CPE Catalog & Events

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) states that if inventory is material to the financial statements, the auditor should generally obtain evidence regarding the existence and condition of inventory by attending the entity's physical inventory count. The types of inventory an entity might have varies from industry to industry as does the risk of fraud or error related to inventory counts. This module will discuss the procedures and risks involved in observing an entity's physical inventory. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 1.)

CPA firms generally perform a significant number of preparation, compilation and review engagements under the Statements of Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS). Compilations and reviews are performed as attest engagements where preparation engagements do not require independence and as such are considered non-attest engagements. Reviews, like audits are considered assurance services. Reviews provide limited assurance that financial statements are free of material misstatement. In addition, the CPA may perform other non-attest services, such as bookkeeping. CPAs must fully understand the professional responsibilities related to each of these varying levels of services, in order to effectively and efficiently satisfy engagement objectives and ensure compliance with professional standards relative to independence. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 1.)

Be the go-to person for financial statement compilation engagements. Specifically designed for compilation practitioners and their staff, this course will provide you with a hands-on application for performing compilation engagements under AR-C Section 80. You will learn the ins and outs of relevant sections of SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, the most significant change to the SSARS since their inception over thirty years ago. This course will bring you up to date on all SSARSs requirements and guidance as it relates to compilations, including SSARS No. 25, effective for 2021 reporting. The course will also provide an overview of the different services that an accountant can provide under the SSARS and review the requirements of AR-C Section 60 as it relates to compilation engagements.

Be the go-to person for financial statement preparation engagements. Specifically designed for preparation practitioners and their staff, this course will provide you with a hands-on application for performing preparation engagements under AR-C Section 70. You will learn the ins and outs of relevant sections of SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, the most significant change to the SSARS since their inception over thirty years ago. This course will bring you up to date on all SSARSs requirements and guidance as it relates to preparation, including SSARS No. 25, effective for 2021 reporting. The course will also provide an overview of the different services that an accountant can provide under the SSARS and review the requirements of AR-C Section 60 as it relates to preparation engagements.

Be the go-to person on financial statement compilation and preparation engagements. Specifically designed for those performing preparation and compilation engagements, this course will provide you with a hands-on application for performing preparation and compilation engagements under AR-C Section 70 and 80, respectively. You will learn the ins and outs of relevant sections of the SSARS related to preparation and compilation engagements with a focus on how recently issued updates to SSARS No. 21 impact these engagements. More importantly, you will be provided practical examples and illustrations to help you effectively and efficiently perform those engagements, including a detailed discussion of the reporting requirements under AR-C 80 related to compilation engagement. Lastly, the course will review recent peer review feedback on these types of engagements, highlighting areas where you can improve engagement quality.

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Be the go-to person on financial statement compilation and preparation engagements. Specifically designed for those performing preparation and compilation engagements, this course will provide you with a hands-on application for performing preparation and compilation engagements under AR-C Section 70 and 80, respectively. You will learn the ins and outs of relevant sections of the SSARS related to preparation and compilation engagements with a focus on how recently issued updates to SSARS No. 21 impact these engagements. More importantly, you will be provided practical examples and illustrations to help you effectively and efficiently perform those engagements, including a detailed discussion of the reporting requirements under AR-C 80 related to compilation engagement. Lastly, the course will review recent peer review feedback on these types of engagements, highlighting areas where you can improve engagement quality.

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In order to prepare accurate and effective not-for-profit financial statements, professionals must have a strong working knowledge of the reporting requirements. Now is the time to obtain that knowledge! This course explains the requirements, illustrates how the requirements manifest in the financial statements, and clarifies options available to not-for-profits in applying the requirements. The course covers key accounting areas that affect not-for-profits, including revenue recognition, contributions, and leases. The course materials utilize a highly illustrative and innovative format, including over 30 focused exercises to provide an enhanced working knowledge of not-for-profit accounting and reporting.

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In order to prepare accurate and effective not-for-profit financial statements, professionals must have a strong working knowledge of the reporting requirements. Now is the time to obtain that knowledge! This course explains the requirements, illustrates how the requirements manifest in the financial statements, and clarifies options available to not-for-profits in applying the requirements. The course covers key accounting areas that affect not-for-profits, including net assets, contributions, and functional expense reporting. The course materials utilize a highly illustrative and innovative format, including 30 focused exercises to provide an enhanced working knowledge of not-for-profit accounting and reporting.

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The ultimate objective of a financial statement audit is to issue the independent auditor's report. This module discusses the process, introduces key elements of financial statements, and provides best practices for auditors who either prepare or review the client's financial statements. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 2.)

This course provides an overview of the key presentation requirements with respect to an entity's financial statements. This includes a discussion of key principles related to an entity's overall presentation as well as specific topics with respect to its balance sheet, income statement, comprehensive income, statement of cash flows, as well as notes to the financial statements. The course also addresses the considerations around changes in accounting principles. The information related to this course is primarily sourced from the Financial Standards Accounting Board's (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC).

