CPE Catalog & Events

Overall landscape of the construction industry GAAP and recent changes affecting the construction industry The new Revenue Recognition Standard and its impact on the construction industry The unique relationship between the contractor and the surety The new lease FASB ASC and its impact on the construction industry

Contract formation The necessary components of an enforceable contract Common defenses to enforcement Legal capacity requirements Contract interpretation

Economic update Leadership and management changes as a result of the pandemic Managing for productivity Hiring the best people for the organization New motivation techniques

Why forecasts and budgets are frequently wrong: behavioral finance; improper goal setting, games, continuing the status quo, traditional budgeting techniques Incorporating strategy into budgets: improving measurement systems; common errors, developing strategies and appropriate measurements Expanding the budgeting framework: rolling forecasts; mission-based budgeting, zero-based budgeting, post-completion evaluations, contingency planning, black swan events, identifying improvements Big data: definition, challenges, goals, current uses/examples, sources of information Analytical tools: ration analysis, benchmarking, Pareto analysis, trend analysis, regression, simulation, dashboards

Changing Role of Financial Professionals: Priorities Change in mission Valued-added actions Strategic Measurements: Common errors and guidelines for improvement Balanced scorecard Strategy development and implementation Budgeting basics and next steps Risk Management: Recent lessons, including Black Swan events Defining Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Implementation Developing a Financial Leadership Pipeline: Changing employment environment Retaining the right employees Compensation Hiring process Capital Projects: Types of projects Factors affecting capacity Valuation techniques Cash management M&A Activity: Current environment Controller's role Strategic questions Sample transactions Due diligence Implementation Introducing Improvements/Innovation: Getting started Establishing an environment Potential first projects Organizational structure

Recent trends: M&A activity; contributing factors/reasons for current levels; examples of recent transactions; IPOs (Initial Public Offering) and SPACs (Special-Purpose Acquisition Company); strategic spin-offs/splits; internal venture capital activities; incubators Expanded role of financial professionals: establishing strategy; valuation techniques; execution plan; due diligence; sources of industry information; goodwill; post-completion evaluations Negotiations: Improving your communication skills; establishing an environment for success; list of dos and don'ts Alliances and outsourcing: steps to forming an alliance; examples of recent alliances; determining if outsourcing (short and long-term) is correct for your organization; steps to improve results

Rethinking Risk Management: Historic view Challenges Rules Recent lessons Required skills Sources of Risk: Economy Competitors Operations Investments Strategy Compensation Routine practices Unethical behavior. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM): Defining ERM Areas of focus Implementation Planning for disasters Business continuity Contingencies Analytical Tools: Post-completion evaluations Simulation Z-score Hedging Brainstorming Mind mapping Delphi technique

Commencement of a corporate bankruptcy proceeding Protections provided to Chapter 11 and 7 debtors under the Bankruptcy Code Key procedural aspects of bankruptcy The automatic stay Differences between Chapters 7 and 11 bankruptcy cases How a debtor liquidates under Chapter 7 Proofs of claim Chapter 11 plans of reorganization Litigation that can arise during bankruptcy Creditor committees Bankruptcy trustees Avoidable preferences and fraudulent transfers Special rights afforded to landlords and secured creditors

Identifying when issues need immediate resolution Approaches for preparing for and having difficult conversations Effective communication skills for challenging conversations

The impact of recent legislation on the construction industry How to qualify for the small contractor exemption and its advantages to the taxpayer Options available to the small contractor regarding taxation of long-term contracts How the choice of entity impacts taxation of contractors How AMT impacts the construction industry IRC §460 and large contractors How uninstalled materials impact taxation of contractors How the look-back rules impact contractors How the 10 percent method can allow certain contractors to defer recognizing taxable income Critical tax planning strategies for contractors

How crowdfunding works The different types of crowdfunding programs Popular crowdfunding platforms Strategies for building a crowdfunding community Creating a crowdfunding campaign Running a crowdfunding campaign

Recently issued FASB Accounting Standards Updates, the PCC Update, and items on the FASB's Technical Agenda Leases; Topic 842 Review of SAS No. 142; Audit Evidence Recently issued SASs and other AICPA activity Detailed review of SAS No. 145 Other important A&A practice matters

Key to understanding array formulas is Implicit Intersection How to enter and evaluate an array formula Examples- array and DAX formulas Array formulas- Implicit Intersection Understanding DAX formulas Calculated columns and measures Evaluation context Context transition Implicit vs explicit measures Examples- DAX formulas Creating a calculated column in Power Pivot

Understanding difference between supervised and unsupervised learning Formulas in Excel (Correl and Trend and Forecast) Linear regression What is artificial intelligence? Examples- artificial intelligence Forecast function Trend function Regression in Excel with the data analysis ToolPak Creating a prediction model

Where can you create a calculated column? Understanding evaluation context- row and filter context When does evaluation of the formula occur (before, as, or after the data is loaded?) Understanding storage requirements of calculated columns Understanding the analytical data model of the Star Schema Dimensions Facts Exercises- calculated columns Adding a calculated column in a table in Excel Creating a dimension table in Power Query Creating a hierarchy in Excel with calculated columns Adding a calculated column in Power Query JE testing with calculated columns Other test- opening balances

Introduction to a Data Analytics Workflow (will be re-introduced in final class to bring all concepts together) Overview of various definitions of data analytics Data analytics needs multiple sources of data Introduction to Power Query (Get & Transform)- on data tab in Excel Exercise- connecting to various Data Sources Importing Excel workbook into Power Query Connecting to a website in Power Query

How to join tables using VLOOKUP Power Query- append queries and merge queries Power Pivot- Creating a relationship via diagram view Types of relationships Data integrity Normalization Facts vs dimension tables Exercises- data modeling VLOOKUP and index match formula Appending data in Power Query Merging data in Power Query Connection only queries Creating a relationship in Power Pivot

An ETL tool- Extract Transform and Load How Power Query ups your game in data analytics Interface components of Power Query Column level and table actions Power Query is a sequential macro recorder What is M Code? Exercise- cleaning and transforming a general ledger

Creating a table Parts to a table Benefits of an Excel table Structured references How it helps to create formulas Formulas are column based not cell based Tables are data sources for Power Query Exercises- tables Creating a table Resizing a table Removing duplicates Descriptive Statistics using the Total Row Inserting a slicer Creating formulas using structured references

Named ranges- how they help in creating formulas Naming conventions and why they are important What you need to know to master formulas How to audit your formulas to limit errors Exercises- formulas Named ranges How to enter a formula- best practices to improve skill levels