CPE + Events Catalog

To maintain a competitive advantage for your business, understand why effective planning is needed for both "red oceans" (or well-known market spaces) and "blue oceans" (the unknown). Business models must adapt to changes that are sustainable, feasible, and accessible as part of their business strategy. In this course, you will learn strategic optimisation and how it helps with sustaining successful and business performance.

This intensive 2-hour course is designed to unlock the potential of array formulas in Microsoft Excel. Array formulas are a vital tool in Excel for their unique ability to perform multiple calculations on one or more items within an array, making them indispensable for complex data analysis and calculations. They enable users to write fewer, more powerful formulas, leading to cleaner and more efficient spreadsheets. This course is tailored to enhance your data analysis and spreadsheet management skills by delving into the advanced aspects of array functions.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of two critical aspects of tax practice: the professional standards that govern the provision of tax advice and the legal privileges that protect certain taxpayer communications. Participants will explore the statutory, regulatory, and professional requirements imposed on CPAs when advising clients, including how to effectively communicate tax positions and comply with applicable standards. In addition, the course examines the scope and limitations of confidentiality privileges available to CPAs, including protections under Internal Revenue Code Section 7525, the work product doctrine, and the Kovel doctrine. Through this combined focus, tax professionals will gain a deeper understanding of both their ethical responsibilities and the legal considerations that impact their client relationships.

The taxation of construction contractors has become increasingly complex under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025, which have permanently reshaped the rules for depreciation, Section 179 expensing, interest limitations, qualified business income deductions, and long-term contract accounting. This course provides a practical guide to navigating these rules, covering percentage-of-completion, completed contract, income recognition, cost allocation, lookback requirements, and key exemptions for small and home construction contracts. With real-world examples, case studies, and planning strategies, you'll learn how to achieve favorable tax outcomes while staying fully compliant with IRS regulations.

Tax professionals must navigate a complex landscape of tax elections and procedural requirements to ensure compliance and minimize risks for their clients. Overlooking an election or procedural rule can lead to adverse tax consequences, missed opportunities, and even malpractice claims. This course provides a comprehensive overview of critical tax elections and procedural issues that CPAs must understand. Participants will explore key tax elections, their implications, and potential pitfalls. Additionally, the course delves into essential tax procedures, including IRS return due dates, statutes of limitations, taxpayer claims for refunds, and various relief provisions. By mastering these areas, CPAs can proactively manage risk, ensure compliance, and effectively represent clients in tax matters.

This course is designed for CPAs seeking to deepen their understanding of federal tax-exempt status and the complexities of Form 990. Participants will explore the core form and schedules, gaining insights into public support requirements, compensation disclosures, and governance policies. The course covers critical topics such as direct and grassroots lobbying, private benefit and inurement, and special rules for activities like advertising and bingo. Attendees will also examine the implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and recent regulatory updates, including mandatory e-filing requirements. By the end, learners will be equipped to ensure accurate, compliant filings and effectively navigate the nuances of tax-exempt organization reporting.

Tax issues in real estate development and homebuilding have grown increasingly complex with the permanent provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025. This course offers a comprehensive and practical analysis of tax accounting methods and compliance requirements that impact developers and homebuilders, including the capitalization of costs under IRC Section 263A, timing rules under IRC Section 461, and revenue recognition considerations for unit sales. You'll explore critical areas, including depreciation and expensing, business interest limitations, small business taxpayer exemptions, entity structuring, related-party transactions, compensation issues, and the economic performance test. Real-world examples and court cases are used to illustrate how the IRS scrutinizes costing practices, intercompany charges, and ordinary vs. capital gain classifications. By the end of the program, attendees will be equipped with strategies to comply with complex rules, avoid common audit pitfalls, and achieve the most favorable tax results for real estate developers and homebuilders.

Seniors face issues that complicate return preparation and planning. When to apply for social security? How is it taxed? What if they continue to work? Will an increased standard deduction affect charitable planning? Will downsizing affect interest and property tax deductions and payments? How to help children or grandchildren pay for a home or a college education? We'll explore these questions and more.

It's no secret that elections are consequential for a variety of reasons. One key area that experts are watching in light of the 2024 election is tax policy. Kasey Pittman, Director of Tax Policy, at Baker Tilly, walks viewers through the provisions which are set to expire at the end of 2025. She provides her insights regarding potential avenues for tax reform, highlighting the reconciliation process and its limitations. Pittman delves into the impact of a Republican unified government and what that could mean for tax reform, such as in the state and local tax arena. She also explores the challenges that tax advisors and businesses may face in 2025 and how those advisors can best support their clients.

This course equips CPAs and financial experts with practical strategies to deliver clear, confident, and defensible testimony during direct examination. You'll learn how to prepare effectively, structure your testimony, and communicate complex financial analysis in a way that judges and juries can understand. Topics include advance case preparation, file documentation and privilege awareness, scripting direct testimony, using courtroom graphics, and managing credibility under legal scrutiny. Real-world examples and best practices are shared to help you strengthen your effectiveness, maintain independence, and avoid common pitfalls in litigation testimony.

Business succession is not just a legal transition - it's a financial turning point. In this practical session, veteran business attorney Jason B. Meyer, Esq. outlines the governance, structural, and planning steps that help protect enterprise value and prevent costly disruption. Designed for CPAs, CFOs, and financial advisors, this course focuses on strengthening charter documents, mitigating continuity risks, preparing for due diligence, and coordinating legal and tax strategy to support smooth ownership transitions - whether to family, employees, or external buyers.

