Top Accounting and Auditing Issues for 2024 (Currently Unavailable)

This six CPE hour course reviews top accounting issues: introduction to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) for accountants, how to account and audit for digital assets, and phishing, vishing, and smishing. Environmental, Social, and Corporate governance (ESG) refers to the factors in measuring the sustainability and societal impact of an investment in a company or business. Analysis of these criteria can help determine the future financial performance of companies. This course introduces the topic of ESG and what accountants and management should know. Concerns about properly accounting for and auditing digital assets have been increasing over the last decade as more and more private companies have been incorporating cryptocurrency, tokens, and other digital assets in their operations and recording them on their financial statements. This course will address the most frequently asked questions, specific risks, and challenges emerging in this arena. As well developed as the internal controls over information technology (IT) systems are, it is often the human element that allows criminals to commit online frauds against businesses. This course addresses how criminals take advantage of employees to commit data breaches or to place malware on an organization’s computers. It also discusses cyber fraud awareness training and internal controls to help prevent these types of fraud.

This five CPE hour course reviews top auditing issues: new auditor’s reporting standards, how to audit under the new leasing standard, and the future of internal audit. The Auditing Standards Board (ASB) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) completed its project to update the requirements surrounding the auditor’s report. With the issuance of so many new Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS) (Nos. 134 through 141), affecting the entire AU-C 700 series of AICPA Professional Standards, there are more requirements that audit engagement teams will need to know. This course walks through the key areas of those new requirements. The auditor’s report, while maintaining a good amount of the extant language, will be expanded as a result of the new standards. This course is designed to provide external auditors with practical and insightful perspectives on how to audit transactions under the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 842, Leases. Topics addressed include the new accounting and financial reporting requirements and how to substantively and analytically test them in accordance with professional standards. This course also discusses what the future holds for internal auditors. Topics covered include how to address challenges and emerging risks, and the importance of staying relevant, being proactive, upgrading skills, and understanding the role of technology. It also briefly discusses the Institute of Internal Auditors proposed Global Internal Audit Standards that will replace the International Professional Practices Framework for internal auditors.