Conference Courses

Course content is designed to give participants a general overview of topic areas as opposed to in-depth technical information, providing material of interest to public, private, and governmental accountants and to CFP® professionals. Interaction and discussion are encouraged in all courses. Credit hours are based on AICPA/NASBA guidelines of 1 CPE credit for every 50 minutes. Go to http://www.westerncpe.com/conferences/preconference_intro.cfm for online conference courses. Courses that are CFP Board accepted are so indicated with a “” after course titles.

Each class session begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 1:00 p.m.

Monday, December 6

Individual Tax Update
Joseph Walloch
(6 Taxes) Description: If you attend only one tax course in 2010, this should be it! Focusing on individual taxation, our practical tax update and planning course is designed for both industry accountants and public tax practitioners and features the latest tax legislation passed. This course provides current information and is taught in an upbeat and entertaining fashion. Everyone walks away with helpful tax tips!

The Basics of Estate Planning
Danny Santucci
(6 Taxes) Description: This exceptional course surveys wills, living trusts, gifts, marital property, and probate avoidance. Will and trust forms are explored along with living wills, durable powers of attorney, and nominations of conservator. The course emphasizes cost-effective, practical solutions that are designed to eliminate estate problems and death taxes.

Personal Financial Planning in the Wake of the Recession
Jeff Rattiner
(6 Management Advisory Services) Description: In this highly energetic and interactive session, you’ll find out how to diagnose issues pertaining to creating, managing, and withdrawing retirement and investment portfolios. You’ll also learn how to size up insurance and estate matters and to assess general financial planning concerns that have surfaced in a recessionary environment. An understanding of these key issues provides you with the tools necessary to analyze complex situations, diagnose client concerns, and help separate fact from fiction when evaluating the current working environment.

Tuesday, December 7

Insurance Issues for Finance Professionals
Jeff Rattiner
(6 Management Advisory Services) Description: This course looks at exposures clients face and discusses specific insurance products available. Major topics include (1) assessing overall risks; (2) managing risk; (3) selecting insurance companies; (4) dissecting life insurance illustrations; (5) deciding when to cash out of life insurance products; and (6) analysis and strategies for disability, health, homeowner, and auto insurance. Tax issues and strategies also are discussed.

Asset Protection Strategies
Danny Santucci
(6 Taxes) Description: This informative course covers traditional planning tools and their utilization to protect assets. The Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act, the Bankruptcy Code, and various aspects of tax law are highlighted to describe asset protection related to corporations, partnerships, LLCs, family partnerships, trusts, retirement plans, insurance products, and other conventional tools. Special topics include protection against lawsuits, costs of long-term illness, divorce settlements, foreign asset protection trusts, statutory protections, exempt assets, cancellation of indebtedness taxation, and marital agreements.

Business Tax Update
Joseph Walloch
(6 Taxes) Description: From Schedule C to C&S corporations, this comprehensive course focuses on business, corporate, government, and nonprofit topics. Combining the real-life experience of a practicing CPA with essential down-to-earth tax materials, this powerful presentation enables you to quickly grasp recent tax changes. Course materials contain numerous practical examples, flowcharts, and other helpful information to aid your understanding of new developments. Course topics are updated as the year progresses.

Wednesday, December 8

The Complete Trust Workshop
Anthony Rocca
(6 Taxes) Description: This course provides in-depth information that enables practitioners to make well-informed decisions as to whether or not a trust is the appropriate vehicle for clients’ financial, estate, and/or asset protection plans and, if so, how the trusts can be best implemented and operated. Participants learn about the many different types of trusts that can be harnessed to save clients income, estate, generation-skipping, and other taxes at both the federal and state level.

World’s Liveliest Accounting Update
Michael Morgan
(6 Accounting) Description: All great accountants want to stay informed on current standards as well as cutting-edge projects and improvements, but how many of us have the time? This course guides you through new standards, current projects, recent interpretations, and “sizzling issues” in an informative and fast-paced environment. The course focuses on 2009 and 2010 recent updates for AICPA, FASB, GASB, IAASB, SSARS, and PCAOB. You’ll leave with a greater understanding of the current realm of accounting and a view of what’s to come.

Playing the Valuation Game—Tax Savings & Successful Intra-Family Transfers
Owen Fiore
(6 Taxes) Description: This proactive course, with over 100 pages of text and slides, a bibliography of resources, and valuation case studies provides you with hands-on knowledge and allows you to become a team member with clients and business valuation appraisers. A number of “special valuation rules” are covered, including IRC §§2701–2704, the use of AFR interest rates in family loans and sales. You’ll learn the basics and planning possibilities of “valuation discounts,” including the built-in capital gains tax discount, minority interest discounts, and discounts for lack of marketability.

Thursday, December 9

Eldercare Tax & Financial Planning
Steven G. Siegel
(6 Taxes) Description: This course discusses issues of concern for an aging population. The complexity of the social security system, particularly as it involves the various choices one has in taking available benefits, is explored. Medicare and Medicaid are reviewed, with an analysis of what is and is not covered and how planning may increase one’s chances of securing benefits. Retirement planning issues are explored, focusing on the financial considerations of what must be saved for retirement, the array of alternative plans that are available, and the issues of when and how distributions may or must be taken from plans and taxed.

FLPs, LLCs, S Corps—Effective Income, Gift, & Estate Planning
Owen Fiore
(6 Taxes) Description: This practical, case study-based course reviews each of the available pass-through entities as to its advantages and disadvantages and considers important tax and business issues related to forming, funding, and operating an entity. Income, gift, and estate tax issues are balanced with family goals and management succession issues. Over 30 court decisions in the past 12 years are analyzed in detail to ensure success in pass-through entity planning.

Traps & Pitfalls in the Estate Planning Process
Anthony Rocca
(6 Taxes) Description: Having a thorough knowledge of tax and non-tax law is important in order to properly advise clients during the estate planning process. There are many common pitfalls and errors clients and professionals make when it comes to estate planning. This course is designed to explore such issues and to provide practical solutions that will eliminate common estate planning mistakes.

Friday, December 10

Estate & Financial Planning for 2010 & Beyond
Art Werner
(6 Taxes) Description: Beginning in 2001, Congress has made sweeping changes to the Internal Revenue Code regarding estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxation. The year 2010 is a climactic year, with no estate tax, but with everyone expecting legislation that will reinstate the tax in some fashion. You’ll leave the course with an understanding of the impacts of the 2001 legislation and of changes coming in 2010 and beyond.

Succession Planning in the Privately Held Business
Steven G. Siegel
(6 Taxes) Description: This course discusses the various issues and alternatives that arise with respect to succession planning for the owners of privately-held businesses. Gifting the business to family members is discussed as is entering into a succession arrangement with fellow owners of a business. Concerns regarding entering into and structuring a buy-sell agreement are reviewed. The alternative of selling a business to a third party is explored, considering both the tax and non-tax issues that arise in this situation. Special considerations that affect S corporations and partnerships also are addressed.

CFP Board accepted