CPE Catalog & Events

The basic benefits of why                                                  The 5-15 report                        Curiosity and creativity    

Understanding the Cloud-based options available in a Microsoft 365/Office 365 environment How to use tools such as Teams, Planner, and Power Automate Storing data in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business

Discuss the most recent individual and business income tax legislation passed to date Walk through major tax changes to corporations, partnerships and/or individuals and any changes to the income tax forms and other related schedules Review numerous business income tax provisions including but not limited to the 20% qualified business income (QBI) deduction; changes to NOLs, §461(l) business loss limitations, §163(j) business interest deduction limitations, accounting method changes, depreciation, retirement plans, fringe benefits and entertainment expenses Brush up on the individual and business income tax rates (e.g., income tax rates, capital gain tax rates, self-employment tax and alternative minimum tax (AMT), 3.8% net investment income tax) Discuss other individual income tax topics and changes to filing status, personal exemptions, itemized deductions, exclusions from income, adjustments to income and income tax credits (e.g., child tax credit and dependent care credit) Walk through the NEW final required minimum distribution (RMD) regulations Review other important IRS audit areas such as basis and at-risk limitations for S shareholders and partners, passive activity losses and real estate professionals and self-employment taxes

The topics that will be covered in this class include:New concepts due to the issuance of SAS No. 145Revised requirement to separately assess inherent risk and control riskA new definition of significant risk New emphasis on IT controls and risk of material misstatementNew guidance on maintaining professional skepticismRevised requirements to evaluate the design of certain controlsRevised requirements regarding audit documentationNew guidance on scalability

Emotions Relationships Emotional Intelligence Communication

Communications Self-Awareness Leadership 

Benford’s Law Digital Analysis Data analytics

Behavioral insights (BI) PrimerHow and why BI are used by the IRSIRS and individual decision-makingIRS and environmental and design considerationsIRS and social normsIRS "top of mind" issues BI and Implementation of tax reform legislation BI and private debt collectionBI and online taxpayer accountsBI and taxpayer rights in "real" vs. "unreal" auditsBI and the tax-exempt approval processBI and passport renewal and revocationHow to use BI to more mindfully interact with the IRS to improve outcomes

The major topics that will be covered in this class include:Definition of self-rental property - both for Sections 199A and 469Self-rental income from directly owned properties and reporting on Form 1040, Schedule E, page 1Self-rental income from indirectly owned (partnerships, S corporations) and reporting on Form 1040, Schedule E, page 2Form 8582 (passive activity)The flow-through entity grouping electionIllustrative examples and consequences of failing to comply with the reporting standardsSelf-rental property and "former passive activities" rules

Designing and performing sufficient audit procedures required for all audits, particularly when auditing privately-owned companies Identify controls that exist, especially when those controls are not clearly identified or formalized Evaluate if those controls prevent or detect material misstatements in the financial statements Design effective audit procedures (including testing of controls where appropriate) in response to the auditor s assessed risk of the potential material misstatements in the financial statements

Concepts of the Single Audit under the Uniform Guidance Performing the compliance audit of federal awards, including testing auditee compliance and internal control over compliance Auditor reporting responsibilities including the compliance audit reports, the report on the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, and schedule of findings and questioned costs Requirements for the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, known as the SEFA Update on the OMB Compliance Supplement

How is fraud detected The role of external auditors in finding fraud Revenue recognition issues Corrupt management Data mining Physical and biometric controls

Best practices for creating, editing, and managing PDFs The process for creating and distributing PDF forms Integrating PDFs with other applications Securing your PDFs

The 4 perspectives of optimization The Two Circle Analysis. The What The How. The Leadership 10 The Fatal 13 5 thoughts for a healthy work environment

The major topics covered in this course include:Examination of actual fraudsDiscussion of internal controls that could have prevented fraudsContemplation of epiphanies for your own professional scenarios.The AICPA Code of Professional ConductOther elements of professional conduct and compliance with professional standards

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 owners 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

Trust obstacles and pitfalls Revoking irrevocable trusts Trust protectors Succession planning, retirement planning and estate planning through trusts Basic issues related to special needs and Medi-Cal planning General Outline of planning with GRATs, QPRTs, IDGTs, etc. Planning with A-B and A-B-C (QTIP) trusts Asset protection through domestic and foreign trusts

Examination process: organization of IRS, standards for return selection; AICPA SSTS (revised), Circular 230 guidelines, amended returns and approaches to resolving examination problems Civil penalties, delinquency penalties, accuracy-related penalty, fraud penalty, preparer penalty, promoter and protestor penalties and foreign information return penalty regime Audits and administrative appeals, nature and scope; docketed v. nondocketed appeals, appeals conferences and settlement approaches Collection process: significance of assessment; nature of tax liens and levies, installment agreements, collection due process, offers in compromise and bankruptcy Tax fraud: civil tax fraud badges, criminal tax fraud violations, defenses, voluntary disclosures the role of Kovel accountant Judicial proceedings: Tax Court process, federal district court, Court of Federal Claims and California Superior Court

The major topics covered in this class include:Defining Federal Income TaxesComputing federal income tax liabilityCalculating adjusted gross incomeDefining Qualifying ChildDetermining filing statusCalculating the Kiddie TaxStandard deductionTax Rates for ordinary income, capital gains, and qualified dividend incomeCash v. Accrual MethodFiling deadlines and obtaining extensions

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)