CPE & Event Calendar

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes deeply integrated into business operations and decision-making, organizations must recognize that effective oversight extends beyond technical safeguards.The governance, risk and control (GRC) responsibilities of AI also carry a cultural dimension requiring alignment with corporate ethical values ethical principles and accountability structures.Cultural governance emphasizes leadership commitment, employee engagement and cross-function ownership of AI practices to ensure trust and transparency.  AI-related risks – ranging from bias and ethical concerns to regulatory compliance, reputational exposure and operational vulnerabilities necessitate robust control frameworks and proactive mitigation strategies.   These include governance structures, policies, risk assessments, transparency measures, and continuous monitoring.  By embedding cultural governance and mitigation responsibilities into enterprise AI initiatives, organizations can responsibly harness innovation while safeguarding stakeholders, protecting reputation and ensuring sustainable long-term value. Note:  This is Part 2 in a two-part series on the risks of AI

This course allows you to get reacquainted with the statement of cash flows. We will refresh your skills regarding both the preparation and utilization of the statement of cash flows. Significant emphasis will be placed on the informational role of the statement of cash flows and insights that can be obtained using the statement of cash flows in concert with the other elements of a company's accrual-basis financial statements. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Many consider taxation of construction contractors to be the most complex area of the Internal Revenue Code. This industry is subject to many elections and considerations to reduce or defer amounts owed. In this course, we will highlight these areas and discuss potential opportunities for practitioners and their clients. We will also discuss the impact of recent legislation on construction taxation, including changes to net operating losses and the AMT rules. This is a critical presentation tailored for CPAs who work for or represent construction contractors.

One of the major transactions CPA clients are faced with is the purchase or disposition of a business. To help tax professionals advise those clients, this course offers a comprehensive analysis of the business and tax aspects of buying and selling a business. It is a practical guide to help practitioners and industry CPAs understand structuring techniques. All CPAs, including controllers and executives in industry, should understand how difficult the process of buying and selling a business has become.

The ability to create and ask good questions as well as the ability to know when someone is being deceptive are important skills for managers, auditors, and investigators. This session will improve your interview techniques and your lie detection abilities. Multiple videos from various movies, TV shows, and public figures showcasing the behaviors of liars are included.

Positive client relationships require work. Miscommunication, unrealistic expectations, and differing personality styles may strain a client's relationship with professional advisors. Fortunately, there are tested strategies that foster and strengthen client relationships. Creating appropriate boundaries early on is one of many effective strategies that can help. This course explores actions accounting and finance professionals can take to create and grow their client relationships. This webinar provides actionable insights on how to engage new and old clients alike. Strained client relationships can harm both the client and the firm's profitability. Yet automation, for example, allows some firms to remain more engaged while others miss the mark. There is a science underlying client retention that involves understanding the client journey, ensuring consistent client interactions, and equipping employees with the tools needed to satisfy client needs. Understanding these skills should help you protect the relationships that sustain your business.

This course will address recent tax legislation, rules, and developments related to capitalization and depreciation; Section 179 and 168(k) 100 % bonus deduction; Depreciation of automobiles, including new luxury auto limits; ADS depreciation for electing farm and real estate business.   *Please Note:  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to terri.storer@acpen.com    

Indirect costs are an important aspect of obtaining full cost recovery on grants and cooperative agreements. An indirect rate is a mechanism for recovering allocable indirect costs. Have you struggled to understand how indirect rates work? We will show you Uniform Guidance theory and the mechanical aspects of how indirect rates are constructed. This session will cover the two of the most widely used indirect cost rate proposal templates to obtain Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreements (NICRA) for both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Interior (DOI). We will address: • Fringe and indirect rate examples, • The power of an indirect rate multiplier, • What is an ideal indirect rate, • Mandatory requirements for constructing an indirect rate, • The importance of the Statement of Functional Expense, and • Understanding the HHS and DOI model templates.

When a purchaser buys an existing partner's partnership interest or the interest of a member of a limited liability corporation (LLC) taxed as a partnership, the amount paid becomes the basis for the purchaser's partnership interest (outside basis). If the partnership's assets have appreciated sufficiently, the difference between the new partner's inside and outside basis can be substantial. This disparity can deprive the new partner of depreciation deductions and inflate his or her share of the gain from subsequent property dispositions unless a Section 754 election is in effect. The Section 754 election can also apply when a partnership makes a distribution of property and the basis of the distributed property to the partnership and the basis the partner/distributee will take in the distributed property are not equal. In this case, a partnership can recover basis it would otherwise lose if the 754 election were not in effect.

The finance function is changing rapidly, driven by technology, demographics, and evolving business expectations. This session focuses on the tactical leadership skills CFOs and CPAs need to build and lead high-performing finance teams in the years ahead. Participants will explore how roles, skills, and expectations are shifting, and how leaders can prepare their teams for increased automation, real-time reporting, and greater strategic involvement. The session blends practical leadership guidance with forward-looking insights.

