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New Year Readiness: Automation & Analytics Launchpad

★★★★★ 4.6 · 53 attendee ratings across these sessions

New Year Readiness: Automation & Analytics Launchpad is a three‑day live online CPE conference designed to help accounting and finance professionals start the year with stronger analytics, cleaner workflows, and more efficient tools. Held Dec 28–30, 2026 (Pacific Time), this virtual program...

DatesDec 28–30, 2026 (Pacific Time)
CPE CreditsUp to 18
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Presented in partnership with Oklahoma Society of CPAs, New Mexico CPA Foundation, Montana Society of CPAs, Georgia Society of CPAs, Iowa Society of CPAs, Washington Society of CPAs, Kentucky Society of CPAs, Virginia Society of CPAs, Alabama Society of CPAs, Alaska Society of CPAs, Connecticut Society of CPAs, Illinois CPA Society, Indiana CPA Society, Massachusetts Society of CPAs, Nebraska Society of CPAs, Oregon Society of CPAs, Society of Louisiana CPAs, K2 Enterprises.

About this event

New Year Readiness: Automation & Analytics Launchpad is a three‑day live online CPE conference designed to help accounting and finance professionals start the year with stronger analytics, cleaner workflows, and more efficient tools. Held Dec 28–30, 2026 (Pacific Time), this virtual program delivers practical training on Excel, reporting, business intelligence, and productivity—ideal for teams looking to modernize before the new year begins. Across five expert‑led sessions, you’ll master Excel PivotTables, uncover ten must‑know Excel features, streamline document workflows with advanced PDF techniques, explore business intelligence tools, and strengthen your home networking setup for secure remote work. Led by Brian Tankersley and Lawrence A. “Mac” McClelland, this event provides actionable strategies you can apply immediately while earning up to 18 CPE credits in Accounting, IT, and Software & Applications.

Agenda

Select a day, then a class, for full details.

Day 1 Monday, December 28, 2026 1 session
K2's Excel PivotTables for Accountants K2's Excel PivotTables for Accountants 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM · Lawrence A. "Mac" McClelland · 4 credits

Many business professionals consider PivotTables the most powerful feature in Excel, yet most accounting and financial professionals do not use them in their day-to-day activities. If you are ready to learn how to take advantage of PivotTables or extend your existing knowledge, then this course is for you! In this dynamic and engaging session, you'll master how to: • Build PivotTables from scratch • Group data inside PivotTables, including options for fiscal periods • Create user-defined calculations in your PivotTables We start with the fundamentals and quickly move to advanced techniques, including: • Building PivotTables that consolidate data from multiple ranges • Connecting PivotTables dynamically to external databases and financial accounting systems • Leveraging other Excel features associated with PivotTables, such as Slicers, Power Query, and Power Pivot This...

You'll learn to:
  • Identify the six main elements of a PivotTable report and their use when creating PivotTables
  • Select appropriate tools to manipulate data in PivotTables using grouping techniques, modified Field Settings, user-defined calculations, and sorting and filtering options
  • Determine the best process by which to link and import data from external data sources into PivotTables
  • Use Consolidation PivotTables to consolidate data from multiple data sources in Excel
  • Apply knowledge gained in this session to create enterprise-class PivotTables that integrate Power Pivot and Slicers
Lawrence A. "Mac" McClelland Taught by Lawrence A. "Mac" McClelland · ★ 4.5
AccountingComputer Software and Applications4 CPE creditsLiveHero
Day 2 Tuesday, December 29, 2026 3 sessions
K2's Ten Must Know Features In Excel K2's Ten Must Know Features In Excel 7:00 – 9:00 AM · Brian Tankersley · 2 credits

Most business professionals have used Excel for years, often without the benefit of any formal training. Thus, they don't know about key features in the application and, therefore, don't use them. Of course, this leads to inefficiencies and errors. Isn't it time to stop this madness? This session is for you if you're ready to become more efficient and effective with Excel! You will learn ten critical features that can help you get more work done in less time and improve your accuracy. We encourage you to make plans to join us for this session to learn the best ways of working with Excel!

