CPE Catalog & Events

This course provides an overview of goodwill impairment testing. The accounting and reporting requirements related to goodwill are prescribed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in ASC Topic 350-20. This course focuses on topics such as the initial recognition of goodwill and subsequent measurement requirements including the accounting alternative allowed for certain eligible entities. This course also addresses the disclosure requirements for goodwill and is current through the issuance of ASU 2019-06.

George Washington once wrote, "We ought not to look back, unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dear bought experience." The cost of fraud, dearly paid by governments and nonprofits, is too severe not to learn and profit from. In this course, we will look back at real-world government and nonprofit frauds and derive useful controls to stop them. The course materials utilize a highly illustrative and innovative format. Over 15 focused exercises are included to provide an enhanced working knowledge of fraud and anti-fraud controls to both auditors and industry professionals.

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George Washington once wrote, "We ought not to look back, unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dear bought experience." The cost of fraud, dearly paid by governments and nonprofits, is too severe not to learn and profit from. In this course, we will look back at real-world government and nonprofit frauds and derive useful controls to stop them. The course materials utilize a highly illustrative and innovative format. Over 15 focused exercises are included to provide an enhanced working knowledge of fraud and anti-fraud controls to both auditors and industry professionals.

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Specifically designed for preparation, compilation, and review practitioners, this course will provide you with a comprehensive review and hands-on application for performing financial statement preparation, compilation, and review engagements. You will learn the ins and outs of applying SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, as well as the additional guidance related to SSARS engagements through the issuance of SSARS Nos. 22-25 by the ARSC. The course will also review recent peer review feedback on SSARS engagements, providing insights on how to successfully apply this guidance. Not only will this course bring you up to date on SSARSs requirements and guidance, but more importantly, it will provide you with practical examples and illustrations to help you effectively and efficiently perform compilation, preparation, and review engagements.

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Specifically designed for preparation, compilation, and review practitioners, this course will provide you with a comprehensive review and hands-on application for performing financial statement preparation, compilation, and review engagements. You will learn the ins and outs of applying SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, as well as the additional guidance related to SSARS engagements through the issuance of SSARS Nos. 22-25 by the ARSC. The course will also review recent peer review feedback on SSARS engagements, providing insights on how to successfully apply this guidance. Not only will this course bring you up to date on SSARSs requirements and guidance, but more importantly, it will provide you with practical examples and illustrations to help you effectively and efficiently perform compilation, preparation, and review engagements.

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This program discusses, in a practical way, how an S corporation shareholder calculates their stock and loan basis on Form 7203. Form 7203 is the new IRS Form on which a shareholder is sometimes required to calculate their stock and loan basis. This topic is particularly important when an S corporation has a loss and the shareholders wish to know whether they are entitled to fully utilize the loss that has been allocated to them against their other income.

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Employment taxes are often overlooked as an area where more planning may be effective. Payroll taxes have become an increasing burden for the average business and IRS penalties for noncompliance have risen dramatically in recent years. As a result, they have also been subject to employer incentives. The Service has announced that uncovering noncompliance by employers ranks high on its audit list. This course presents an overview of employee versus independent contractor criteria, the federal payroll taxes form, Form 1099, and related compliance issues.

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Employment taxes are often overlooked as an area where more planning may be effective. Payroll taxes have become an increasing burden for the average business and IRS penalties for noncompliance have risen dramatically in recent years. As a result, they have also been subject to employer incentives. The Service has announced that uncovering noncompliance by employers ranks high on its audit list. This course presents an overview of employee versus independent contractor criteria, the federal payroll taxes form, Form 1099, and related compliance issues.

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Many tax clients with losses from their S corporations, partnerships, and multiple-member LLCs treated as partnerships will want to use these losses to offset their other income from other sources. This program explains when, why, and how the at-risk rules apply to allow or to prevent the owner of a pass-through entity from taking a loss from a pass-through entity and using it to offset other income. This program is extremely helpful for anyone with pass-through entity clients.

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Effective January 1, 2024, an estimated 32.6 million entities will be required to report information about their beneficial owners to FinCEN as part of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). In an effort to combat money laundering and other illegal activities, the law provides harsh penalties for the failure to report the required information. This reporting specifically targets small businesses and holding entities, creating opportunities for accountants, tax practitioners, and other business advisors to expand their service offerings. The reports require the listing of all "beneficial owners," and they are imprecisely defined, possibly requiring an exercise of judgement. Therefore, proper education of professionals and business owners is paramount for accurate reporting. The course includes an overview of the CTA and a detailed discussion of what information needs to be reported to FinCEN.

