CPE Catalog & Events

Research & Development Tax Credit Work Opportunity Tax Credit COVID-19 Tax Credits Opportunity Zones GO-Biz Incentives Employment Training Panel

Tax code hierarchy Organization of an Internal Revenue Code section Special rules for IRC citation  Citing other primary authority Private letter rulings  Primary vs. secondary authority  Secondary sources of authority Steps in the tax research process Research memoranda

How to calculate a partner or S corporation shareholder’s basis Form 7203 and an S corporation shareholder’s basis The at risk basis rules and Form 6198 The passive activity loss limits The Section 461(l) loss rule The net operating loss limitation rules The Section 163(j) business interest limitation

Defining three critical elements: responsibility, empowerment and accountability, and how they work together to create results Designing and using clear agreements that provide clarity Skills for holding yourself and others accountable for results, no matter what Knowing where you are in the accountability game... what you do/don’t do well

Automation capabilities of Excel The “Get & Transform” Tool Using “Get & Transform” for flattening, splitting and combining data, unpivoting summarized data, and combining CSV exports

General rules relating to the sale of a residence under § 121 Sale of a taxpayer’s main home Qualifying for a partial exclusion of gain on the sale of a home How a taxpayer meets the residence requirement Meeting the look-back requirement Separated, divorced, and widowed taxpayers Work-related moves and unforeseeable events Inherited homes and homes received in a divorce Impact of business or rental use of home on the gain exclusion Reporting gain or loss on the sale of a home

Recent changes in major AI languages and their uses New developments in chatbot and prompt query tools for CPAs Major AI breakthroughs in the past 6 months Recommended AI tools for CPAs

What it means to engage people; discuss the meaning of motivation by getting to the core of what impacts your employees’ productivity Get your employees charged; find out what makes them tick through examining and understanding some of the classics in motivational theory Learn how to drill down to what truly motivates your employees Using the C.A.R.E. model to improve employee motivation through case studies

Calculating the home office deduction Actual expense method Simplified expense method Definition of a home for purposes of the home office deduction Whether working-from-home employees can claim a home office deduction What is a “separate, identifiable space?” The “regularly and exclusively used” rule Defining a “principal place of business” Meeting clients, patients, and customers More than one trade or business Special rules that apply to daycare providers Separate, free-standing structures Depreciating the home

How to optimize cash flow Qualitative evaluations: core earnings and sustainable growth Quantitative evaluations: liquidity ratios Increasing customer base vs. payment terms Business cycle and cash Behavioral finance biases Managing head count Other potential areas of excess cost

Nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) Nonqualified stock options (NQSOs) Incentive stock options (ISOs) Restricted stock/restricted stock units (RSUs) Stock appreciation rights (SARs) and phantom stock Employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) Applicable tax forms and schedules Stock sale reporting Estimated taxes Filing deadlines and extensions State taxation

Examination process: organization of IRS, standards for return selection; AICPA SSTS (revised), Circular 230 guidelines, amended returns and approaches to resolving examination problems Civil penalties, delinquency penalties, accuracy-related penalty, fraud penalty, preparer penalty, promoter and protestor penalties and foreign information return penalty regime Audits and administrative appeals, nature and scope; docketed v. nondocketed appeals, appeals conferences and settlement approaches Collection process: significance of assessment; nature of tax liens and levies, installment agreements, collection due process, offers in compromise and bankruptcy Tax fraud: civil tax fraud badges, criminal tax fraud violations, defenses, voluntary disclosures the role of Kovel accountant Judicial proceedings: Tax Court process, federal district court, Court of Federal Claims and California Superior Court

Hiring and firing issues – What questions cannot be asked in an interview; how to document employee performance; establishing an annual review system; when an employer may and may not fire an employee, and much more Employment contracts – An analysis of the legal and planning issues in structuring employment contracts; when noncompetition agreements will and will not work Employment issues in the economy – Telecommuters and other special situations Legal liability issues – Recognition of age discrimination, sex discrimination, FLSA issues, minimum wage, overtime, sexual harassment, and more Fringe benefit issues – COBRA, Family and Medical Leave Act, and new developments in health care Medical plans – Who is a full-time employee?

Be familiar with the nature and sources of difficult behaviors in the workplace, as well as strategies for addressing them Understand a proven formula for handling difficult people Utilize a problem-solving model to brainstorm strategies for working effectively with challenging individuals Implement a step-by-step process to resolve conflicts between yourself and others within your organization Apply the hostility curve as a tool to maintain control in situations involving angry or upset individuals Implement new strategies for managing your emotions in difficult interactions Understand the impact of attitude on interactions with others Create a personalized action plan for applying course strategies in your workplace

How is fraud detected The role of external auditors in finding fraud Revenue recognition issues Corrupt management Data mining Physical and biometric controls

President Biden's campaign promises and historical positions on estate planning The gift, estate and income tax treatment of irrevocable trusts The benefits of spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs), grantor retained interest trusts (GRATs and GRUTs), qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs), life insurance trusts (ILITs), domestic asset protection trusts (DAPTs), dynasty trusts and retirement trusts

Examination process: organization of IRS, standards for return selection; AICPA SSTS (revised), Circular 230 guidelines, amended returns and approaches to resolving examination problems Civil penalties, delinquency penalties, accuracy-related penalty, fraud penalty, preparer penalty, promoter and protestor penalties and foreign information return penalty regime Audits and administrative appeals, nature and scope; docketed v. nondocketed appeals, appeals conferences and settlement approaches Collection process: significance of assessment; nature of tax liens and levies, installment agreements, collection due process, offers in compromise and bankruptcy Tax fraud: civil tax fraud badges, criminal tax fraud violations, defenses, voluntary disclosures the role of Kovel accountant Judicial proceedings: Tax Court process, federal district court, Court of Federal Claims and California Superior Court

Final Rule - Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the FLSA: the multifactor “economic reality” test; What analysis guides whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under this final rule? Can a worker voluntarily waive employee status and choose to be classified as an independent contractor? Are any of the economic reality factors adopted in this rule more important than others when evaluating a worker’s employment status? How does the final rule explain “extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business?” The Federal Trade Commission’s Decision on Non-compete Agreements: impact on new and existing non-competes; treatment and definitional terms for senior executives; definition of a non-compete clause; definition of a “worker” New Overtime Rules: exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees; increases in the standard level and the highly compensated employee total annual compensation threshold; new mechanism allowing for the timely and efficient updating of the salary and compensation thresholds

Definitions of key terms under the FMLA, including covered employer, eligible employee, and serious health condition Timing and types of leave under the FMLA Calculating leave time under the FMLA Employer and employee notice requirements The definition of a “disability” under ADA An employer’s obligation to provide employees with a reasonable accommodation under the ADA Guidance on engaging in the interactive process Dos and don’ts of medical certifications The interplay between the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act

Estimated taxes and deadlines Tax due dates for common returns and filings Potential penalties and interest Information return penalties Penalties applicable to pass-through entities Accuracy-related penalties First-time abatement (FTA) FTA eligible returns Reasonable cause Nexus: sales tax vs. income tax Sales tax nexus with state specific examples Remote work and sales tax nexus Income tax nexus with state-specific examples Remote work and income tax nexus Sales factor: throwback rules