CPE Catalog & Events

Proper planning of benefit plan audit engagements and developing audit strategy while improving overall efficiency Common pitfalls in planning and detailed audit procedures Changes affecting 401(k) plans, including recently issued SASs Common mistakes as noted in peer reviews and DOL inspections

Timely coverage of breaking tax legislation Applicable coverage of any basis considerations within any recent tax legislation   Passthrough basis calculations required as attachments to certain individual returns  Executor’s form for disclosing basis in certain distributed property; what about the basis of a property distribution from a trust?  How §179 limitations affect basis and how tax-benefit rule is applied  Basis implications of personal assets converted to business use  How to calculate basis of inherited qualified and joint tenancy property  Tax basis capital account reporting requirements  S corporations: Beware of final IRS regulations regarding “open debt”; determine how to calculate basis; worksheets are included; understand the effect of stock basis and debt basis and IRS’s recent focus on “at-risk basis” for shareholders; recognize how AAA applies or doesn’t apply to S corporations; learn to apply the complex basis ordering rules and special elections that can have a big tax result; discuss loss limitation rules in depth; when you can have a taxable dividend in an S corporation; understand distributions of cash and property; understand the post-termination transition rules, and temporary post-termination rules for eligible corporations, which will be important for S corps returning to C corps  LLCs and partnerships: Learn the detailed rules of §704 for preventing the shifting of tax consequences among partners or members; learn to calculate basis under §704 & for “at-risk” under §465; recognize how recourse, nonrecourse, and qualified nonrecourse debt can create significantly different tax results; learn the difference between basis and “at-risk basis”; review §754 step-up in basis rules; the economic effect equivalence test or “dumb-but-lucky” rule; learn to apply the complex rules of distribution of cash vs. property, and the basis treatment of charitable contributions and foreign taxes paid 

Basis and at-risk basis How to calculate the amount of annual at-risk basis Forms 6198 and 7203 When activities may be aggregated for at-risk purposes Qualified nonrecourse financing

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

Comprehensive coverage of the Inflation Reduction Act, including: The Clean Vehicle Credit, Credit for Previously Owned Clean Vehicles, Credit for Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicles, Residential Clean Energy Credit, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, Premium Tax Credit, Elective Payment, Transferability, and Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Requirements Comprehensive coverage of the SECURE 2.0 Act, including: Expanding Enrollment in Retirement Plans, Increase in Age for Required Beginning Date for Mandatory Distributions, New Exceptions to Penalty-Free Withdrawal from Retirement Plans, and recent IRS guidance Timely coverage of breaking tax legislation Detailed analysis and examples of Sale of Passthrough Entity Interest and Net Investment Income Tax The Gig Economy -- Tax implications, Independent Contractor vs. Employee Classification, and the 2024 DOL Final Rule Real Estate professional requirements Review of pertinent cases and rulings affecting taxpayers Practice aids, including all the numbers applicable for the current year -- inflation-adjusted amounts, mileage rates, retirement contributions, and more Advanced practice, reporting, and other issues intertwined with advanced planning and discussion ideas

Will Social Security be there for me? How is my benefit calculated? Can I claim my benefit and work too? When do I stop paying Social Security taxes? Why does my government pension cause my benefits to be reduced? Can I claim spousal benefits now and my own later? What is my breakeven? Can I claim benefits from my ex-spouse? What do you mean I may pay taxes on my income benefits? … and more!

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

Understand the four loss limitation rules applied on the owner's individual income tax return (i.e., basis, at-risk, passive and excess business loss limitations) Determine how to calculate an owner's initial tax basis of his pass-through entity Learn how to correctly make annual adjustments to a pass-through owners tax basis Identify what constitutes a debt basis for an S corporation shareholder Learn the tax ramifications of repaying loans to S corporation shareholders

Major provisions of GAAP Codification Topic No. 230 Statement classification issues Reporting operating cash flows: Direct and indirect methods Preparing the statement: Workpaper techniques Useful cash flow ratios Bankruptcy prediction using the statement of cash flows

What is artificial intelligence? What are the different forms of artificial intelligence? The difference between artificial intelligence and machine learning The types of problems artificial intelligence can solve The role of algorithms How artificial intelligence will affect accounting and finance careers Data governance, security, and privacy How accounting firms are using AI today The role of artificial intelligence in asset management

What does value mean? Technical vs. fundamental analysis Intrinsic value Other discounted cash flow models Assumptions in the Gordon Growth Model Valuations using free cash flows Residual income model Enterprise value Value in mergers and acquisitions Small business valuations and discounts Advanced valuation models

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

Latest state of the economy Expense control that works Understanding our changing workforce and working environment Financial risk analysis Enterprise risk management Improving bank relationships

The implementation of GASB No. 101 on compensated absences The 2025 application of GASB No. 102 regarding certain risk disclosures GASB No. 103 addressing improvements to the financial reporting model Additional recently issued GASB standards and projects

Quality management standards SAS 146, SSARS No. 26, and SSAE 23 Risk assessment, which forms the basis of the SQM Monitoring and evaluating the SQM

Substantially increased IRS funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act IRS test program in 2024 to determine if it should prepare tax returns Using improved data and analytics to tailor timely collections contacts Auditing large corporations and partnerships Audits of high income and high net worth individuals Information Document Requests What happens when a client agrees or disagrees with the IRS’s audit findings The Dirty Dozen: roadmap to IRS audit issues

The key requirements and audit areas that peer reviewers hone in on when reviewing Yellow Book and single audit engagements Avoiding common pitfalls seen in Yellow Book and single audits How to improve your performance on Yellow Book and single audits while staying in good graces with your peer reviewer

The elements of fraud and the Fraud Triangle Theory Types of fraud with a focus on management fraud Best practices in fraud detection and deterrence

Financial Reporting and Financial Statements Use of Non-GAAP performance measures and key performance indicators Forecasting Valuation Comprehensive Financial Statement Analysis with Case Study

Review of recent federal legislation and administrative rulings Review of recent modifications to tax forms Review of small business tax law and administrative update changes Review of retirement plan changes Overall review of tax practice and procedures