COVID-19 Resources for CPAs, Enrolled Agents, and Tax Professionals

The Information You Need to Help Your Clients Now

As the world continues to respond to the devastating and wide-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have scrambled to enact legislation and authorize numerous other changes to help businesses and individuals get through the crisis. This has resulted in an overwhelming amount of new information for CPAs, EAs, and other financial and tax advisers to sort through and understand.

Rest assured that Surgent stands ready to help you navigate these complex, challenging, and quickly changing times. Since the crisis began to emerge, our experts have been analyzing and distilling all of the legislation, executive orders, and other rules to bring you the information you and your clients need as quickly as possible.

The following CPE courses provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date information available about the tax, legal, and other financial impacts of COVID-19. Additional free resources and FAQs are also listed below the courses on this page. Please check back frequently, as we will continue to develop new courses and other content to help you and your clients as the situation continues to evolve.

Course Overview Summaries

Performing an Effective Audit Risk Assessment in the COVID-19 Environment (RAC4)
Recent auditing standards and peer review feedback have emphasized the importance of performing an effective risk assessment when identifying and evaluating the risk of material misstatement in a financial statement audit. These risk assessment procedures include both evaluating the design and implementation of internal controls, as well as determining how much reliance an auditor will place on those controls. Further, the risk assessment process provides the rationale for effectively and efficiently designing the nature, timing, and extent of further audit procedures, be they testing the operating effectiveness of internal controls or the performance of substantive audit procedures. While this requirement of an effective audit hasn’t changed, the level of risk brought about due to emerging accounting and disclosure issues brought on by the pandemic coupled with the new ways we will be required to obtain the information to assess risk and internal control stressors on our clients, certainly has. This course will focus on how to utilize a risk-based approach in audit engagements to enhance audit quality, with an emphasis on how to comply with the professional requirements in a virtual environment. As auditors continue to struggle with effective and efficient execution of the Risk Assessment Standards, it’s likely these struggles will increase in the new virtual reality. This course will give you a jump start on determining how you can comply with professional standards as you and your clients adapt to new working conditions.

Going Concern Accounting and Reporting Considerations in the COVID-19 Environment (AGC2)
One of the unfortunate outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic is the economic stress. Such stress has raised concerns about many entities’ abilities to continue as a going concern, which has significant accounting, disclosure and, reporting implications. This course will review the relevant considerations related to going concern, including when substantial doubt concerning an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern exists, management mitigation efforts, and required disclosures both when management, and the accountant, feel such efforts will be effective in mitigating the risk, as well as when they do not. Lastly, we’ll consider the accountant’s reporting responsibilities under various scopes of services in various scenarios.

Paycheck Protection Program Loans: A Full Rundown of Where We Are Now (PPP7)
Unless Congress extends the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), August 8 was the last day for loans. However, there are tens of billions of dollars in loans currently outstanding that will be forgiven partially or completely or paid back to the SBA. Because the SBA and IRS have continued to issue more specific guidance regarding when and how PPP loans are forgiven, including a number of new FAQs, we now know much more about the loan forgiveness process and have answers to many of the questions that have bedeviled practitioners. This program is designed to update practitioners on all the latest regarding PPP loan forgiveness.

Financial Reporting Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic (FRC4)
In addition to being a significant business interrupter for many entities, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will also create significant financial reporting implications for virtually all entities. Many formerly profitable entities will be looking at charges for once unthought-of circumstances, from fixed asset impairment to inventory and receivables write-downs. Further, many entities will need to account for debt and other contractual modifications, including restructuring, forgiveness, and debt covenant modifications. Applying this often complex accounting guidance in these areas may be challenging. In this course, we’ll review in detail the accounting guidance that many entities will need to apply when preparing their next set of financial statements. We’ll also review disclosure guidance for such topics as going concern considerations and subsequent events as well as other relevant financial statement recognition and presentation issues.

Working Remotely: Best Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities for Accountants (WKR2)
Working from home presents both benefits and challenges for accountants. For employees, working from home provides opportunities to be more productive and gain time that would otherwise be spent commuting to and from the office. Employers who utilize remote work enjoy fewer fixed costs, more efficiency, and greater employee satisfaction. Without proper planning, accountants who work remotely may experience increased anxiety and disorganization. They may also jeopardize data privacy. However, when executed properly, working remotely can help organizations become more efficient and profitable, while at the same time improving employee morale. This webinar looks at how accounting firms have successfully implemented work from home programs and discusses mistakes that can be avoided through proper planning.

Bankruptcy Basics: Understanding the Reorganization and Liquidation Process in These Uncertain Economic Times (BNK2)
Consumers and businesses file for bankruptcy to seek protection from creditors and to reorganize or liquidate debts. Bankruptcy filings rise and fall with the economy. Surveys show that loss of income is the leading cause of consumer bankruptcies, followed by medical expenses and foreclosure. Corporate bankruptcies, on the other hand, are often the result of several factors, including excessive debt, decreased demand, increased costs, lawsuits or poor accounting practices. It is no secret bankruptcy filings will see a tremendous uptick in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. As an accountant, CFP, attorney or other professional, you need to be able to discuss the process and different available courses of action with your clients. Both landlords and tenants will be influenced tremendously. Individuals will look to your advice for a discharge and new start. Businesses will do the same and will also need to advise loyal employees. Creditors will receive proofs of claim and look to you for your expertise. Take this webinar and make sure you can speak fluently to both creditors and debtors. As trusted advisors, then, professionals should have a basic understanding of the bankruptcy process. This course provides a thorough review of the consumer and corporate bankruptcy practice. Participants in this webinar will gain an understanding of how consumer and corporate bankruptcy proceedings begin and end, as well as learn about key issues that affect debtor and creditor rights during bankruptcy. This webinar provides information from the perspective of both debtor and creditor. Although bankruptcy concerns the debts of the debtor, the Bankruptcy Code provides substantial protections to creditors. Creditor rights, however, vary widely depending on the status afforded the creditor under the Bankruptcy Code. Do yourself, your clients and your profit margin a favor and sign up for this invaluable webinar.