CPE Catalog & Events

Automatic enrollment requirements for 401(k) plans Change in the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs $2,000 saver’s match Changes in pooled employer plans Multiple employer 403(b) plans Increase in age for required beginning date for mandatory distributions Indexing IRA catch-up limit Higher catch-up limit to apply at age 60, 61, 62, and 63 Treatment of student loan payments as elective deferrals for purposes of matching contributions Application of credit for small employer pension startup costs to employers who join an existing plan Small immediate financial incentives for contributing to a plan Withdrawals for certain emergency expenses Starter 401(k) plans for employers with no retirement plans Improving coverage for part-time workers Recovery of retirement plan overpayments Tax treatment of IRAs involved in a prohibited transaction Clarification of substantially equal periodic payment rule

Technology and workstation arrangements Maximizing productivity Establishing procedures that can be implemented throughout the organization Understanding the relationship between remote work and employee retention Effective communication strategies for staying connected with colleagues and clients The productivity challenges unique to working from home Time management The importance of distinguishing between the “home office” and “home” Data privacy concerns Other ethical considerations that arise when working from home

Overall landscape of the construction industry GAAP and recent changes affecting the construction industry The Revenue Recognition Standard and its impact on the construction industry The unique relationship between the contractor and the surety The lease FASB ASC and its impact on the construction industry

What keeps companies from becoming streamlined?  Behavioral biases Information processing biases Emotional biases How to deal with behavioral biases  Connecting behavioral biases to cost cutting Creating a culture of cost cutting Rules of thumb for cost cutting  Managing headcount Post-COVID common areas of excess cost Budgeting techniques Budget variances Benchmarking Common size financial statements Horizontal analysis Negotiation and contracting techniques Cash flow and the business cycle

Types of partnership distributions Liquidating partnership distributions Basis of property distributed by a partnership Special basis adjustments under Section 732(d) Abandoned and worthless partnership interests Section 751(a) exchange Transactions between partners and their partnerships Disguised sales Section 736(a) and (b) payments

CPA becoming attuned to broad based business knowledge, professional skepticism, and subordination of judgment The future of medical care in the United States in a post COVID-19 environment Future of social security and impact on retirement planning and employee retention Impact on financial executive if the dollar is no longer the world currency “Fate of the States” – will the location of your business make you less competitive Future of workmen’s compensation and unemployment compensation Future of interest rates Impact of greater reliance on technology AICPA top 10 trends and technologies National infrastructure ESG and DEI trends in the global economy Impact of continuing uncertainty in markets

Congressional Budget Reconciliation Process - explore how this powerful legislative tool allows Congress to fast track tax law changes and how it could be used to enact significant tax reforms in the current political climate President Trump's tax proposals - review key components of President Trump's tax agenda, including a tip income exemption, overtime pay relief, Social Security tax exemption, auto loan interest deductibility, SALT deduction modifications, a lower corporate tax rate, restoration of 100% bonus depreciation, immediate R&D expensing, and permanent extension of select TCJA provisions Potential expiration of select TCJA provisions - understand the implications for taxpayers as key provisions of the TCJA approach sunset dates Tariff policy and implementation - analyze the use of tariffs as a fiscal and trade policy tool Principles and considerations for nonresident withholding, composite payments, and passthrough entity taxes Partnership Distributions, Form 7217, and S Corporation Redemptions Thinking beyond §163(j) -- Interest Allocation Rules, Original Issue Discount, Applicable High Yield Discount Obligations, Convertible Corporate Debt Instruments, and Debt-Financed Distributions Timely coverage of breaking tax legislation Selected Practice and Reporting Issues: What’s new? A review of recent cases and tax law changes and IRS guidance affecting S corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and limited liability partnerships Form 1099-K reporting requirements Bonus depreciation  Section 174 Research & Experimental Expenditures -- guidance under Notice 2023-63 and Notice 2024-12 Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)

Establishing a system: identifying forces that support the status quo; setting milestones and goals; the role of the CMA Necessary first steps: set a framework for the project’s activities; identify needed resources; obtain support; decide on a structure; establish a team for a specific project; identify necessary team skill sets Project evaluation: analytical tools, strategic evaluation; sources of risk Maintaining focus: monitoring and measuring results; keeping to the project’s scope Avoiding frequent traps: sunk costs; financing pitfalls; project creep; tunnel vision; failure to integrate the team’s work internally and/or the final project with the remaining organization Introduction and examples of analytical tools throughout the session: mapping; CPM; Gantt charts; benchmarking; Pareto analysis; PESTLE analysis; valuation techniques; post-completion evaluations

SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, and updates to SSARS No. 21 due to the issuance of SSARS No. 23, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services SSARS No. 22, Compilation of Pro Forma Financial Information SSARS No. 24, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services -- 2018 SSARS No. 25, Materiality in a Review of Financial Statements and Adverse Conclusions  SSARS No. 26, Quality Management for an Engagement Conducted in Accordance With Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services Sample comprehensive engagement work programs for preparation, compilation and review engagements Reporting and disclosure illustrations for each level of service, including attesting on personal financial statements, prescribed form, special purpose framework and other engagement variations Other communication requirements, such as sample engagement letters and management representation letters

Analyze a traditional fiduciary accounting situation Determine the use of the reserve for depreciation Become acquainted with the special accounting rule for business assets Review the accounting treatment of distributions from entities

Accounting analysis and methodology Factors influencing the quality of accounting-based financial reports Impact of emerging business models on balance sheets Introduction to the Instructor's Open Balance Sheet

Active and passive investing Dividend-paying stocks, value stocks and the net investment income tax Favorable capital gain strategies and the netting process Exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stock options and straddles

What are new frontier trusts Situations where the use of the trustee's power to adjust or a unitrust can be beneficial Understanding the requirements for using a particular strategy Authority and requirements for the trustee's power to adjust with a problem example Authority and requirements for unitrusts with a problem example Including capital gains in Distributable Net Income (DNI)

Definition of data analytics and big data; challenges and goals; establishing an environment for success; governance; common uses of analytics and current examples Behavioral forces that impact decisions; examples of inaccurate forecasts; identifying strategic measurements (KPIs); data sources Statistical tools, including median, mode, moving average, ratio analysis, Pareto analysis, trend analysis, regression, z-score, and simulation Software tools that are readily available and can assist in visually exploring data, expanding the scope of available data, as well as collecting, analyzing, and presenting results Specific ideas for using data analytics for accountants and financial managers, including current examples and areas for further consideration Lists of readings and next-level software for a participant’s future reference

Form W-4 Form I-9 Form W-9 End-of-year compliance Payroll tax returns Unemployment insurance

Each week’s topics will change based on the most critical issues affecting financial professionals

The federal transfer tax exemption  What constitutes a valid will Common trust vehicles often used to safeguard assets Consequences of intestacy How to transfer property outside of a will Legal treatment of marital property Transfer of IRAs and retirement plans Probate generally and probate for property held outside of the state of decedent’s residence When an estate tax return should be filed Portability of the Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE) amount

An overview of the beginning of the process and documents for preliminary tax planning Recognizing the need for due diligence in acquisitions, including checklists of important points Deemed asset sales – §338 and §338(h)(10) The impact of the §197 amortizable intangibles regulations on the acquisition and disposition of a business Allocating purchase price for tax advantage Planning to avoid double taxation under the repeal of the General Utilities doctrine Special problems and opportunities when an S corporation is the buyer or seller Installment sale and interest issues Avoiding tax pitfalls and recognizing tax planning opportunities Unique issues in buying and selling LLC/partnership interests Impact of the net investment income tax (NIIT) and the §199A pass-through deduction on the tax due on the sale of a pass-through entity Individually owned goodwill

Resolved technical glitches for qualified improvement property Detailed coverage of §179 expense elections and §168(k) bonus or additional first-year depreciation – how to maximize them, definitions, limitations, qualified property, etc. Sale of property and the depreciation recapture rules (§1245, §1250, unrecaptured §1250 gain for real estate, §291 for corporations) MACRS depreciation – finding the proper method, convention, and recovery period Listed property and the current limitations Amortization of start-up, organization, and other expenditures AMT depreciation adjustments and how to avoid them Examples, cases, and rulings of depreciation and amortization issues and how they impact clients, along with useful planning opportunities

Comprehensive coverage of the SECURE Act 2.0 Understanding the environment: what’s new, what’s expired or expiring, and what’s likely to change Reading a tax return for developing client-specific tax strategies Changes to the lifetime estate tax exemption in light of proposed regulations  The net investment income tax: planning for compliance Family income-splitting strategies that need to be considered Income tax issues: impact on timing of other income Selling a principal residence Two principal residences at the same time Use of life insurance to protect families: Whole Life Insurance, Term Life Insurance, Universal Life Insurance, and Variable Life Insurance Using Roth IRAs and Roth contribution programs to best advantage Conversions: do they still make sense? Taking distributions: matching timing to client requirements Qualified plan contributions to reduce current income and Social Security tax: implications for business owners and self-employed Social Security solvency issues Incentive Stock Options and Employee Stock Purchase Plan considerations What to do about itemized deductions Trans-generational planning: conversions, income, and gain-splitting Tax benefits of HSAs and other tax-advantaged accounts Identifying tax opportunities: reviewing the prior-year return to develop a plan for the future Planning for middle-income taxpayers: financial planning for the young, the working, and those approaching or in retirement Best financial planning ideas for young people