CPE & Event Calendar

The difference between star performers and average ones in leadership roles is attributable largely to emotional intelligence (EQ). It’s surprising, then, that EQ is underrated as an essential ingredient for success in life and leadership. This presentation highlights the importance of EQ and provides participants with actionable tools to develop better relationships within and outside of the workplace, build healthy teams, and navigate constant change.

Risk-based factors are becoming exponentially important considerations for accountants in both public practice and industry. We examine the nature of risks for today's enterprises while exploring the role of internal controls for mitigating business risks. We also explore SAS 145 and other guidance aimed at risk considerations for professional engagements. Public and private accountants will enhance their capabilities for assessing and addressing risks faced by today's organizations. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Cash is essential to every business, and is often one of the first accounts audit staff are exposed to. This course will cover the basics of auditing cash, including the related audit assertions, risks, & threats to the cash balance. During this course, we will also highlight the various substantive auditing procedures that staff should perform, and also walk through some real-world examples. 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! New features in Excel provide tremendous opportunities to improve Excel-based operational and financial reports. For example, Data Models, Power Query, Data Analysis Expressions, Power Pivot, and many others can help you create more powerful summaries and schedules in less time than ever. Bundle these tools with some of Excel's "legacy" features, and you have significant new opportunities to improve your Excel-based reporting environments. In this fast-paced seminar, you will learn about the importance of using Power Query to link data into Excel data models and how you can manage these data models to facilitate better and more efficient reporting. Additionally, you will learn how to incorporate Key Performance Indicators, Slicers, and Timelines into your reports to enhance the analytics and understandability of the data. Further, you will learn best practices to format your spreadsheets quickly and efficiently to give them a polished and professional appearance. This course should be at the top of your professional development list if you use Excel for any reporting process.This course qualifies for reimbursement through the state’s Workforce Training Express Fund. Massachusetts firms/companies with fewer than 50 staff can be reimbursed up to 100% of the cost of training and firms/companies with 50-100 employees can be reimbursed up to 50% of the cost of training. You must register for the course and apply for reimbursement through the Massachusetts Workforce Training Express Fund website a minimum of three weeks prior to the start of the course to be eligible. The course code for this program is C-2138. To learn more, click here or contact Julia Ekelund at jekelund@necpas.org.

You and I have a responsibility to our organizations and to the public to be ethical. We cannot forget this responsibility and this responsibility is constant. One lapse can cause profound issues that last. Ethics and trust are intertwined, no one follows a ‘leader’ who is not trusted. We will not focus on the negative and show the problems caused – rather, we focus on what and how to set the example for others to follow. This seminar outlines the seven components of trust, and how we should use these components daily.

The topic of fraud continues to be on the radar of investors, shareholders, and regulators. Despite a Kroll Advisors survey showing a decrease of corporate fraud incidents in recent years, new fraud methods are continually being devised and identified thanks in large part to advances in technology and IT infrastructure. Compliance professionals and auditors are not expected to have the expertise of forensic investigators but should have working knowledge of the aspects of fraudulent activities and maintain a skeptical mind when it comes to reviewing potential violations. This course provides a practitioner’s perspective of what your company should include in their internal audit programs and processes to mitigate and avoid fraud. We’ll cover: The psychology of fraud and connection to the fraud triangle and fraud diamond The International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) for internal auditors Employing the COSO 2013 towards fraud Rightsizing the internal audit team's responsibilities Risk assessment considerations Reporting procedures

Understanding the complexities of estate and gift taxation can be challenging for many financial professionals, especially those who lack direct experience in this area. In this comprehensive course, participants will gain a solid foundation in Federal estate and gift tax law, providing them with the necessary tools to confidently handle tax compliance issues related to Forms 706 and 709. By exploring the details of the Internal Revenue Code sections pertinent to estate and gift taxation, attendees will gain a thorough understanding of key concepts, including deductions, valuations, and tax credits. This practical knowledge will not only enhance their expertise but also empower them to provide effective tax planning strategies for their clients. Throughout the course, participants will investigate essential topics such as the valuation of assets, deductions for funeral and administrative expenses, charitable and marital deductions, and the calculation of tax credits. By mastering these critical areas, financial professionals will be better equipped to navigate the challenges of estate and gift taxation, ultimately enabling them to provide comprehensive and effective tax planning services for their clients. Whether you're looking to expand your expertise or deepen your understanding of tax compliance issues, this course offers invaluable insights and practical knowledge that can immediately be applied in your practice. **Please Note:  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to kori.herrera@acpen.com.

The purpose of this program is to discuss the ethical mandates that govern the conduct of tax practitioners. The program focuses on the ethical pronouncements of the IRS in Circular 230, as well as the preparer penalty provisions set forth in the Internal Revenue Code. Please note: This ethics course does not cover state-specific issues and so is not applicable in states that require ethics courses to include specific state laws and regulations. Please check with your state board prior to registering for this program if you are in doubt about whether this program satisfies your state's ethics requirements.

