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Federal tax policy is designed to accomplish numerous goals, from funding the government to encouraging socially beneficial actions such as saving for retirement. ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, was created principally to meet the latter objective. ERISA created an individual retirement arrangement usually referred to simply as an IRA to encourage taxpayers who were not participants in an employer-sponsored qualified retirement plan to save money to fund their future retirement needs. That was the initial legislative action. In order to participate, you needed to be employed and not a participant in a pension, profit-sharing, or other qualified plan. These early ERISA provisions offering tax benefits to individuals funding IRAs have been extended in subsequent legislative actions | |
Cash flow is one of the most important long-term indicators for the overall financial health of a business. For a business to enjoy long-term success, sufficient cash must always be on-hand to accomplish various things including paying worker salaries, resolving immediate debts, and paying the companys normal operating costs. Businesses also need cash on-hand to pay for expenses, repay bank loans, pay taxes, and to purchase new assets to fuel the companys future growth. A companys cash flow is documented in their cash flow statement. The cash flow statement, which is also known as a statement of cash flows, is a financial document that summarizes the amount of both cash and cash equivalents entering and exiting a company during a given time period. The cash flow statement provides useful context for both a companys balance sheet and income statement and has been a mandatory part of all corporate financial reports since 1987. The cash flow report is important because it informs investors, creditors, company owners, and other interested parties of the business cash position of the company and can act as a strong indicator of a companys overall financial health. | |
All business entities require information to operate efficiently and effectively. The accounting system is one of the most important systems for the organizations decision makers. Accounting information systems collect and process data from transactions and events, organize them in useful reports, and communicate results to decision makers. Accounting Systems and Financial Statements is a course that will describe what information must be collected to properly report on a business. This course will describe the four major types of financial statements and define the standards that are used to create financial reports. This course will define the various elements for the four major financial statements. This course will review the framework for adjustments and describe the common adjustments that must be made at the end of each accounting period, so they are accurate. | |
Internal controls are required to ensure the integrity of financial and accounting information, promote accountability, and prevent fraud. This course will describe the importance of internal controls and the purpose of audit committee. This course will review the goals for internal controls and discuss the internal control framework used by most companies based in the United States. This course will describe the interrelated components for an effective internal control system. This course will discuss the importance of identifying audit risk. Finally, this course will discuss the difference between control deficiency, significant difiency and material weakness. | |
This course will identify the general planning requirements for an audit that must comply with all of the applicable requirements for a review of financial statements conducted in accordance with GAGAS. Finally, this course will describe what must be included and what must be excluded from an audit report. | |
The Generally Accepted Governmental Auditing Standards, also known as the Yellow Book, provides a comprehensive framework for conducting governmental audits with a focus on high quality, integrity, competence, independence, and objectivity. The Yellow Book is used by auditors of government organizations, entities that receive government awards, and any other audit organization performing Yellow Book audits. The Yellow Book outlines all requirements for governmental audit reports, professional qualifications for auditors, and audit organization quality control. | |
The Generally Accepted Governmental Auditing Standards, also known as the Yellow Book, provides a comprehensive framework for conducting governmental audits with a focus on high quality, integrity, competence, independence, and objectivity. The Yellow Book is used by auditors of government organizations, entities that receive government awards, and any other audit organization performing Yellow Book audits. The Yellow Book outlines all requirements for governmental audit reports, professional qualifications for auditors, and audit organization quality control. | |
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of forms the current foundation of the US tax code. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is organized into four primary sections of: Individual Tax Reform, Business Tax Reform, Exempt Organizations and International provisions. This is an updated course for 2023 that will provide a quick review of all four portions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Bill (H.R.1.) and it also includes the provisions that have changed for 2023. This course will provide a summary description of all provisions referenced in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for each of the primary sections. It will identify which sections changed for 2018 and which were updated for 2023. | |
Gifts are a commonly used method to reduce the amount of estate taxes owed. This course has been updated to reflect all current changes to tax law as practitioners prepare returns in 2023. This course will explore the topic of gift taxes. It will explain when gifts are free of tax liability and identify various scenarios where filing a gift tax return is required. | |
Proper controls around the shipping process is essential in order for companies in providing accurate and timely orders to customers. A clear understanding of the key controls in a process can benefit internal auditors, business managers, and others who want to understand, improve, or audit the process. The course allows participants to become familiar with, or brush up on, internal control definitions and concepts. The course also covers in the shipping process in detail. Participants will learn the key shipping process activities under both a manual and a computerized system. While relatively few companies may still have a purely manual system, covering the manual process will help an accountant, auditor, or business manager to better understand what the key documents received, created, and sent from the process are. | |
Companies must accurately bill customers in order to stay in business. A clear understanding of the key controls in a process can benefit internal auditors, business managers, and others who want to understand, improve, or audit the process. The course allows participants to become familiar with or brush up on, internal control definitions and concepts. The course also covers the billing process in detail. | |
Properly evaluating, setting, and monitoring customer credit limits can be important to companies for issuing credit and ultimately, collecting cash receipts. A clear understanding of the key controls in a process can benefit internal auditors, business managers, and others who want to understand, improve, or audit the process. This course allows participants to become familiar with, or brush up on, internal control definitions and concepts. The course also covers the credit process in detail. Participants will learn the key credit process steps under both a manual and a computerized system. While relatively few companies may still have a purely manual system covering a manual system will help an accountant, auditor, or business manager to better understand what the key documents received, created, and sent from the process are. | |
