Accounting & Auditing Virtual Conference

General Session

8:55am - 9:00am EDT Welcome and Opening Remarks

Zachary Donah, Massachusetts Society of CPAs

Zachary Donah

Last year, a selection committee of the Society’s Board of Directors unanimously elected Zach Donah, CAE, to succeed Amy Pitter as president and CEO, effective January 1, 2024. As part of this planned leadership succession and in connection with his promotion, Donah was named Deputy CEO, effective May 1, 2023. In that role, he worked with the Society’s leadership team on the overall management and oversight of the Society and its Educational Foundation, including advancing the organization’s strategic goals and objectives. Donah has been a member of the Society’s staff since 2013, serving in various role in the organization’s government affairs team, most recently as the vice president of advocacy where he oversaw the Society’s government relations and the academic and career development programs and the MassCPAs Educational Foundation. Prior to joining the Society, Donah served as a legislative director and chief of staff in the Massachusetts State Senate.

This session is available to registrants only.

General Session

9:00am - 9:50am EDT Audit and Attestation Standards Update

Michael Glynn, American Institute of CPAs CPA.com

Michael Glynn

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.

In this session, we’ll discuss recently issued auditing standards, including standards on accounting estimates, risk assessment, communications between predecessor and successor auditors and group audits with an emphasis on standards that are effective for 2023 and 2024 audit engagements. The session will also include a discussion on the quality management standards and current projects to revise the attestation standards.

This session is available to registrants only.

Breakout Session

10:00am - 10:50am EDT Fraud Session

Kenn Heaslip, Surgent McCoy CPE LLC

Kenn Heaslip

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

This session is available to registrants only.

10:00am - 10:50am EDT Going Concern Key Considerations

Leah Donti, Advantage Montreal Seminars Inc.

Leah Donti

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 through her seminar business, 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, ESG, 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. Furthermore, 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.

Assessing going concern is not a new requirement in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). In this session, we’ll explore the renewed focus on an entity’s going concern assessment due to the financial and operational challenges that many businesses face.

This session is available to registrants only.

General Session

11:00am - 11:50am EDT Tackling Lease Complexities After Adoption

Leah Donti, Advantage Montreal Seminars Inc.

Leah Donti

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 through her seminar business, 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, ESG, 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. Furthermore, 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.

In this session, we‘ll review common issues post–adoption, such as common peer review findings, consolidating schedules, right-of use-asset impairment and cost of living increases on lease payments

This session is available to registrants only.

General Session

12:10pm - 1:00pm EDT Best Practices for Reviews, Compilations and Financial Statement Preparation Engagements

Michael Glynn, American Institute of CPAs CPA.com

Michael Glynn

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.

In this session, we’ll discuss best practices for reviews, compilations and financial statement preparation engagements with a heavy focus on planning and performing analytical procedures in a review engagement, including developing and documenting expectations. We’ll also cover effective documentation with respect to designing and performing review procedures based on the accountant’s risk awareness and discuss when an accountant is required to perform a preparation engagement in accordance with AR-C section 70.

This session is available to registrants only.

General Session

1:00pm - 1:05pm EDT Day 1 Closing Remarks

This session is available to registrants only.

Breakout Session

8:55am - 9:00pm EDT Welcome and Opening Remarks

This session is available to registrants only.

9:00am - 9:50am EDT Revenue Recognition: Common Trouble Spots with FASB ASC 606

Thomas Groskopf

Thomas Groskopf, CPA, CVA, MBA, is a director at Barnes Dennig and is a service line leader for the firm’s accounting and audit practice. A nationally recognized authority on accounting and auditing topics, he has been selected by his peers to serve on numerous national and international standard-setting committees. In addition, Groskopf was named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting” by Accounting Today, an honor recognizing his leadership of the Center for Plain English Accounting, a key program of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He is also a member of the inaugural Private Company Council, which works with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to determine if and how U.S. GAAP should be adapted for private companies.

Drawing from a comprehensive analysis of peer review outcomes and extensive engagement with multiple firms’ implementation of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) ASC 606, this session delves into critical aspects of the five-step revenue recognition model known to challenge practitioners. We’ll also explore prevalent disclosure gaps frequently observed in practice.

