CPE Catalog+Events

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.

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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.

Federal estate and gift taxes currently affect few clients, but there are many other issues involved in settling an estate or administering a trust. Clients who are beneficiaries of a trust or estate often turn to their financial advisors to understand the administrative process and its effect on their interests. This course enables the accountant to cut through the jargon to understand the legal concepts, communicate a real-world explanation to clients, and serve, in some instances, as an advisor to them. After taking this course, practitioners will feel more confident to serve in a fiduciary capacity. Updated for developments relative to estate taxation.

This course discusses the legal issues in probating and contesting a will, plus the practical issues involved when settling an estate - marshaling of assets, payment of creditors, and distribution and accounting to beneficiaries. Inventory of estate assets is also discussed.

This program provides an essential and engaging introduction to the internal audit profession, a primer on current, major internal audit guidance / standards for staff level personnel, and a value adding refresher and reinforcer for more seasoned personnel and management. Designed for internal audit professionals at all levels, consultants providing internal audit outsourcing or co-sourcing services, and external auditors (CPAs) who also provide such services and/ or place significant reliance on the work of internal auditors during the conduct of audit engagements. This course acts as a launching pad for Surgent's comprehensive internal audit curriculum, equipping participants with a critical internal audit reference foundation for ongoing growth! It is crucial for internal auditors to develop a balanced, big picture AND detail-oriented understanding, perspective, and approach to their work. This session is instrumental in helping internal audit professionals do just that!

A highly effective internal audit group's value to an organization is directly related to its independence and competence in fulfilling its charter. To function optimally, an internal audit group needs unrestricted access to the subject matter it is reviewing, a clear reporting path to an independent overseer, and must possess the essential skills and capabilities required of this ever demanding and evolving profession. In this course, we'll review the optimal structure(s) of high performance internal audit departments, including the major roles and responsibilities of the group and its key members, as well as, its critical reporting authority within an organization. The course will also address how an internal audit group's charter, other governing documents, and practices, define the nature of its value adding services, and establish a sound administrative framework to support its ongoing functional activities and growth, including but not limited to, all level personnel training and development.

The definition of Internal Auditing promulgated by The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) speaks to the critical areas of value adding coverage and services Internal Auditors can and must bring to their organizations. These include the key areas of: governance, risk management, and (internal) control (GRC). Internal auditors play vital assurance and consulting roles for organizations and their stakeholders. The significant reliance placed on internal auditors by organizational management teams, boards of directors/audit committees, external auditors, regulators, and other key stakeholders, cannot be overstated. An integral component in supporting these roles are the knowledge foundations that auditors bring to the fore in applying their technical and analytical skills when assessing core areas of organizational governance; risk management (including fraud related risk management); compliance; and (internal) control (GRC). This course lays the critical foundation for strengthening the knowledge base of auditors at all levels in these critical areas of organizational GRC processes and performance.

The "name of the game" in virtually any business (or profession), and most certainly for Internal Auditors, is adding the greatest possible value to and for all stakeholders of that business/profession. Internal Auditors serve a wide variety of stakeholders who place major reliance on their work. Maximizing IA value in terms of assurance levels expected by and relied on by its stakeholders is critical and can only be achieved through optimal assurance coverage execution and highly effective stakeholder communications and reporting. By exploring the many roles and services through which an internal audit group can add value throughout any organization, this course provides a roadmap for Internal Auditors in their quests to maximize value for all stakeholders, both internal and external, of their organizations.

The value adding capacity of an overall IA activity's program begins with the foundational risk assessment and planning process. This activity is undertaken annually at an enterprise level, and functionally at an individual engagement level. The alignment and integration of these critically linked processes is essential for ensuring the effective and efficient deployment of IA resources and optimum assurance coverage. This course provides an essential primer on IA risk assessment and planning processes, supported by key related Professional Standards guidance and practical application strategies. In addition, this session also serves in building a vital bridge which connects high quality IA activity level attributes with ongoing maximum impact performance level implementation.

While risk assessment and planning lay the foundation for IA engagement programs, it is the effective execution of the program that ultimately determines the success of the IA activity in serving and adding value to its stakeholders. The results of IA engagements are derived from the critical fieldwork processes initiated and completed by audit teams and the underlying documentation developed, gathered, and maintained in support thereof. Internal Auditors must possess sound technical, analytical, organizational, and communication skills to effectively discharge their duties as key relied-upon assurance professionals for organizations. This course provides an in-depth conceptual and practical application bridge linking crucial fieldwork fundamentals with workpaper preparation and documentation essentials in promotion and development of these vital skill areas for IAs.