The first part of this course will help identify best practices and top trends for accounting firms to help establish highly effective, efficient and successful practices. We will explore best practices in various service areas to enable practitioners to provide high value-added services while maintaining client confidentiality and protection of confidential information and date and development through implementation of procedures and processes to ensure accounting firm practice success. In the words of Albert Einstein, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
The second part of this course participants will learn the basics of cybersecurity awareness and safeguarding sensitive data, how to address cybersecurity threats within a firm, and how to use AICPA best practices to manage and obtain assurance of cybersecurity risks.
DESIGNED FOR
Practitioners in small to medium-sized public accounting firms who desire to build a quality-oriented and successful practice in both attest and/or non-attest professional services.
BENEFITS
- Identify potential enhancements to existing practice areas to raise controls, efficiencies and the value of provided professional services
- Identify potential new practice areas to organically grow and expand valuable client services
- Identify the complementary practice needs to professionally diversify the practice beyond core compliance services while ensuring quality controls and due-professional care necessary to ensure greater value-added results for clients
- Explain the cybersecurity threat landscape and its economic costs
- Identify state regulatory and legal rules related to cybersecurity
- Apply the core principles of cybersecurity awareness to limit cybersecurity risk
- Describe the AICPA’s cybersecurity risk management framework and CPA responsibilities
- Provide reasonable assurance related to third-party consultants and cloud providers
- Educate the firm and clients on cybersecurity basics, risk management and best practices
HIGHLIGHTS
Discuss the best practices of:
- Alternatives and recommendations for providing tax preparation and compliance, including desktop versus cloud controls
- controls and compliance in SAS, SSARS and SSAE services when providing financial statements and/or financial reporting
- Establishing and maintaining a system of quality control for a CPA accounting and auditing practice
- Ideas and recommendations for establishing, providing and maintaining client accounting services
- Policies and procedures for conducting consulting and advisory services
- Key concepts in developing service niches
- Client acceptance and continuation
Learn more about:
- Ransomware
- Identity theft
- Social engineering attacks
- Safeguarding taxpayer data
- Security protections in SOC 3® reports
- AICPA’s PCPS Cybersecurity Toolkit
- AICPA Professional Code of Conduct Disclosing Information to a Third-Party Service Provider (1.700.040)
COURSE LEVEL
Intermediate
PREREQUISITES
Web browsing and email experience.
ADVANCE PREPARATION
None
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Course materials are distributed electronically and we’ve passed the savings along to you - registrants save $20 on all 8-hour seminar pricing. To access the materials visit
My Events. Download to your laptop or tablet prior to the seminar, handouts are added as received.
Help Feed Those in Need- The NJCPA Emerging Leaders Council is hosting a Food Drive to benefit the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. Please bring your nonperishable items and canned goods to this event. Peanut butter and tuna fish are always needed.