Agenda

June 13, 2023

8:55 – 9:00 a.m. – Welcome and Opening Remarks
Amy Pitter, Massachusetts Society of CPAs

9:00 – 9:50 a.m. – Update on Auditing and Attestation Standards
Ahava Goldman, CPA, CGMA, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
In this session, we’ll discuss recently issued auditing standards focusing on standards that are effective for year end 2022 and 2023 engagements, including standards on audit evidence, auditing accounting estimates, risk assessment and inquiries of predecessor auditors regarding fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations. We’ll also cover recently issued standards on group audits as well as recently issued attestation standards.

10:00 – 10:50 a.m. – Concurrent Sessions
Session 1: Guidance on Accounting and Auditing of Digital Assets
Kenn Heaslip, MS, MBA, CPA, CGMA, Kaplan
While there has been increasing demand for direction on accounting and audit issues related to digital assets, there is currently no authoritative guidance on accounting for them. In this session, we’ll cover the latest information available from groups working to address these issues, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the SEC-issued SAB 121 on safeguarding crypto-assets an entity holds for platform users.

Session 2: Business Acquisitions
Tom Groskopf, CPA, CVA, MBA, Barnes Dennig
Business combinations do not happen every year, but when they do, they dramatically impact financial statements. In this session, you’ll learn about business combination accounting issues under Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) ASC 805 for private companies from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Center for Plain English Accounting. We’ll also discuss common issues for private companies, including identification of the acquirer, allocation of consideration, fair value determinations for contingent consideration, intangible asset recognition and measurement and accounting for goodwill.

11:00 – 11:50 a.m. – Applied Technologies for Improving Accounting and Auditing Processes
Tommy Stephens, Jr., CPA, CGMA, CITP, K2 Enterprises
Technology continues to provide amazing opportunities to improve accuracy and efficiency, particularly in accounting and auditing environments. With today’s technologies, there are significant opportunities at your disposal to improve efficiency, accuracy, effectiveness, internal control and security, all with modern technology tools. In this session, you will learn how you can take advantage of leading tools to help you and your team realize your stated objectives and work as efficiently as possible.

12:10 – 1:00 p.m. – Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Update with Discussion of Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL)
Kenn Heaslip, MS, MBA, CPA, CGMA, Kaplan
In this session, we’ll discuss the latest information from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), including current standards and projects on related party leases, financial instruments, crypto assets and segment reporting. We’ll also review ASU 2016-13, credit losses, which is required to be implemented by private companies in 2023.

1:00 p.m. – Day 1 Closing Remarks

June 14, 2023

8:55 – 9:00 a.m. – Welcome and Opening Remarks
Amy Pitter, Massachusetts Society of CPAs

9:00 – 9:50 a.m. – Best Practices for Reviews, Compilations and Financial Statement Preparation Engagements
Mike Glynn, CPA, CGMA, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
In this session, we’ll discuss best practices for reviews, compilations and financial statement preparation engagements, examine the evidence required to issue a review report and share best practices with respect to effective analytical procedures. We’ll also discuss when an accountant is required to perform a preparation engagement in accordance with AR-C section 70.

10:00 – 10:50 a.m. – New Quality Management Standards
Ahava Goldman, CPA, CGMA, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
In this session, we’ll cover t the new quality management suite of standards, when they go into effect, what will change and what firms should be doing now to implement them by the effective date.

11:00 – 11:50 a.m. – Concurrent Sessions
Session 1: Post-Implementation of the New Lease Standard
Leah Donti, CPA, CMA, MBA, Advantage Montreal Seminars Inc.
In this session, we’ll cover pitfalls, best practices, how to deal with lease modifications and reassessments and recent developments to clarify leases from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

Session 2: Financial Statement Disclosures Common to Private Entities
Jennifer Louis, Emergent Solutions Group LLC
Financial statement disclosures help financial statement users make economic decisions, by not only explaining and clarifying information provided in the basic financial statements, but also providing critical information about subsequent events, litigation risk and other concerns. In this session, we’ll review the most common financial statement disclosures for small- and medium-sized nonpublic entities.

12:10 – 1:00 p.m. – Top Accounting and Reporting Issues in Times of Economic Uncertainty
Leah Donti, CPA, CMA, MBA, Advantage Montreal Seminars Inc.
In this session, we’ll examine the important accounting issues facing economic uncertainty, including dealing with various types of impairment, going concern and fair value remeasurement.