Every organization in the world will fall victim to fraud. This course will cover the means and methods available to reduce the prevalence of fraud. We will also discuss the controls that victim organizations employ in order to seek improvements for our own organizations.

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Every organization in the world will fall victim to fraud. This course will cover the means and methods available to reduce the prevalence of fraud. We will also discuss the controls that victim organizations employ in order to seek improvements for our own organizations.

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Regulators, investors, other capital markets stakeholders and users of the financial statements need accurate and transparent financial information for decision making. One reason that why the capital markets are as efficient as they are today, is that users believe that they can trust audited financial statements, in part, due to the fact that they are audited. The AICPA instituted its Enhancing Audit Quality Initiative in 2014 to help to improve regulator and stakeholder trust when it was being questioned. Education, outreach and changes to the peer review program have helped to increase audit quality over the subsequent years. New standards will require a risk-based approach to quality management and enhance the guidance on the role of the engagement quality reviewer and the audit partner. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 5.)

Fraud continues to be at record highs. According to NASDAQ's Global Financial Crime Report, fraud schemes and bank frauds led to global losses of over $485 billion. Four of the most cited frauds were customer fraud, cybercrime, asset misappropriation, and bribery and corruption. From global banking giants to local charities and mom-and-pop shops, no entities are immune from fraud, even from their most trusted employees and leaders. It is critical for all organizations to learn fraud detection and prevention strategies to protect themselves from becoming the next fraud victims. CPAs and internal auditors must also learn how to detect fraud schemes before it's too late. In this course, we apply a case study approach to prepare you to spot fraud schemes that others have missed. In this quarterly fraud series, follow our Surgent team as we explore and explain the latest fraud schemes and how accounting teams can better prevent and detect them. This course is designed to keep you up to date on the latest schemes and ways to protect your clients.

Fraud continues to be at record highs. According to NASDAQ's Global Financial Crime Report, fraud schemes and bank frauds led to global losses of over $485 billion. Four of the most cited frauds were customer fraud, cybercrime, asset misappropriation, and bribery and corruption. From global banking giants to local charities and mom-and-pop shops, no entities are immune from fraud, even from their most trusted employees and leaders. It is critical for all organizations to learn fraud detection and prevention strategies to protect themselves from becoming the next fraud victims. CPAs and internal auditors must also learn how to detect fraud schemes before it's too late. In this course, we apply a case study approach to prepare you to spot fraud schemes that others have missed. In this quarterly fraud series, follow our Surgent team as we explore and explain the latest fraud schemes and how accounting teams can better prevent and detect them. This course is designed to keep you up to date on the latest schemes and ways to protect your clients.

The Yellow Book contains performance and reporting requirements related to internal control deficiencies. This course is designed to help you understand these requirements and excel in applying them. We will also examine where the auditor draws the line as to whether an internal control deficiency is a significant deficiency or a material weakness.

This course provides an overview of critical challenges companies encounter under ASC 606, emphasizing several key areas that can be particularly challenging for effective revenue recognition. This includes identifying valid contracts, determining performance obligations, assessing variable consideration, and distinguishing between recognizing revenue over time versus at a point in time. The course also covers principal versus agent considerations, accounting for contract modifications, licensing arrangements, and disclosure requirements.

This course provides an overview of the similarities and key differences between the revenue recognition standards issued by the FASB (ASC Topic 606) and the IASB (IFRS 15). While these standards are materially similar as the regulators worked jointly to issue the new converged standards, there are notable differences that are good to understand. However, this course is not intended to provide an exhaustive discussion of these differences.

For those entities who formerly recognized revenue under the guidance of Statement of Position 81-1, Accounting for Performance of Construction-Type and Certain Production-Type Contracts (SOP 81-1/ASC 605-35), understanding the basics of Topic 606 is not enough. In order to effectively apply Topic 606, you need a detailed understanding of how to recognize revenue over time under Topic 606's Five-Step model. Even though Topic 606 is currently effective, changes in business and contracts will always require the need to stay current on this topic. Now is the time to get the answers to your application questions. In this course we'll explore Topic 606 from the perspective of entities that currently recognize revenue under SOP 81-1/ASC 605-35, highlighting how the accounting for revenue recognition changed following the adoption of ASC Topic 606. Next, the course will address challenging sections of the ASC 606 guidance such as identifying performance obligations and when and how you recognize revenue over time. Applying Topic 606 successfully to your long-term contracts is an ongoing exercise. This course will keep you up to date with the latest guidance and best practices in this critical area.

Audit documentation provides the principal support for the independent auditor's report. Therefore, it is important that workpapers meet professional standards. Anything less could result in peer or regulatory review deficiencies at as a worse case, lawsuits when fraud occurs at a company. The auditor is not responsible for identifying fraud. But the auditor is responsible for planning and performing the audit to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement due to fraud or error. Effective workpaper reviewer is an important part of meeting professional standards at the engagement level as well as the overall firm level. In addition, the workpaper review process should be used as a tool for professional development and promoting efficient audits. This module will provide the tips and tools for satisfying these important workpaper reviewer responsibilities for auditors at the in charge or newer manager levels. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 3.)