You could pay $0 for this course!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 in 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. Massachusetts firms/companies with fewer than 50 staff can be reimbursed up to 100% of the cost of training and firms/companies with 50-100 employees can be reimbursed up to 50% of the cost of training. You must register for the course and apply for reimbursement through the Massachusetts Workforce Training Express Fund website a minimum of three weeks prior to the start of the course to be eligible. The course code for this program is C-4000. To learn more, click here or contact Julia Ekelund at jekelund@necpas.org

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.

Owners of S corporations and partnerships are subject to numerous limitations on pass-through losses, each with unique rules, applications, and complexities. With the increase in popularity of pass-through business entities, it is essential for CPAs to understand the complexities and interactions of these pass-through loss limitations.

The IRS began replenishing its workforce with the additional funding only to have to terminate workers or lay them off due to mandated federal workforce reductions. The IRS trains its audit workforce by examining the tax returns of individuals and small businesses. As the IRS continues to examine tax returns, Accounting, Tax, and Financial Professionals need clients to understand the need for documentation and procedures to substantiate what IRS examiners are pursuing. Learn the high audit risk areas and ways to help clients survive an IRS audit with little or no change. It is critical for Accounting, Tax, and Financial Professionals in public accounting to understand the risk to clients and to themselves in tax return preparation and planning since the IRS continues to increase its audit coverage and is examining more taxpayers than it has in the recent past.

If you work with governments or not-for-profits, mastering the fundamentals of Yellow Book and single audits is essential. This beginner-friendly course breaks down the key requirements of the Yellow Book and the Uniform Guidance for Federal Awards into clear, manageable concepts. You'll learn the essentials of performing Yellow Book and single audits with confidence—building a strong foundation, boosting your understanding, and equipping you to conduct audits efficiently and effectively.

Creating a culture of safety in a workplace requires attention in many different areas.  We will bring these areas into focus and provide attendees with information on how to make their individual workplaces safer for everyone. 

Since 1919, the Internal Revenue Service had a civil and criminal function in the United States tax system. Little do people know, the IRS has an elite criminal function that started with five United States Postal Inspectors. From its early days in taking down Al Capone to now solving cybercrimes, the IRS special agents are tasked with investigating tax fraud, money laundering, and other white collar crimes. This presentation will show you the importance of this law enforcement function, the training, techniques, expertise, and actions that cause them to be known as the "world's finest financial investigators." This presentation has been prepared by a 20 year veteran with the IRS-Criminal Investigation. The presenter investigated crimes, and trained and mentored other special agents. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Data security and privacy issues persist as a significant concern for businesses of all sizes. No matter where you look, the numbers are bad - really bad! But that doesn't mean you can't take steps to reduce these risks. In this session, you will learn about the key security and privacy risks facing businesses today and the steps you can take to mitigate these risks. This session begins with a review of how cybercriminals target businesses of all sizes and the associated costs of these attacks. From there, you will progress to discussions of practical tools, policies, and other solutions that can be used to mitigate cybersecurity risks to prudently acceptable levels. This is a "must-see" session for all concerned about data security and how to mitigate threats to sensitive and confidential data.

AU-C Section 315 requires the auditor to gain an understanding of the entity and its environment and the entity's internal controls in order to design appropriate audit procedures. This course will review the key requirements of COSO which is one of the most widely used internal control frameworks. We'll also review the limitations of internal controls. Additionally, this course will introduce the risk assessment process and the various audit procedures to evaluate controls and to determine whether to test the operating effectiveness of controls. 

Gerald Ford once said that "[n]othing in life is more important that the ability to communicate effectively." Public speaking remains a centuries-old skill that allows individuals to effectively communicate both at a personal and professional level. The benefits of good public speaking run long, whether it be the ability to persuade others, lead a team, or encourage critical thinking. This course is designed to refresh and refine speaking skills for professionals. Through this webinar, participants will gain a better understanding of the core skills of how to communicate effectively in groups — big or small. The webinar is intended to help those who already speak in public better improve their skills, while at the same time teaching more novice speakers how to approach a task that so many professionals dread — speaking in front of others.

When real property is sold for a gain, we always try to find ways to defer recognizing income so that it won't be necessary to send a check to Uncle Sam. There is a provision within the Internal Revenue Code that allows the taxpayer to defer recognition of immediate taxable gain in the year of sale known as a "like-kind exchange." Knowing how and when to utilize this provision makes the Accounting and Finance Professionals very valuable to either their client or the entity they work for. We will also discuss recent proposals that could impact the future of this provision. Please Note: due to overlap with the ISL4 course, customers should not take both.

Most leadership development focuses on a single direction within the organizational hierarchy: downstream to subordinates. While it is important to be a good boss, leadership is much more than that. The best leaders learn to lead well in all directions. They lead upward to superiors and across among peers throughout the organization. And it all starts with self-leadership. This often overlooked or misunderstood leadership principle is essential to build a thriving and productive culture. This topic is based on Jon’s book, Mission-Critical Leadership: How Smart Managers Lead Well in All Directions.