You may be surprised to learn how artificial intelligence is transforming the music you love. For example, what happens when AI creates songs based on other people's work without credit or payment? How should musicians disclose the role of AI in their recordings? The challenges that AI poses for music, such as threats to intellectual property, confidentiality, fairness, and professional reputations, are also front and center in accounting. This one-hour ethics course invites you to explore one of your favorite subjects outside of work. You'll discover how the five principles of ethical intelligence can help you listen to music in ways you never considered before. You'll also see how these same principles guide you in making the best decisions in your accounting practice. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Nonprofit entities and governmental entities have a high degree of public accountability. This course will examine the most common fraud schemes and provide multiple examples of how to prevent or detect these schemes.

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. 22-26 by the ARSC. In addition to SSARS 26, the entire suite of quality management standards is discussed. However, knowing the standards is not enough. You need to be able to effectively apply them. To support this, the course will 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 SSARS requirements and guidance, but more importantly, it will provide you with practical examples and illustrations to help you effectively and efficiently perform these types of engagements. This course is intended to be your go-to reference for training your staff and managing your SSARS No. 21-26 services in compliance with professional, ethical, and technical requirements.

This year practitioners need to keep abreast of tax changes affecting pass-through entities used by their business clients and employers, and this enlightening course delivers that information. You will learn invaluable strategies, techniques, innovative tax-planning concepts, income-generating ideas, and other planning opportunities available to S corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and LLPs. In addition, this course will discuss current trends and emerging issues, helping practitioners stay informed about relevant and significant topics that may impact their clients. Continually updated to reflect enacted legislation.

Explore the ethical implications of using generative AI. This course addresses potential risks and dilemmas, providing guidelines to ensure responsible and compliant integration. Learn how to balance innovation with ethical obligations to maintain trust and integrity. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This course profiles Brenda, a financial executive from the state of Washington. Despite earning her college degree, Brenda did not find employment in her area of study. Instead, she landed a series of dead-end jobs. Business reversals frequently led to the loss of employment. When a company that she knew to be unethical offered her an executive position that included bookkeeping tasks, including overseeing all finances, she accepted. While on the job, Brenda saw owners of the company misappropriating funds. Rather than reporting the fraud, she created an elaborate scheme to benefit herself - without the owner's knowledge. Her bad decisions led to a guilty plea for wire fraud, after authorities accused her of absconding with more than $600,000 in corporate funds. A prison term of 20 months followed. Listen and learn from Brenda's experience. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

NECPAs Gives Back: Young Professionals Volunteer with United Way Connect with fellow young professionals while giving back to the local community! NECPAs is partnering with United Way of Greater Nashua for a food drive supporting local families on Saturday, November 7, from 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. at Hannaford in Hudson, NH. Volunteers will greet shoppers, hand out donation lists and collect donated items. Eight volunteer spots are available, with the possibility of adding another location or date if there’s enough interest. Can’t volunteer? You can still support the drive by dropping off non-perishable food items during the event or at the United Way office at 20 Broad Street, Nashua, weekdays from 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. How to Register: Since this is one of our first New Hampshire events through the new NECPAs website, I want to make sure everyone knows how to access registration: Former NHSCPA members: You’ll need to create your NECPAs account before registering. Complete the “New England Incoming Member” application, then log in and register for the event. Your full membership profile, CPE history and other information will continue to be migrated from NHSCPA. Already have a NECPAs/MassCPAs account? Simply log in with your existing username and password. [CREATE OR ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT] If you need assistance, please reach out to us at 617-556-4000.

This comprehensive case-driven training is designed to get the accountant up to speed quickly in the area of basis calculations and distribution planning for the owners of pass-thru entities (i.e., S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies (LLCs)). The cornerstone of this course is the line-by-line analysis of the Schedule K-1s and how it affects the basis calculations.  **Please Note:  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to kori.herrera@acpen.com

Until recently, a percentage of organizations discounted the risk related to external fraud attempts. Most were only concerned with protecting physical assets such as inventory or fixed assets. However, because of the many highly publicized corporate hacking events, such as the ones that affected the Colonial Pipeline and JBS Meats, more attention is being paid to external fraud risk of all types. In this session, we look at what is included in a definition of external fraud and then delve into specific control issues that can give rise to increased risk. We then discuss measures that organizations can employ to help reduce exposure to external attacks. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

If there is a potential error, the IRS will assess a tax and add a hefty penalty, without even knowing the facts. As a tax professional, you will be exposed to the IRS and their methods of penalizing taxpayers for the smallest of violations. This presentation will focus on the rules and regulations that create the penalty, and the reasons that exist that the IRS will consider to remove those penalties. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.