Making Effective Decisions
Theodore Roosevelt once said, "In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do. The worst thing you can do is nothing." In today’s organizations, employees who can make sound decisions quickly have the power to significantly reduce their organization’s costs and enhance its effectiveness. This 4-hour workshop is designed to help leaders at every level use a systematic approach to making better and faster decisions that will result in more effective performance. Participants who attend will explore a five-step decision-making process and the support tools for each step; determine the behaviors and results common to four decision traps; and identify situations that lead to each decision trap and how to avoid them. Participants will also receive strategies to help them increase the speed and quality of their decisions; gain support to make decisions work; and build confidence in their ability to make the right decisions consistently and effectively. Managing Virtual Teams Virtual Teams are essential in today's workforce and it is critical to have a high performing, highly productive team. ln addition to increased productivity, studies confirm that virtual teams offer employers and employees flexibility, reduce time-to-market, often offer better work outcomes than conventional work teams, attract better employees, and increase knowledge sharing. Global virtual teams allow organizations to tap talent from all parts of the world and save money on travel. This course is highly interactive and will explore the roadblocks to managing virtual teams and tips for resolving them. It will offer guidance on best practices for engaging teams in a highly collaborative process to maximize productivity. Dealing with Difficult People This workshop provides participants with skills to identify types of difficult people and to understand why people often behave negatively. Through recognition of their own communication style and ways they cope with conflict, participants will learn how to maintain control when faced with difficult people and situations. Role playing and other hands-on techniques designed to develop skills for dealing with difficult people will be practiced. Professional Ethics for Accountants and Auditors (with CPEs) This workshop will discuss the general guidelines for the professional conduct of accountants and auditors in state government. The workshop will discuss the code of ethics in professional associations as stated in the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), NYS Society of CPAs, and focus on NYS education law, rules of the Board of Regents, and regulations of the Commissioner of Education, and the Yellow Book. The workshop will also include an introduction to ethics concepts, the psychology of moral development, judgment and values, sociology of professions, virtue and the role of rules of ethics, public expectations of CPA's responsibilities, and ethical dilemmas. The course will include a review of the enforcement provisions by the State Education Department. Fraud Detection and Prevention for Accounting Professionals (with CPEs) This one day workshop will discuss the types of fraud, how and why frauds are committed, methods used to detect fraud, and what accountants can do to prevent fraud from occurring in their organizations. Topics include "red flags", internal controls and operating procedures, information gathering, employee fraud, and management fraud. Advanced Auditing Processes This workshop examines advanced auditing processes including understanding and testing internal controls, fraud and substantive testing. Audit reporting, including the components of an audit report, will also be discussed in this workshop. Prerequisite: Prior completion of the PSWP workshop “Auditing Fundamentals” or a solid understanding of basic auditing concepts, techniques and applications, the audit risk model, and computer auditing is recommended for all workshop participants. Understanding and Interpreting Financial Statements of For Profit Entities The length of this course can be customized to meet the needs of the participants from a half-day course (three hours) to a full-day course (six hours). Participants will learn concepts related to 1) generally accepted accounting principles, 2) other financial reporting frameworks, 3) fundamental analysis of financial statements using ratios and analytical procedures, 4) interpreting note disclosures, 5) differences between amounts reported in the financial statements and tax returns, 6) vertical and horizontal analysis, 7) accountant’s and auditor’s reports on financial statements. Understanding and Interpreting Financial Statements of Nonprofit Entities The length of this course can be customized to meet the needs of the participants from a half-day course (three hours) to a full-day course (six hours). Participants will learn concepts related to 1) generally accepted accounting principles as applied to nonprofit entities, 2) other financial reporting frameworks, 3) fundamental analysis of financial statements using ratios and analytical procedures, 4) interpreting note disclosures, 5) definitions and disclosures related to unrestricted, temporarily restricted and permanently restricted net assets, 6) vertical and horizontal analysis, 7) endowments, 8) federal financial assistance and the impact on the financial statement report package, 9) accountant’s and auditor’s reports on financial statements. Audit Report Writing This workshop provides auditors with the skills to produce clear and objective audit reports. Participants will learn how to organize information (facts, conclusions, inferences, and judgements) from audits into reports that are understandable and objective to the reader. This workshop will assist auditors in developing properly written and supported audit findings, and will provide a template of an audit report. |
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