This is a webcast of the live San Francisco session.Why you should attend
Accounting is a language of business. Because attorneys encounter accounting information in a wide range of legal issues, it is critical for lawyers to understand financial statements and core accounting concepts. This practical course, specifically designed for the non-accountant attorney, will provide an understanding of financial statements and the key principles of accounting, using “real life” examples of accounting issues that attorneys commonly face. Whether you are in-house or external counsel,
Basics of Accounting for Lawyers 2013 will help you to help your company or clients.
Basics of Accounting for Lawyers will also offer insight into the effective use of financial experts, accounting and financial issues where attorneys can put themselves at risk, and current accounting and business “hot” topics.
What you will learn
- Understanding Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS)
- The Accounting Cycle
- How to read:
- The Balance Sheet
- The Income Statement
- The Statement of Cash Flows
- The Notes to the Financial Statements
- How lawyers can effectively use accountants as experts
- Recent regulatory changes and views from those impacted or involved in the changes
- Awareness of different accounting and reporting frameworks and requirements
- Ethical issues for attorneys and accountants
Who should attend
This program will benefit all attorneys and paralegals, both in-house and external, who work with financial information related to ongoing business activities, litigation, and transactional work.
PLI Group Discounts
Groups of 4-14 from the same organization, all registering at the same time, for a PLI program scheduled for presentation at the same site, are entitled to receive a group discount. For further discount information, please contact membership@pli.edu or call (800) 260-4PLI.
PLI Can Arrange Group Viewing to Your Firm
Contact the Groupcasts Department via email at groupcasts@pli.edu for more details.
Cancellations
All cancellations received 3 business days prior to the program will be refunded 100%. If you do not cancel within the allotted time period, payment is due in full. You may substitute another individual to attend the program at any time.
All times are P.D.T.
Day One: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (P.D.T.)
Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. (P.D.T.)
9:00 Program Introduction and Overview
Curtis Burr, Lawrence M. Cirelli
9:15 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the Accounting Cycle, and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) - Why They Are Important
- GAAP and IFRS
- Overview of US and international fundamental principles of accounting
- What will it mean to switch from GAAP to IFRS
- Current status of the US move to IFRS
- The accounting cycle - why you need to know
- GAAS - understanding the various levels of care inherent in audits, reviews and complications
Deepa Bhat
10:45 Networking Break
11:00 Anatomy of the Balance Sheet
- The elements of a balance sheet - assets, liabilities and stockholders’ equity and their significance
- What to look for when reading a balance sheet
- Current assets, such as cash, receivables, inventories, investments in debt and equity securities, and fixed and other long-term assets, including intellectual property and goodwill
- Current liabilities, leases, long-term debt, pension and other post-retirement benefits, other long-term liabilities, and the common components of stockholders’ equity
Lawrence M. Cirelli
12:45 Lunch
Afternoon Session: 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (P.D.T.)
2:00 Physiology of the Income Statement
- Basic principles of revenue and expense recognition and identification of common performance measures
- Basic understanding of common income statement components and items of comprehensive income/loss
Terry M. Lloyd
3:30 Networking Break
3:45 Regulatory Trends, Fraud, and Other Issues on the Horizon
- Current regulatory enforcement actions
- Other regulatory or accounting issues that should be on your radar screen
Lesley D. Hand
5:00 Adjourn
Day Two: 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (P.D.T.)
Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (P.D.T.)
9:00 Insight from the Statement of Cash Flows
- How to understand and use this insightful statement - an explanation of operating, investing and financing cash flows
Curtis Burr, Stacie Kowalczyk
10:00 Networking Break
10:15 What the Statement of Cash Flows Tells You
- What this statement can tell you about a company’s financial health and the significance of supplemental and certain non-cash information
Curtis Burr, Stacie Kowalczyk
11:15 Networking Break
11:30 Notes to the Financial Statements: The Rest of the Story
- A practical discussion on using the financial statement notes to understand the financial statements, identify policies or transactions of interest, and enhance assessment of company performance and financial condition
Lori L. Jackson
1:00 Lunch
Afternoon Session: 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (P.D.T.)
2:00 Effective Use of Financial Experts
- Using accountants as experts
- Factors to consider in selection
- Maintaining privilege where necessary
- Preparing the expert for deposition, trial and cross-examination and use as consulting or rebuttal experts
Matthew D. Harrison
3:00 Current Topics in Professional Ethics for Accountants and Attorneys
- As law, accounting and finance continue to intersect, every practicing attorney should be alert to areas of ethical risk, learn from the mistakes of others, and have a basic understanding of accountants’ ethical requirements, as well as those of the legal profession
Curtis Burr, J. Michael Matthews
4:30 Adjourn
PLI makes every effort to accredit its Live Webcasts. Please check the CLE Calculator above for CLE information specific to your state.
PLI's Live Webcasts are approved for MCLE credit (
unless otherwise noted in the product description) in the following states/territories: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho*, Illinois, Indiana
1, Iowa*, Kansas*, Kentucky*, Louisiana, Maine*, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire*, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York
2, Ohio
3, Oklahoma, Oregon*, Pennsylvania
4, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia
5, Virgin Islands, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming*.
*PLI will apply for credit upon request.
Arizona: The State Bar of Arizona does not approve or accredit CLE activities for the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education requirement.
Arkansas and Oklahoma: Audio-only live webcasts are not approved for credit.
1Indiana: Considered a distance education course. There is a 6 credit limit per year.
2New York: Newly admitted attorneys may not take non-transitional course formats such as on-demand audio or video programs or live webcasts for CLE credit. Newly admitted attorneys not practicing law in the United States, however, may earn 12 transitional credits in non-traditional formats.
3Ohio: To confirm that the live webcast has been approved, please refer to the list of Ohio’s Approved Self Study Activities at http://www.sconet.state.oh.us. Online programs are considered self-study. Ohio attorneys have a 6 credit self-study limit per biennial compliance period. The Ohio CLE Board states that attorneys must have a 100% success rate in clicking on timestamps to receive ANY CLE credit for an online program.
4 Pennsylvania: A live webcast may be viewed individually or in a group setting. Credit may be granted to an attorney who views a live webcast individually. There is a 4.0 credit limit per year for this type of viewing. A live webcast viewed in a group setting receives live participatory credit if the program is open to the public and advertised at least 30 days prior to the program. Live webcasts viewed in a group setting that do not advertise at least 30 days prior the program will be considered "in-house", and therefore denied credit.
5Virginia: All distance learning courses are to be done in an educational setting, free from distractions.
Running time and CLE credit hours are not necessarily the same. Please be aware that many states do not permit credit for luncheon and keynote speakers.
Note that some states limit the number of credit hours attorneys may claim for online CLE activities, and state rules vary with regard to whether online CLE activities qualify for participatory or self-study credits. For more information, refer to your state CLE website or call Customer Service at (800) 260-4PLI (4754) or email: info@pli.edu.
If you have already received credit for attending some or the entire program, please be aware that state administrators do not permit you to accrue additional credit for repeat viewing even if an additional credit certificate is subsequently issued.