This course dives deep into key supplemental schedules of IRS Form 990, giving you clear insights into public support tests, lobbying activities, and essential financial and compensation disclosures. Learn the rules, spot common mistakes, and discover practical planning strategies to strengthen your nonprofit's reporting and stay compliant. - This session was recorded on May 29, 2025, for CalCPA's Not-for-Profit Organizations Conference.

Divorce is not only a legal process, but also a life-changing financial event. There are three forums for divorce: mediation, collaboration, and traditional litigation. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods like mediation and collaboration offer confidential and discreet ways to resolve issues without traditional litigation. A divorce financial planner can help navigate the process and provide expert advice on financial and tax decisions. Lili Vasileff, President of Wealth Protection Management, joins this segment to discuss the various forums of divorce, compare forms of alternative dispute resolution, and explore top trends.

Surveys and field studies find that diverse teams are high-performing teams. Diverse teams value different perspectives and encourage the participation of team members through psychological safety, leading to higher team performance. Team diversity is an office-level characteristic, that is distinguishable from other characteristics studied in prior auditing literature, that has an incremental effect on audit quality. The positive association between team diversity and audit quality is robust to controlling other audit office and client characteristics. This positive association is even stronger for more complex and non-routine audit engagements.

This study examines associations between auditor provided tax compliance and tax planning services and tax avoidance and tax risk. Collectively, our results suggest that companies paying their auditors for tax planning advice are more effective tax planners (in terms of higher tax avoidance and lower tax risk) than firms that do not engage their auditor for tax work. Our tax avoidance results are more pronounced for clients of auditors with more tax expertise and longer tenure, as well as for firms with higher tax and operational complexity. We also find that our tax avoidance results hold only when firms also engage their auditors for tax compliance work, which is consistent with auditors seeking to minimize reputation threats. Our study's unique hand-collected panel dataset provides a more precise and nuanced perspective on the role auditors play in tax outcomes.

Preparing fiduciary income tax returns can be daunting, even for experienced practitioners. Form 1041 (federal) and Form 541 (California) share similarities with individual income tax returns, but fiduciary rules introduce important complexities. This course offers a practical, step-by-step approach to Form 1041/541 preparation, covering everything from obtaining an EIN and understanding governing documents to reporting income, deductions, elections, and distributions. Designed for those preparing their first fiduciary return or seeking a solid refresher, this course equips participants to navigate fiduciary taxation with confidence.

This practical and forward-looking course introduces accounting professionals to the specialized field of forensic accounting, with a focus on how to strategically expand an existing practice into litigation support and investigative services. Designed and presented by Brian Peter Brinig, JD, CPA/ABV, ASA, this course walks you through the full landscape of forensic accounting'from foundational distinctions between investigative and litigation tracks, to the technical, ethical, and marketing strategies needed to succeed in this high-demand profession. You'll learn how to identify profitable niches, navigate the adversarial litigation environment, apply professional standards, and avoid common pitfalls such as conflicts of interest and overstepping professional boundaries. With emphasis on real-world implementation, this course provides essential tools to launch and grow a respected forensic practice grounded in objectivity, credibility, and compliance.

Are you ready to strengthen your accounting practice through ethical leadership? In this engaging 4-hour course, you'll learn how to build a successful, resilient practice by mastering the key principles of ethical intelligence. You'll discover how to hire and retain high-performing team members who embody honesty, accountability, care, and courage. You'll apply the principles of ethical intelligence-Do No Harm, Make Things Better, Respect Others, Be Fair, and Care-to enhance your practice's financial health and long-term stability. We'll also explore the power of gratitude in creating a positive work environment, reducing turnover, and strengthening client relationships. Plus, you'll confront "zombie" myths that can undermine your practice and learn how to protect your business from financial and ethical risks. Through practical tools and interactive exercises, you'll ensure your practice is ethical, resilient, and financially secure for the long term. Who knew a 4-hour ethics course could be so practical-and fun? This course offers NASBA-approved non-technical (behavioral) ethics credit and counts toward your 80-hour CPE requirement; however, it does not satisfy the California Board of Accountancy's four-hour technical (regulatory) ethics requirement.

This study uses difference-in-differences (DiD) analyses to examine the consequences of adopting the U.S. critical audit matter (CAM) disclosure requirement for preparers and users of financial reports. The CAM requirement is one of the largest expansions of the U.S. audit report since the 1940s. We document significant changes to financial statement footnotes referenced by CAMs, which suggests an indirect consequence where management disclosure changes in areas that are expected to be scrutinized following auditor-provided disclosure. Results also suggest that, on average, CAM disclosures do not provide incremental information to the market. To further examine market reaction, we develop well-specified prediction models for the expected number and subject areas of CAMs. We find limited initial evidence that the market reacts negatively when unexpected CAMs are disclosed. Overall, the findings provide insights on the new CAM standard and particularly demonstrate its relevance to management disclosure decisions and to the market.

Everyone agrees we need to administer useful employee evaluations. However, few managers take the necessary time to effectively plan for upcoming reviews or think about how to correctly administer each one. As a result, an employee review can be an unhelpful and negative event'or could be a great catalyst for future high performance. Gain insight to the performance cycle; learn the importance of continuous improvement through coaching; and identify 360s and other forms of data, among other topics. The webcast was originally broadcast on July 18, 2016. Note: There is a minimum passing rate of 70% for this course.