CPE Catalog+Events
Our comprehensive, easy-to-search list of all LCPA-sponsored courses helps you find exactly what you're looking for, or even a course on a new topic to expand your competencies. TIP: When doing multiple searches for different events, be sure to clear filters between searches.
The How's and Why's of Creating User Defined Functions in Excel
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Online/Webcast
2.00 Credits
With approximately 500 functions already present, Excel seemingly has a function for every need. But sometimes the function YOU need just simply isn’t available. For example, Excel does not have functions to calculate income tax expense or, in many cases, depreciation expense. To solve these shortcomings, you can create User Defined Functions (UDFs). UDFs provide you with the opportunity to create functions for use in any of your formulas and automate your most complex calculations. Join us to learn how to put the power of UDFs to work to simplify and automate even your most complex calculations. Speaker - Thomas Stephens
K2'S Everything Google! Their Most Effective Tools, Apps & Services
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Online/Webcast
4.00 Credits
Google is one of the largest, most widely used and vital technology companies on the planet. Their name has become synonymous with search, knowledge, and cutting-edge technology. Google developed and maintains a wide range of products that have changed how we learn, find things in our community, and communicate with the world. Further, Google offers a business-ready cloud productivity suite used by a growing number of businesses worldwide. Google brings together a wide range of communication and business tools under one roof to serve as the backbone of an organization’s technology infrastructure. Most users are familiar with Google’s search service or Gmail but are unaware of the other services they provide. Additionally, most users barely scratch the surface of the functionality of Google’s tools and services. This course looks at the most valuable features, apps, and services of Google that the busy working professional could better utilize. Course participants will learn to find better web results using search operators and tools. Further, they will understand Workspace and use it as an organization’s back office. They will learn to create dynamic, creative, and useful business documents using Google tools. They will learn to back up and sync their electronic documents to the Cloud using Google Drive. Finally, they will learn to grow their business and expand their marketing using Google’s marketing and website tools. This session finishes with a top-five list of Google's best-hidden secrets and functionalities. Beginners to advanced users of Google products will leave this course with a much deeper understanding of the services, time-saving tips to use the products more effectively, and practical advice on how to best leverage their incredible technology. Speaker - Steven M. Yoss, Jr., CPA
K2's Online Meeting And Collaboration Tools
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Online/Webcast
2.00 Credits
We could work with team members at all levels and in all locations with today’s collaboration and meeting tools. While the COVID-19 pandemic may have been the trigger event that forced many to use these tools for the first time, we discovered the advantages and capabilities. Which tools make sense for your organization? In this session, we will cover the leading meeting and collaboration tools. We will note the features and benefits of options available and will provide a comparison of critical items. We will also explain deployment and control considerations from a management perspective, citing questions you can pose to technical consultants. If you want to improve your team’s productivity, this session will give you independent guidance. Speaker - Randolph (Randy) Johnston
K2's Business Intelligence, Featuring Microsoft's Power BI Tools
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Online/Webcast
8.00 Credits
Business Intelligence (BI) is perhaps the hottest topic in most professional circles in today’s business climate. Increasingly, organizations of all sizes seek to take advantage of the data available to them to identify previously undiscovered insights and gain competitive advantages thought to be out-of-reach just a few short years ago. A growing array of tools – ranging from Excel add-ins to dedicated solutions such as Power BI – now allow you to leverage your existing knowledge and skills to create powerful, interactive dashboards and analyses unthinkable until recently. In this program, you will learn how to implement “do it yourself business intelligence” using various techniques and tools. You will learn how to work with some of the advanced data query and summarization features in Excel to create Excel-based dashboards. You will then learn how to leverage that knowledge to build even more powerful BI objects using Microsoft’s Power BI tools. If gaining better insights into your data to make better decisions is of interest to you, then join us for a fast-paced look at how you can take advantage of these fantastic tools. Speaker - Thomas Stephens
IRS Penalties and Abatements
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Online/Webcast
2.00 Credits
Penalty abatement is a technique that tax practitioners can utilize to help their clients reduce penalties and interest they owe to the IRS if the taxpayer can prove “reasonable cause.” This informative and insightful webinar will provide you with some insider tips, practical steps and effective strategies to help your client manage IRS tax penalties and interest. Learn about various types of penalties that you may face and the various forms and procedures used for requesting penalty and interest abatement, including First Time and Reasonable Cause abatement. Plus, learn about the procedure to follow when requesting refund of paid penalties. **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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com. Speaker - Allison McLeod
K2's 2022's Biggest Security And Privacy Concerns
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Online/Webcast
4.00 Credits
