This course tackles the question: Is it ethical to “manage” the earnings number – that is, to use legitimate discretion in the preparation of the financial statements to manage the numbers in a way that serves the interests of the manager independent of whether it serves the interest of the firm’s owners? We begin by creating an ethical framework based on the professional code of ethics. We then cover the what, why, how and when of earnings management behavior, describing and illustrating the variety of ways in which managers use their discretion in operating, investing, financing, and reporting decisions to influence the financial reports. In the vast majority of these cases, we rely on real-world examples, taken from publicly-available financial statements that received unqualified audit opinions. For the various categories of earnings management, we consider how they can be evaluated within the ethical framework we established in the beginning of the course. The result is an informed and thoughtful approach to assessing whether a given earnings management practice is consistent with professional ethics, a valuable tool whether you are an external auditor reviewing a set of statements, a preparer of the statements, or an outsider attempting to determine the usefulness of the statements. Worth 3 Technical CPE Credits (CPA/NASBA)

Financial experts and CPAs in particular should be well-versed in topics relating to risk management. After all, understanding how to hedge against potential risks or avoid them altogether can be the key to business success or failure. So, in the interest of adding to the existing toolbelt of risk management resources, this course focuses on the COSO framework to give accountants a step-by-step explanation for anticipating, preventing and managing risk. Course Type: Video. Worth 1 Technical CPE Credit (CPA/NASBA).

Documentary meets security awareness training to form a new genre of tech training in this ACI Learning course. Cyber autopsy examines real cyber-attacks, breaking down each attack into its component parts to raise awareness about the tactics of hacker communities. More importantly, Cyber Autopsy explains how attacks could have been avoided or presented in the Autopsy Report. Learn while being entertained. Course Type: Video. Worth 3.5 CPE Credits (CPA/NASBA).

Many entities employ factoring as a means of accelerating cash collection, and this course provides a brief overview of the accounting and reporting requirements for such programs. However, it goes further into the conditions to meet in order to recognize transfers of financial assets as true sales, rather than secured borrowing. Course Type: eBook. Worth 2 CPE Credits (CPA/NASBA).