This course can benefit anyone that wants to better understand the role that internal controls can play in creating a reliable and consistent accounting system for todays competitive and complex business environment. A clear understanding of the key controls in a process can benefit internal auditors, business managers, and others who want to understand, improve, or audit the process. The course allows participants to become familiar with, or brush up on, internal control definitions and concepts it also covers in detail the order entry process. Participants will learn the key order entry process activities under both a manual and a computerized system. While relatively few companies may still have a purely manual system covering the manual process will help an accountant, auditor, or business manager to better understand what the key documents received, created, and sent from the process are. | |
All businesses need cash to survive. Proper controls in the receipt of cash are extremely important as this is the primary way that most companies generate cash. A clear understanding of the key controls in a process can benefit internal auditors, business managers, and others who want to understand, improve, or audit the process. The course allows participants to become familiar with, or brush up on, internal control definitions and concepts. The course covers the cash receipts process in detail | |
Controls around the procurement of goods including the purchasing, receiving, and accounts payable processes are important for companies that want to procure goods effectively at fair prices. A clear understanding of the key controls in a process can benefit internal auditors, business managers, and others who want to understand, improve, or audit the process. The course allows participants to become familiar with, or brush up on, internal control definitions and concepts. Participants will also learn the key purchasing process activities as well as specific controls related to the purchasing process. | |
Controls around the procurement of goods including the purchasing, receiving, and accounts payable processes are important for companies that want to procure goods effectively at fair prices. A clear understanding of the key controls in a process can benefit internal auditors, business managers, and others who want to understand, improve, or audit the process. The course allows participants to become familiar with, or brush up on, internal control definitions and concepts. Participants will also learn the key receiving process activities as well as specific controls related to the receiving process. | |
Accountants and business decision makers who wants to understand concepts related to measuring and tracking company performance could benefit from this course. The course allows participants to become familiar with tracking performance of a decentralized organization as well as understanding the benefits and key pieces of both a Master budget and a Flexible budget. | |
This course can benefit accountants, as well as business managers, who want to understand how financial ratios and other forms of analyses can be used to evaluate a business. This course also covers the investment classifications and investment accounting used by companies to record investments within their financial statements. | |
We are all (including tax practitioners) getting older, and the need for effective retirement planning has never been greater. This mini-course is essential for participants who wish to attain a comfortable retirement for themselves and their clients by maximizing tax saving strategies. Retirement income needs are analyzed; Social Security benefits are determined, and distribution options from IRAs and retirement plans are explored. ASSIGNMENTAt the start of the materials, participants should identify the following topics for study:* Popular retirement myths* Defining retirement & determining retirement income needs* Savings* Assets* Social Security* Retirement plans* Distributions from retirement plans* Nonqualified deferred compensation* Life insurance* Estate planningLearning ObjectivesAfter reading the materials, participants will be able to:1. Identify the basic guidelines of retirement planning recognizing the ten misconceptions of retirement, and specify retirement based on key questions.2. Determine retirement costs and income needs of clients based on their current budget, select tax savings strategies, and identify basic guidelines to use when purchasing assets to attain financial independence.3. Recall the qualifications for Social Security retirement & disability benefits, specify a clients retirement benefits, and determine the difference between Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B.4. Identify basic types of qualified corporate plans and other sources of retirement income such as SIMPLE plans and individual retirement accounts.5. Determine the difference between annuity payments and lump-sum distributions, specify key components of rollovers, premature distributions & required distributions, and identify nonqualified deferred compensation.6. Cite the benefits, uses, and types of life insurance, and specify how three basic estate planning tools can be incorporated into tax practice. | |
This mini-course examines the various ideas, methods, and techniques capable of optimizing the overall compensation package for key employees and principals in small to medium-sized businesses. Qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation, benefit targeting, insurance programs, statutory fringe benefits, interest-free loans, and investment planning are investigated. Consideration is given to indirect compensation in the form of business entertainment, expense accounts, auto use, travel, and transportation. The new field of professional services is probed to provide tax, financial, and estate planning to the key executive. As a result of studying the assigned materials, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below.ASSIGNMENTAt the start of the materials, participants should identify the following topics for study:* Deferral of income* Avoiding taxable income* Unreasonable compensation* Nonqualified deferred compensation* Basic types of corporate retirement plans* Individual plans* Fringe benefits* Employer-provided automobile* Business entertainment* Business travel & transportationLearning ObjectivesAfter reading the materials, participants will be able to:1. Identify types of income, from a financial and tax perspective, to be budgeted into cash so that income-producing assets can be acquired and managed for an effective investment plan.2. Determine compensation to maximize the net dollar return using strategies that involve all aspects of how the client relates to the company for which they may be an owner, employee, or both. 3. Specify the differences between qualified deferred compensation plans and nonqualified deferred compensation plans, and recognize defined contribution plans from defined benefit plans identifying the characteristics of each so that business owners may choose the most suitable plan to accomplish their financial and worker incentive objectives.4. Recognize the scope and variety of excluded fringe benefits including tax treatment, operational details, and level of incentive-based compensation.5. Identify the disallowance of entertainment expenses, determine the tax treatment of reimbursements paid under accountable and unaccountable plans, and recognize deductible travel expenses undertaken for business.6. Specify types of insurance that a company can provide its employees, define the various types of equity participation available from which companies may choose, and identify the basic types of buy-sell agreements. |