Technology is a business-critical business capability in today’s day and age. Any interruption to an organization’s ability to use its information system poses a significant risk to its viability. Data breaches, cyber-attacks, and ransomware are examples of the most significant existential risks facing businesses today. There are threat actors worldwide that entirely focus on stealing organizational data, stealing economic resources, and disrupting commerce. They use complex social engineering attacks, pervasive phishing messages, intricate malware, and other highly effective techniques. For example, publically reported data breaches now exceed 100k annually. These breaches resulted in releasing the personal information of millions of people worldwide, billions of dollars of compromised organizational assets, and putting countless people in harm’s way. This course covers recent major security breaches, including Solarwinds, Ubiquity, Colonial Pipeline, Tecnimont SpA, Citrix, and LabCorp. It will discuss how these breaches occurred, why they occurred, and how organizations can prevent similar incidents from impacting them. Each case study examines a different form of security vulnerability and how to avoid it. The topics will include social engineering, auditing processes for IT Security systems, forensic accounting, password, two-factor authentication, and improvements for managerial oversight. Participants will gain real-world knowledge from the mistakes of other organizations and, from that experience, develop their own security best practices for their organizations. Speaker - Steven M. Yoss, Jr., CPA
K2's Advanced Excel
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Online/Webcast
8.00 Credits
If you are an experienced Excel user seeking to elevate your skills, join the K2 team for K2’s Advanced Excel.In this laptop-friendly program, you will learn critical advanced Excel skills in six key areas: 1) collaborating with other users and securing workbooks, 2) using tables to analyze and report data, 3) integrating and manipulating data from external sources, 4) creating and auditing complex formulas, 5) advanced data analysis tools, and 6) visualization techniques to analyze and communicate information.The course draws from over twenty-five years of experience in delivering Excel training to accountants and other business professionals. Throughout the program, relevant, real-world examples reinforce the major topics presented.You do not want to miss this opportunity to become more efficient and proficient in Microsoft Office Excel, the tool of choice for accounting and financial professionals. This course covers advanced Excel topics found in Excel 2013 and newer. Speaker - Thomas Stephens
Audit Analysis: Third-Party Risks & SOC Reporting
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Online/Webcast
1.00 Credits
The use of third-party services continues to increase. The ability to gain assurance over internal controls when using these third-party services is critical. Compare and contrast third party controls as they apply to software as a service, specifically with regards to the user-controlled risk and cloud-based programs. Speaker - Sarah Pavelek, Dan Paulson
K2'S Implementing Data Loss Prevention For Better Security And Privacy
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Online/Webcast
1.00 Credits
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a means of creating and enforcing security policies in an organization. For example, you can create DLP rules that programmatically block all outbound email messages containing Social Security or credit card numbers. Unfortunately, most business professionals have yet to discover DLP and how it improves security. In this session, you will learn the fundamentals of DLP and, through demonstrations, see how you can use DLP to enhance organizational security. You do not want to miss this chance to learn how to take advantage of one of the most innovative security options available to you! Speaker - Randolph (Randy) Johnston
K2's Backups Done Right
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Online/Webcast
2.00 Credits
Where is your data? Do you have it controlled and backed up? If all your information is in the cloud, how do you verify that the backup recovery is rapid? If your data is in various silos from your application providers, how do you ensure you have the necessary protection and disposal approaches? This session will help you understand and guide your IT team and providers to take the right actions to protect your business. Backup considerations, including cloud, backup appliance, disaster recovery, and business continuity approaches, are included. If you are from the trust but verify school of thought, this session will help you ask the right questions. Speaker - Randolph (Randy) Johnston
K2's Best Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint Features
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Online/Webcast
4.00 Credits
Most professionals routinely use Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint, but many are self-taught and, as a result, have not been exposed to the best features of these three applications. Consequently, they often use “brute force,” inefficient means when working in these three components of Microsoft Office. If that describes you, then make sure you carve time out of your schedule to participate in this four-hour session, because in it, you will learn how you can work much more efficiently when using these tools. Speaker - Thomas Stephens
K2's Microsoft Power Bi - Power Reporting For Free
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Online/Webcast
2.00 Credits
Microsoft’s Power BI Desktop puts business intelligence in your hands! Offered as a free tool, Power BI allows you to create compelling reports in mere minutes. Participate in this session to embark upon a guided tour of linking data into Power BI, creating stunning and powerful visualizations, and building interactive reports, all with the free version of Power BI. Additionally, you will learn how you can extend these capabilities with a Power BI Pro subscription. Speaker - Thomas Stephens
Keeping the IRS out of Your Retirement
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Online/Webcast
1.00 Credits
Money accumulated in IRAs, 401(k) Plans and other qualified accounts will all be taxable when distributed during life or at death. Most clients are unaware of ways to reduce the tax bill on the distributions. This session will explore ways to reduce taxes, eliminate Required Minimum Distributions, reduce market risk and put control of when and how to use the money back in your clients’ hands. Speaker - Mary Read
Doing Debt Differently - Your Roadmap to Changes & Choices for Success
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Online/Webcast
4.00 Credits