While the effective date of Topic 606 has passed for companies, there will always be a need for a comprehensive review of the accounting related to revenue recognition, including recently issued changes to this guidance. Whether you are looking to improve your revenue recognition processes, benchmark your financial statement disclosures against your peer group, or assess the impact of changes to your revenue recognition processes due to COVID-19, this course will provide you with the information you need to apply Topic 606 in this current environment. This course will review the basic Topic 606 five-step model and provide specific implementation guidance and examples. It will cover the presentation and disclosure requirements for Topic 606, including the private company disclosure relief available under Topic 606, and provide disclosure examples. Lastly, the course will discuss best practices, lessons learned, and ways to improve the business process when recognizing revenue going forward. Even though implementing Topic 606 is behind us, it is still possible to improve the processes that drive revenue recognition and this course will assist you in doing that.

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While the effective date of Topic 606 has passed for companies, there will always be a need for a comprehensive review of the accounting related to revenue recognition, including recently issued changes to this guidance. Whether you are looking to improve your revenue recognition processes, benchmark your financial statement disclosures against your peer group, or assess the impact of changes to your revenue recognition processes due to COVID-19, this course will provide you with the information you need to apply Topic 606 in this current environment. This course will review the basic Topic 606 five-step model and provide specific implementation guidance and examples. It will cover the presentation and disclosure requirements for Topic 606, including the private company disclosure relief available under Topic 606, and provide disclosure examples. Lastly, the course will discuss best practices, lessons learned, and ways to improve the business process when recognizing revenue going forward. Even though implementing Topic 606 is behind us, it is still possible to improve the processes that drive revenue recognition and this course will assist you in doing that.

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In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly referred to as HIPAA. HIPAA's stated purpose was to provide Americans with privacy measures designed to protect personal healthcare-related information. Yet soon after it became law, critics argued that HIPAA "lacked teeth", noting that the only remedy for violations of the law was to report the wrongdoer to the Department of Health and Human Services. Congress strengthened HIPAA in 2009 when it passed the Health Information Technology for Economic Clinical Health Act ("HITECH"). Under HITECH, entities subject to HIPAA are now required to maintain specific physical, administrative, and digital protection procedures. HIPAA now imposed many other requirements for those affected by the law, such as requiring breaches of patient information be reported to affected parties in a timely manner. Further, the law substantially increased the fines that HIPAA-covered entities must pay for violations. It is imperative that accountants and financial professionals familiarize themselves with HIPAA's requirements. Under HITECH, businesses must comply with HIPAA's data privacy guidelines if they work with HIPAA-covered businesses; that is, any business in the healthcare industry. Professionals who are not familiar with HIPAA fundamentals run the risk of subjecting themselves and their company to civil liability and severe penalties.

The most difficult concepts to master when dealing with flow-through business entities are the basis and distribution concepts. Major error and malpractice issues occur if the CPA does not fully understand the impact of these rules. This course is designed to focus on the practical applications of these rules.

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There are numerous federal laws that restrict what businesses can do in terms of hiring and firing employees. Many of these laws impose significant penalties if employers violate them. Accordingly, it is crucial that all employers and their professional advisors understand these laws and apply them to their employment practices.

Although the IRS continues to lose its audit workforce due to budget cuts, it continues to examine specific individuals and small business taxpayers. Now, more than ever, Accounting 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 and Financial Professionals in public accounting to understand the risk to clients and to themselves in tax return preparation and planning since the IRS has currently increased its audit coverage and is examining more taxpayers than in the recent past.

While the effective date for ASC 606 is past for most entities, the challenges of applying the new revenue recognition guidance will undoubtedly continue for a while. In this course, we'll review both issued and proposed ASUs related to ASC 606 and review the disclosure requirements for non-public business entities under ASC 606. Next, as many entities made changes to their policies and approaches to revenue recognition as a result of COVID-19, we'll review some of the common accounting challenges that companies face as a result of these changes. Lastly, we'll explore ways that many companies have improved their revenue recognition process as a result of ASC 606 adoption.

This course will discuss what to do if you suspect fraud within your organization. The HealthSouth fraud case is presented as a means of understanding how the fraud was committed, and ways in which it could have been prevented. This is the second of five 2-hour courses in Surgent's Fraud Certificate Program. This program includes a combination of lectures, animated videos, and live interviews with white-collar offenders and whistle-blowers. Each course is designed to be engaging and informative and will enhance your understanding of fraud.

This course is designed to help you proceed and succeed in applying the requirements found in ASU No. 2018-08, Clarifying the Scope and the Accounting Guidance for Contributions Received and Contributions Made. Learn the thought process used in evaluating and recording contribution transactions.

This course provides an overview of the accounting for internal-use software. The accounting and reporting requirements related to internal-use software can be found within ASC Topic 350-40. The primary information addressed within this ASC Topic relates to the development costs that should and should not be capitalized, how those costs are amortized, how they are tested for impairment, as well as presentation and disclosure requirements.