1:00 p.m. – Day 2 Closing Remarks

Speaker Bios

Leah Donti, CPA, CMA, MBA, Founder and President, Advantage Montreal Seminars Inc.
Leah Donti, CPA, CMA, MBA, is the founder and president of Advantage Montreal Seminars Inc. An internationally recognized seminar leader and speaker in accounting and auditing, she has been conducting seminars full-time for 31 years, including in-house training at CPA firms and various multinationals. In addition, Donti offers CPE courses through CPA state societies and speaks at conferences across North America annually. She covers hot topics, including FASB updates, private company GAAP developments, accounting and auditing updates, SEC and PCAOB updates, revenue recognition, leases, business combinations, compilation and review, fair value accounting, IFRS, cryptocurrency, blockchain, cannabis, data analytics, digital transformation and agile finance. She also provides proprietary prep seminars for the IQEX reciprocity exam where foreign accountants obtain the U.S. CPA credential. Donti has received the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Outstanding Discussion Leader Award for 11 years in a row for her passion, energy and ability to speak at all levels of the CPA profession.

Michael Glynn, CPA, CGMA, Senior Manager, AICPA Audit and Attest Standards Team
Michael (Mike) Glynn, CPA, CGMA is a senior technical manager in the AICPA Audit and Attest Standards Team where he serves as the staff liaison to the Accounting and Review Services Committee (ARSC). In addition, Glynn supports the activities of Auditing Standards Board (ASB) and its subcommittees by assisting members in drafting and deliberating authoritative professional standards and interpretations.

Ahava Goldman, CPA, CGMA, Associate Director, Audit and Attest Standards, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Ahava Goldman, CPA, CGMA, is an associate director with the Audit and Attest Standards team at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Goldman is the staff liaison for the AICPA Auditing Standards Board, supporting standard-setting activities, and served as a technical advisor on the International Audit and Attest Standards Board from 2015-2019. She has presented on auditing standards at conferences across the country and was previously a senior manager on the AICPA Examinations Team where she was responsible for content and development of all sections of the Uniform CPA Examination. Before joining the AICPA, she worked in public accounting at both local and national firms.

Thomas Groskopf, CPA, CVA, MBA, Director, Barnes Dennig
Thomas Groskopf, CPA, CVA, MBA is assurance service line leader at Barnes Dennig and technical director at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Center for Plain English Accounting – a national accounting and auditing resource center for CPA firms. He is a member of the inaugural Private Company Council, which will work with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to determine if and how U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) should be adapted for private companies and serves on the International Financial Reporting Standards’ Small- and Medium-sized Entity Implementation Group, which supports ongoing efforts to merge national and international accounting standards. Groskopf has served on a number of committees, speaks annually at national and regional events and has been named to Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting list.

Kenn Heaslip, MS, MBA, CPA, CGMA, Managing Member, Kaplan
Kenneth Heaslip, licensed as a CPA in New Jersey, has extensive experience teaching all levels of accounting, auditing, and in other practice-related areas. He is an active member of the NJCPA, where he has served in positions such as Vice President, Trustee Chapter President, Committee Chair, and Task Force Chair. Kenn currently serves on the NJCPA Professional Conduct Committee and is a Director at Cullari Carrico LLC, a regional CPA firm in Northern New Jersey. Kenn has been a Professor of Accounting at several universities including Seton Hall, where he was the students’ choice as “Educator of the Year” two years in a row, and in the Executive MBA program at Rutgers University. In addition, he was the National Director of the Becker CPA Review. Kenn earned his BA from Rutgers University and has an MS in Taxation and MBA in Finance from Seton Hall University.

Jennifer Louis, CPA, President, Emergent Solutions Group LLC
Jennifer Louis, CPA, is president of Emergent Solutions Group LLC and has over 25 years of experience designing and instructing high-quality training programs on a variety of technical and “soft skills” topics needed for professional and organization success. In 2003, she founded Emergent Solutions Group, which is dedicated to meeting organization’s professional training needs on a project or part-time basis. Louis serves a wide variety of clients, including public accounting firms, state CPA societies, private industry corporations and public sector agencies. Her prior experience includes roles at Surgent Professional Education, AuditWatch, Inc., AARP and Deloitte LLP.

Tommy Stephens Jr., CPA, CGMA, CITP, Shareholder, K2 Enterprises
Tommy Stephens Jr., CPA, CGMA, CITP, is a shareholder at K2 Enterprises where he lectures internationally on subjects including internal controls for small businesses, technology strategies, computer hardware and software applications, tax strategies and compliance and financial accounting standards and applications. Stephens background also includes his work as an auditor and technology consultant for an Atlanta-based public accounting firm, leading an internal audit staff and managing a cost accounting team for a Fortune 500 company and serving as CFO for an international engineering organization. In the last 25 years, he has also presented over 2,700 educational sessions to over 70,000 participants throughout the U.S. and Canada.

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