Staff Training — Level III

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Staff Training — Level III On-Demand Series (159501)
Recommended CPE Credit: 14
Regular/AICPA Member: $273.75/$219.00

Understanding Business Strategies (150181)
Recommended CPE Credit: 2
Regular/AICPA Member: $73.75/$59.00

In this course, you'll be guided through a way of looking at your client's business that will not only help in your audit work but will enable you to help your client become more focused in its activities. You'll review two basic business strategies - cost leadership and differentiation - and the risks associated with both. You'll then learn about value chain analysis, the primary and support activities, and how they differ in different businesses.

With multimedia audio and video, you'll go through case studies. Using computer interaction, you'll practice applying your knowledge to clients, much like your own. A printable study guide with key learning points is included with the course.

Objectives

• Identify and assess your client's overall business strategies.
• Apply the value chain analysis to identify your client's primary activities.
• Recognize different value chain configurations and understand the implications of these differences.

Prerequisite: Three to five years of public accounting experience and completion of the AICPA courses Staff Training Level I and Level II or equivalent.

Analyzing Your Client's Competitive Position (150191)
Recommended CPE Credit: 2
Regular/AICPA Member: $73.75/$59.00

In this course, we will give you tools for gathering information. You are probably familiar with techniques to help you with examining a company's internal dynamics. In this course, we'll talk about your client's external dynamics. In the first half of this course, we'll teach you how to drill down for information. At the uppermost layer, you'll start with the identification of general objectives. As you proceed deeper in the information-gathering process, your questions will become more detailed until at last you get to the information you want.

By understanding these external pressures, you then assess your client's ability to deal with them. For example, you might be able to understand your client's relative strengths for dealing with these forces and the opportunities available in the industry. You will also be able to assess the client's weaknesses and possible threats to its competitive position. Information about your client's suppliers, competitors, and customers will tell you a great deal about your client's strengths and the opportunities available to it, as well as its weaknesses and possible business threats. After completing the course, you'll be able to use the techniques and detailed questions you learned as a way to gather this critical audit information.

The course includes a printable study guide with key learning points.

Objectives

• Categorize external forces as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats to your client.
• Assess the relative strength of a client's competitors, suppliers, and customers.
• Ask detailed questions of your client to gather information about competitors, suppliers, and customers.
• Access public sources to gather information about your clients, and their suppliers, competitors, or customers.

Prerequisite: Three to five years of public accounting experience and completion of the AICPA courses Staff Training Level I and Level II or equivalent.

Audit Analysis and Business Advice (150201)
Recommended CPE Credit: 2
Regular/AICPA Member: $73.75/$59.00

This course will help you make business advisory comments to your clients, which may be communicated in a management letter. You will be given tools for gathering information, such as the Information and Analysis Sheet included with the course resources. Once you have recorded your observations about the client, you'll learn how to develop advice using powerful techniques like brainstorming. Next, you'll evaluate the ideas, choosing the suggestions that are feasible, cost-beneficial and a good strategic fit for the client. Finally, you'll look at the implications of what you've found for the audit, particularly analytical procedures.

During the course, you'll practice the techniques through interactive case studies using real world scenarios. Rich with multimedia, this course will hone your audit analysis techniques, enabling you to offer useful business advice to your clients.

The course includes a printable study guide with key learning points.

Objectives

• Use specific tools and techniques to analyze data about your client and its industry.
• Generate ideas for business advisory comments based on your analysis of client and industry data.
• Evaluate and develop general ideas into specific recommendations for your clients.

Prerequisite: Three to five years of public accounting experience and completion of the AICPA courses Staff Training Level I and Level II or equivalent.

Auditing Estimates and Subjective Accounting Information (150211)
Recommended CPE Credit: 3
Regular/AICPA Member: $111.25/$89.00

This course will help the experienced auditor to recognize estimates and subjective information, plan early to identify key estimates and risks, focus on the process to identify significant assumptions.

You'll practice assessing assumptions, learn the best techniques for gathering audit evidence and how to assess management's ability and intents. You'll analyze the past and review documents. You'll be given hands on experience in auditing a cash flow estimate.

This interactive course will lead you through a multi-part case study, giving you hands on practice applying the knowledge and techniques you learn. A printable study guide with key learning points is included with your course materials.

Objectives

• Identify the characteristics of estimates and subjective accounting information and describe how these differ from financial statement amounts based on historical events and facts.
• Describe the audit objectives for estimates and other subjective accounting information.
• Apply techniques for auditing estimates and other subjective accounting information.
• Identify accounting estimates for which a high risk of material misstatement exists.
• Effectively plan your audits to address the risks associated with accounting estimates.
• Gather and evaluate evidential matter to assess the quality of the client's estimation process and related key assumptions.
• Evaluate the reasonableness of management's stated future plans and estimates of future cash flow.

Prerequisite: Three to five years of public accounting experience and completion of the AICPA courses Staff Training Level I and Level II or equivalent.

Contingent Liabilities: Accounting and Auditing (150221)
Recommended CPE Credit: 2
Regular/AICPA Member: $73.75/$59.00

Applying the criteria in the accounting standards is sometimes difficult and can create audit risk. In this course, you'll review the accounting rules, learn techniques for auditing for contingent liabilities, and then practice what you've learned in real-life, interactive case studies.

You'll learn what to look for in lawyers' letters - what language is acceptable and what's overly qualified. You'll also learn how to assess management's ability to estimate losses.

The course includes a printable study guide with key learning points.

Objectives

• Apply the recognition, measurement, and disclosure criteria described in SFAS No. 5.
• Perform auditing procedures to test the reasonableness of an estimate of a contingent liability.

Prerequisite: Three to five years of public accounting experience and completion of the AICPA courses Staff Training Level I and Level II or equivalent.

Revenue Recognition: Accounting and Auditing (150231)
Recommended CPE Credit: 3
Regular/AICPA Member: $111.25/$89.00

A substantial number of financial statement reporting problems, audit failures, and litigation against accounting firms relate to revenue recognition issues. In this course, you will review the accounting requirements and learn where to go for additional accounting guidance. You will then go through the audit procedures and learn how to recognize fraud associated with improper revenue recognition and detect revenue misstatements.

You'll learn that audit procedures focused on the balance sheet are not enough. In a series of interactive case studies, you'll practice the key points related to trouble spots like shipping policies, absence of an agreement, cancellation clauses, right of return, and more.

Objectives

• Apply fundamental accounting principles related to revenue recognition.
• Evaluate your client's revenue recognition policy for compliance with generally accepted revenue recognition criteria.
• Identify signs of improper revenue recognition.
• Design and apply audit procedures to detect potential misstatements of revenue.
• Detect material misstatements related to revenue recognition when rights of return exist.

Prerequisite: Three to five years of public accounting experience and completion of the AICPA courses Staff Training Level I and Level II or equivalent.

Note: Accessible immediately after completing the purchase process