series January 2027 Fraud Stories Series March 2027

Microsoft Excel is perhaps the most used business application today. Yet, many Excel users remain bogged down in yesterday's spreadsheet practices. Participate in this session to master ten terrific features you should use to enhance your productivity with Excel.

If you work for or with not-for-profit entities and have questions about the IRS Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, and the related schedules, this is the course for you! The program focuses on common issues that professionals will likely encounter when they prepare the Form 990 and additional tax rules applicable to not-for-profits.

Be the go-to person on financial statement compilation and preparation engagements. Specifically designed for those performing preparation and compilation engagements, this course will provide you with a hands-on application for performing preparation and compilation engagements under AR-C Section 70 and 80, respectively. You will learn the ins and outs of relevant sections of the SSARS related to preparation and compilation engagements with a focus on how recently issued updates to SSARS No. 21 impact these engagements. More importantly, you will be provided practical examples and illustrations to help you effectively and efficiently perform those engagements, including a detailed discussion of the reporting requirements under AR-C 80 related to compilation engagement. Lastly, the course will review recent peer review feedback on these types of engagements, highlighting areas where you can improve engagement quality.

Accounting and finance managers and executives must demonstrate sound technical and analytical necessary for personal growth and organizational success. This course will provide insights into the most critical technical and analytical skills needed by CFOs and Controllers - or those that want to be!

Both businesses and individual clients face major changes as a result of new legislation, and tax professionals face the considerable challenge of delivering effective planning advice and services to address this myriad of recent developments. This course addresses this challenge and also encompasses the latest cases and rulings applicable to individual and business clients. Continually updated to reflect enacted legislation. Please Note: Due to content overlap, it is recommended that this course NOT be taken together with BIT4.

Auditing not-for-profits isn't the same as auditing for-profits, so why treat them alike? This course gives you the tools to recognize what makes not-for-profits unique and shows you how to incorporate those differences into your audit approach. With practical insights and 20 focused exercises, you'll learn how to plan and perform not-for-profit audits more effectively, efficiently, and with greater confidence.

Poorly handled conflicts can lead to break downs in communication, reduced morale, and higher turnover. However, when managed well, conflict has the potential to bring value to the organization and the team. Conflict is a costly and often mishandled occurrence in the workplace. Successful conflict resolution occurs by listening to and providing opportunities to meet each side needs, and adequately addressing their interests so that they are each satisfied with the outcome. In this you will learn the different conflict modes, how to choose the appropriate strategy for your situation, and how relationships impact your ability to promote the positive outcomes and minimize the negative outcomes of conflict.