Course Description

There can be no doubt that accounting and tax software capabilities have improved drastically over time.  Gone are the days of paper reconciliations and 10-key tapes attached to reports.  However, as automation has increased, practitioners may wonder whether the software is performing all the critical checks that it should.  When software reconciles an account, can we rest assured that it is correct?  Are there key screens that we should be looking at as a part of our month-end processes?  How can we be sure that automated transactions are coming over correctly?  In this course, we will dig into what the software is doing and how we can be sure the software is correct.  We will also discuss how to investigate variances and apply analytical techniques to month-end reporting.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify best practices related to account reconciliations.

  • Recognize common reports from accounting and tax software packages.

  • Recall common review techniques for automated transactions and month-end account balances.

Additional Required Materials

  • Course Level: Overview

  • Field of Study: Accounting (NASBA)

  • Tax practitioners, small business owners, and other accountants looking to serve their companies or clients in the areas of payroll services or operations.

  • Required Knowledge: None

  • Advanced Prep: None

Instructor

CPA, CPCU, MST, MBA David Peters

David Peters is the Founder and Owner of Peters Tax Preparation & Consulting in Richmond, VA. He has over fourteen years of experience in financial services, including 3 years in the hedge fund industry and six years in the insurance industry. David was the first-ever Chief Financial Officer at Compare.com - a position he held for over three years. He is a national CPE Instructor/Discussion Leader for the AICPA, Surgent, and Kaplan. He regularly teaches courses in accounting, finance, insurance, and ethics throughout the United States. He holds four Masters degrees and contributes regularly to various CPA publications, including NCACPA’s Interim Report, SCACPA’s CPA Report, and VSCPA’s Disclosures. He was also a co-author of the 2018 Virginia CPA Ethics course – a required course for all CPA’s licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.