november2021 - 7

FEATURE
CYBERSECURITY
Largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
companies are investing in
creating secure connections for the
remote workforce. The rise in virtual
work combined with the increased
prevalence and sophistication of cyberattacks
catapulted cybersecurity into
a top priority for companies across
industries. During due diligence and
IT integration, firms must identify
potential exposure risks among the
current and acquired IT systems.
Many activities pose exposure risk
(e.g., reprovisioning servers, reimaging
workstations); therefore, a
complete assessment and mitigation
plan should be developed prior to
integration. Determining the future
state cyber posture and developing
requirements for implementation
are essential for sustainable success.
Due to the ever-changing nature
of cybersecurity technology, firms
should engage experts to assist with
the assessment and implementation
stages of the integration.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Change management spans all aspects
of the IT integration process and can
make-or-break the ROI on an acquisition.
Integration processes may seem
to be progressing smoothly; however,
failure can result due to ineffective
change management. This broad term
involves the use of effective program
management, standards and protocols,
communication, employee engagement,
and end-user training to guide
the organization through the massive
amount of change involved with an
integration. Companies should establish
a Program Management Office
(PMO) and a Change Management
Office with experienced professionals
to lead these efforts. Establishing
processes to solicit, address and
incorporate employee feedback during
the integration is key to fostering
employee engagement and ongoing
success. Many organizations underestimate
the amount of resources and
time needed and the maturity of the
organization when preparing for the
change and, subsequently, are negatively
impacted when the company's
health deteriorates.
DIRECT & INDIRECT IT
SYNERGIES
Organizations that successfully navigate
the five key enablers (IT Operating
Model, ERP & Business Applications, IT
Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Change
Management) will find themselves
with two primary sources of IT
synergy: direct and indirect. Direct
IT synergies are the tangible costreduction
opportunities that result
from the consolidation and optimization
of the IT organization, processes,
and systems. Indirect IT synergies
encompass the plethora of opportunities
from enhanced IT capability,
including harnessing customer data
for effective cross-sells, and enabling
back-office process automation.
The opportunities for IT synergies
are endless and are a major
source of value. Focusing on direct
and indirect IT synergies as a fourth
driver of synergy value will result in
companies experiencing elevated and
more sustainable success. ■
Geoff Harkness is managing director,
information management & technology
solutions lead at MorganFranklin Consulting,
a Vaco Company. Andre Prince is
managing director, private equity services
at MorganFranklin Consulting, a Vaco
Company.
How to Better Manage and Track Your CPE Credits By Mary Girsch-Bock
C
hoosing the CPE courses
that you wish to take
annually is important. But
what happens after you take
those courses?
It may be easy to track credits that are
reported in the same year, but many states
require biannual or triannual reporting, making
it even more important that CPE course
documentation be managed properly. While
there are some HR applications that can
track continuing education credits, they
may not be able to track all of the details
for accurate reporting.
To start out on the right track, be sure
to keep the following documentation from
any CPE course you have taken. While this
is easy enough for online classes, it starts
to get a bit trickier when you're tasked with
tracking hours spent creating a published
article or book.
* Original certificate of completion: If
you attend a group program, you must
retain your original certificate of completion
that was given to you at the end of
the program. Same goes if you complete
a self-study program. If you complete
an online CPE course, you'll need to
have a copy of the online certificate of
completion.
* Official grade report or official transcript:
If you've completed CPE courses
at an accredited university, you'll need
to provide the transcript. If the course
is a non-credit or continuing education
course, you'll need to obtain a statement
of completion from the instructor or a
certificate of completion.
* Original sponsor signed statement: If
you attend a program provided by a CPE
sponsor, you'll need to have a sponsor
signed statement for instruction credit.
* Book or original publication: If you've
earned CPE credits by writing and publishing
an article or writing a book, you'll need
to have a copy of the original publication
handy.
* Course Development Details: If you've
presented at a conference, held a webinar
or conference of your own, or taught a
class, you'll need to retain the documentation
from each course taught.
Don't just discard these items after a
few years. NASBA currently recommends
that you retain all CPE related documents
for a minimum of five years.
WHAT TO DO WITH ALL OF THAT
DOCUMENTATION
Keeping track of every CPE class you've
attended, every article you've written, or
every webinar you've sat in on can quickly
get overwhelming if you don't have a system
in place. If you're not tracking details
in the cloud, you can scan the documents
and store them electronically as well as in
a file just to ensure that everything will be
in order when the time comes to provide
the details to your state accounting board.
Another option is to use a CPE tracking
program such as MyCPE Manager, from
the AICPA, a cloud-based tool that tracks
jurisdictional requirements and helps track
all completed courses. that will help you
manage all of your courses, certificates,
and credits in one application. Checkpoint
Learning from Thomson Reuters also helps
manage CPE compliance including tracking
all credit categories using state requirements.
There are several other applications
on the market as well.
If you choose to track CPE credits
manually, be sure that you keep track of
the following information:
* Sponsor's name
* Participant's name
* Program title
* Dates attended
* Location
* Type of program (onsite, online,
webinar, etc.)
* Number of CPE hours earned
Dedicate a single place in your office
to store all CPE related documents. With all
of the paperwork typically found in a CPA's
office, it's easy to misplace a certificate or
proof of attendance. Having a dedicated
location for all CPE information will allow
you to easily find the appropriate paperwork
when it's time to report CPE hours earned.
Whether you choose to track CPE credit
hours manually, store information in the
cloud, or use a third-party application, as a
professional, it's important to have a system
in place that will allow you to easily report
credits when required.
While we're on the topic, you can register
for CPA Practice Advisor's free online
CPE conference, Ensuring Success, at www.
ensuringsuccess.com. Professionals can
earn up to 14 hours of CPE during two days,
choosing the courses and times they want.
There is absolutely no cost for attendees. ■
NOVEMBER 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
7
http://www.ensuringsuccess.com http://www.ensuringsuccess.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
november2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of november2021
