NASBA Compliant CPE
Author and Instructor Background
I am an author and award-winning instructor that has taught tax-related and other continuing professional education (CPE) courses since 2009. One of my primary objectives is to convey information on technical topics in an interesting, engaging, and understandable way. I measure my success based on whether participants leave my courses with knowledge and skills they can practically apply to issues they face on the job.
Sample Course Attendee Comments
"[Trent] took extremely complex material and made it 'bite-size' so that I could understand it. [He had a] very well thought out presentation and examples."
"One of the most relevant CPE sessions ever. The practical application was greatly appreciated, and Trent is a fabulous presenter. He made a difficult topic easier to understand."
Alteryx for Accounting, Tax and Finance Professionals
Dealing with massive amounts of messy data as part of Microsoft Excel™ calculations has traditionally been an enormously labor-intensive and time-consuming challenge for accounting, tax, and finance professionals. My course and book explain how Alteryx™ can be used to address these challenges in a progressive, step-by-step manner. This material includes financial and other examples that matter to accounting, tax and finance professionals. If you’ve been searching for a better, faster and more accurate way to organize large amounts of data that feed into and support complex Excel calculations, this is the book and course you’ve been looking for!
Course in development 4 CPE Hours
Tax Accounting - A Plain English Introduction to ASC 740 Tax Provisions
This book and course material explain in plain English the “how” and “why” of tax accounting concepts and mechanics according to ASC 740 (U.S. GAAP). The book is based on a series of tax provision examples that start with a trial balance, work through tax provision calculations, and develop the necessary accounting entries to close the books. The material also explains how these work products come together to support the tax-related figures and explanations in the financial statements and footnotes. In summary, this book and course material contains the foundational knowledge necessary to learn, understand, and apply the complex rules of ASC 740 in real-world settings.
Course in development 4 CPE Hours
Tax Department Productivity - People, Processes and Technology
“More” is often the proposed solution to meet tax department productivity challenges: more hours, more headcount, more consulting dollars, and more technology. But what if “more” isn’t possible in the near to medium term? This heavily researched course explores the science of productivity and how tax department personnel can practically apply these principles to increase performance using *existing* resources.
To maximize specific tax department needs, I’ve designed this as a customized course to be taught onsite at a company’s HQ. I also teach this course to small groups of tax leaders. The manual is (technically) available on Amazon, but it’s intended for course participants rather than direct purchase. If you’re a tax leader, contact me by email to obtain additional information.
Contact me about customized onsite courses 8 CPE Hours
The Step-by-Step Guide for Starting and Running a Small Business
Based on government statistics, roughly half of all small businesses fail to make it 5 years, and only 3 in 10 make it 10 years. The purpose of this book is to help you beat the odds by methodically covering the steps necessary to successfully develop, start and run a small business.
Topics covered include:
- Considerations for starting a small business and laying the groundwork to do so
- Low and no-cost methods to start developing your business
- Accounting and payroll issues
- Marketing and sales
- Testing and refining your business model with a minimum of cash and risk
- Cost-effectively working with lawyers, CPAs, and other experts
- Creating your company’s legal and financial structure
- Choosing between an S corporation and an LLC
- Income, payroll, sales and other taxes
- Advanced and high impact tax saving strategies
- Issues with hiring contractors and employees
- Taking your small business to the next level
- Balancing the demands of business, family, and life
The plain English explanations in this book are designed to increase your confidence, lower your risk, and free up more time to bring your money-making business idea to life!
Course in development 4 CPE Hours
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) for CPAs
A.I. platforms such as ChatGPT are transforming our profession and the way we work. The purpose of this course is to provide CPAs with the background of ChatGPT and to show through examples how to use its vast capabilities to effectively find answers to accounting, tax, Excel, Alteryx, and other technical issues. This course also covers five practical strategies to help CPAs to learn and keep up with A.I. in a fast-changing technological environment.
An Introduction to A.I and ChatGPT for CPAs 1 CPE Hours