Debt is a real problem for many clients, business owners, and the general public. It can be ever increasing and causes financial, emotional and physical challenges that seem to spiral out of control. What if you could help your clients “do debt differently”? This strategy turns the game upside down and presents solutions from the inside out. As a CPA, you are already a trusted advisor for your clients. What if you could help your clients be free of this burden? This is a tremendous resource you can offer to your clients, expanding the value of what you offer them by adding these processes to your packages. Clients will be happy to pay for this kind of relief as you support them in doing debt differently. If you are one of the many people who are personally burdened by this situation, these strategies, tools, mindsets and actions will personally help you get better results…so you can go back to the task of expanding and growing your business, sleeping better at night and gaining access to the creativity that will take you to your next level of financial fulfillment. Paying off debt is an inside/outside job. Successful strategies include the internal shifts to mindset and enhancing the inner qualities that are most helpful in paying off debt, and practical tools to help make the transition from thinking about paying off debt to actually doing it. This program combines both -- emotional support and dozens of tools and action steps to Do Debt Differently, including: An inventory process to objectively assess the situation and face it head on Guided mind/body processes to alleviate anxiety about the situation Creative exploration (writing and drawing) to gain clarity and specificity Stories and discussion to strengthen your access to the qualities that will be most helpful to your success Using a menu of options to create a personal action plan and an ongoing support team The techniques in this program are creative and easy, but immensely practical. We will combine practical, nuts-and-bolts action steps with powerful tools for mindset-shifting. There is no reason to continue to suffer the burden and overwhelm of debt. Relief is here! Through discussion, interactive exercises, skill building, mindset shifting and powerful actions, you and your clients could be on your way to a debt free life. Please join me for this empowering approach to changing your financial situation. Speaker - Joy Principe
K2's Excel Essentials For Staff Accountants
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Online/Webcast
8.00 Credits
Staff accountants have specific needs when working with Excel – needs that are often not met by their existing Excel knowledge. Chief among these are the needs to quickly summarize data, prepare accurate and aesthetically pleasing reports, and create accounting-centric calculations for elements such as depreciation, amortization, and interest. By participating in this eight-hour session, staff accountants will gain the essential skills they need to maximize their efficiency and accuracy when working with Excel. This session begins with a quick overview of Excel best practices. It then progresses rapidly into discussions that address PivotTables, sophisticated formulas, Tables, formatting, and working with dates in Excel. Throughout the session, you will learn from accounting-centric examples to reinforce key learning points. In this session, you will learn in a “laptop-friendly” environment, and participants will have access to all the demonstration files used in the session. In sum, this seminar is a “must” for all staff accountants seeking to improve their efficiency and accuracy when working with Excel. Speaker - Thomas Stephens
K2's Excel Tips & Tools for Better Budgets
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Online/Webcast
2.00 Credits
Excel is the de facto budgeting and forecasting tool for most professionals, yet many don't leverage its numerous built-in tools. Learn Excel features such as FORECAST, FORECAST.ETS, TREND, Forecast Sheets, XNPV, and XIRR. Additionally, techniques to manage what-if analysis using Scenario Manager, Solver, and the value of performing Monte Carlo simulations. If you use Excel for budgeting and forecasting, you can't afford to miss this session. Speaker - Thomas Stephens
K2'S Tech Update 2022
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Online/Webcast
2.00 Credits
The speed of technology change has been accelerating. But unfortunately, we can’t keep up, and we don’t know what to do about it. This visionary session provides insights, choices, and recommendations to help you decide how rapidly to move, which technologies will affect your business, and how to separate sales pitches from innovative ideas. This session will explore emerging and evolving technologies important to accounting professionals. We will cover the benefits and risks of adopting new technologies in areas ranging from software applications to hardware devices. You’ll also learn how to develop a balanced technology strategy that includes current, emerging, and future technology choices for your firm or business. Speaker - Randolph (Randy) Johnston
K2's Microsoft Word Tips & Tricks
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Online/Webcast
2.00 Credits
Like most Microsoft Word users, you can get through the basics of creating a document and applying some formatting characteristics without issue. But, do you use Word Styles or Quick Parts? Do you know how to generate a Table of Contents automatically from a document? Can you insert Excel-like formulas into Word Tables? If your answer to any one of these questions is “no,” then don’t miss this opportunity to improve your knowledge, skill, and productivity in using Microsoft Word. Speaker - Thomas Stephens
Taxation of Judgements and Settlements
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Online/Webcast
2.00 Credits
In the course of legal actions, payments may be made pursuant to a final disposition of a court case or a mutually agreed-upon settlement. This course will cover the tax implications for payments made for personal injury, emotional distress, lost wages, punitive awards, pre- and post-judgement interest, contract claims, among other damages. **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 leighanne.conroy@acpen.com. Speaker - Allison McLeod
K2's Case Studies in Fraud and Technology Controls - 8 Hrs
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Online/Webcast
8.00 Credits
Fraud continues to plague businesses at epidemic levels, and technology control failures are a significant reason fraud occurs. Using a case study approach, in this session, you will learn about the pervasiveness of fraud, the control failures that contribute to fraud, and what you can do to mitigate fraud risk. A specific focus of this course is the application of information technology general controls and information technology application controls. In this course, you will examine numerous reported fraud cases and identify the general control and application control failures that contributed to each of these frauds. By learning through these real-world case studies, you will be positioned better to reduce fraud risk. Speaker - Thomas Stephens