This session is available to registrants only.

10:00am - 10:50am EDT Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Accounting and Auditing Environments

Thomas Stephens Jr, K2 Enterprises

Thomas Stephens Jr

Tommy Stephens Jr., CPA, CGMA, CITP, is a shareholder at K2 Enterprises where he lectures internationally on subjects, such as 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.

Despite the abundance of literature and discussions surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), many accounting and auditing professionals find themselves puzzled by its practical application, particularly when it comes to utilizing tools like Bard, ChatGPT and Copilot. In this session, you will gain insights into leveraging contemporary AI tools to tackle accounting and auditing challenges. We’ll provide practical guidance on accessing and effectively utilizing various popular AI tools to enhance efficiency and productivity in your workflows.

This session is available to registrants only.

11:00am - 11:50pm EDT Accounting and Reporting for Special Purpose Frameworks

Jaclyn Veno, Galasso Learning Solutions LLC

Jaclyn Veno

Jaclyn Veno, CPA, is a learning and development specialist with Galasso Learning Solutions. Before joining Galasso Learning Solutions, she was an auditor for two top 10 CPA firms and has extensive experience developing both staff and interns, including the onboarding of overseas staff. Veno has completed dozens of acquisition audits for growing clients and holds certificates in adult learning, instructional design and training and facilitation from the Association for Talent Development (ATD).

Special purpose frameworks (SPFs) often lead to common deficiencies in peer reviews. In this session, we‘ll examine the criteria for presenting cash basis and modified cash basis financial statements. Additionally, we’ll delve into the essential disclosure requirements for SPFs, emphasizing their alignment with applicable GAAP standards. To wrap up, we’ll explore the audit reporting obligations.

This session is available to registrants only.

12:10pm - 1:00pm EDT CECL Implementation Lessons at Non-banks

Thomas Groskopf

Thomas Groskopf, CPA, CVA, MBA, is a director at Barnes Dennig and is a service line leader for the firm’s accounting and audit practice. A nationally recognized authority on accounting and auditing topics, he has been selected by his peers to serve on numerous national and international standard-setting committees. In addition, Groskopf was named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting” by Accounting Today, an honor recognizing his leadership of the Center for Plain English Accounting, a key program of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He is also a member of the inaugural Private Company Council, which works with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to determine if and how U.S. GAAP should be adapted for private companies.

In this session, we’ll explore the intricacies of applying the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)‘s recently introduced current expected credit losses (CECL) methodology to non-financial institutions. We’ll shed light on frequently disregarded risk factors (particularly relevant to private companies), address pertinent questions and provide insights into navigating the application of CECL to non-financial institutions.

This session is available to registrants only.

1:00pm - 1:05pm EDT Closing Remarks

This session is available to registrants only.

Overview

Tuesday, June 11

8:55am - 9:00am EDT Welcome and Opening Remarks

Zachary Donah

9:00am - 9:50am EDT Audit and Attestation Standards Update

Michael Glynn

10:00am - 10:50am EDT Fraud Session

Kenn Heaslip

10:00am - 10:50am EDT Going Concern Key Considerations

Leah Donti

11:00am - 11:50am EDT Tackling Lease Complexities After Adoption

Leah Donti

12:10pm - 1:00pm EDT Best Practices for Reviews, Compilations and Financial Statement Preparation Engagements

Michael Glynn

1:00pm - 1:05pm EDT Day 1 Closing Remarks

Wednesday, June 12

8:55am - 9:00pm EDT Welcome and Opening Remarks

9:00am - 9:50am EDT Revenue Recognition: Common Trouble Spots with FASB ASC 606

Thomas Groskopf

10:00am - 10:50am EDT Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Accounting and Auditing Environments

Thomas Stephens Jr

11:00am - 11:50pm EDT Accounting and Reporting for Special Purpose Frameworks

Jaclyn Veno

12:10pm - 1:00pm EDT CECL Implementation Lessons at Non-banks

Thomas Groskopf

1:00pm - 1:05pm EDT Closing Remarks

Overview

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Tuesday, June 11

Wednesday, June 12