Brian Tankersley Taught by Brian Tankersley · ★ 4.5
Computer Software and Applications2 CPE creditsLiveHero
K2's Next Level Home Networking K2's Next Level Home Networking 9:30 – 11:30 AM · Brian Tankersley · 2 credits

In this course, accounting professionals and technology enthusiasts will explore advanced home networking concepts to support remote work and modern digital needs. Learn to select prosumer-grade hardware, configure multi-SSID networks, and integrate functionalities like VPNs, media servers, and remote file access to boost productivity and security. Discover cutting-edge technologies, including SPF+ (10G networking), to future-proof your setup for data-intensive workflows. With practical demonstrations and relevant use cases, this session equips you with the tools to optimize your home network for efficiency, security, and scalability.

You'll learn to:
  • List at least one prosumer-grade networking hardware brand for enhancing home office performance and security
  • Identify how isolating your work, personal, and guest networks can enhance information security
  • Define at least three advanced networking functionalities, including VPNs, remote file access, media servers, VLANs, and SFP+
  • List at least to high-speed networking technologies that can help to future-proof home networks
Brian Tankersley Taught by Brian Tankersley · ★ 4.5
Information Technology2 CPE creditsLiveHero
K2's Taking Another Look At PDFs K2's Taking Another Look At PDFs 12:00 – 2:00 PM · Brian Tankersley · 2 credits

We're all familiar with PDF documents. However, it's safe to say that most professionals use only a tiny fraction of their features. This circumstance is unfortunate, considering all you can do with PDF documents. Therefore, isn't it time to take another look at PDF documents and all you can do with them? Participate in this session to learn more about PDFs and how and why they should be a cornerstone technology in most organizations. Collaboration options, long-term storage and archival, and fillable forms are just a few features you will learn about in this session. This session is for you if you're ready to elevate your PDF productivity!

Brian Tankersley Taught by Brian Tankersley · ★ 4.5
Computer Software and Applications2 CPE creditsLiveHero
Day 3 Wednesday, December 30, 2026 1 session
K2's Business Intelligence, Featuring Microsoft's Power BI Tools K2's Business Intelligence, Featuring Microsoft's Power BI Tools 7:00 AM – 2:30 PM · Brian Tankersley · 8 credits

Business Intelligence (BI) is perhaps the hottest topic in most professional circles in today's business climate. Increasingly, organizations of all sizes are seeking to take advantage of the data available to them to identify previously undiscovered insights and gain competitive advantages thought to be out of reach just a few short years ago. A growing array of tools – from Excel add-ins to dedicated solutions such as Power BI – now allow you to leverage your existing knowledge and skills to create powerful, interactive dashboards and analyses unthinkable until recently. This program will teach you to implement “do-it-yourself business intelligence” using a variety of techniques and tools. First, you will learn to use advanced Excel data query and summarization features to create Excel-based dashboards. You will then learn how to leverage that knowledge to build even more...

You'll learn to:
  • Create Excel-based BI dashboards
  • List the potential shortcomings of BI solutions based wholly on Excel
  • Identify and implement various Excel add-ins that might useful in BI applications
  • Differentiate between the BI opportunities in Excel and Power BI
  • Create and distribute dashboards using Power BI
Brian Tankersley Taught by Brian Tankersley · ★ 4.5
Accounting8 CPE creditsLiveHero

Your instructors

Brian Tankersley

Brian Tankersley

Speaker & Author · K2 Enterprises · ★ 4.5 instructor rating

Brian Tankersley is a consultant who advises US firms and companies on accounting technology issues. Mr. Tankersley is a frequent speaker at continuing education courses for K2 Enterprises, and publishes a nationally recognized blog on accounting and technology (www.cpatechblog.com). He has also served as the technology editor for a major accounting industry publication. Mr. Tankersley has over 25 years of...

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Lawrence A. "Mac" McClelland

Lawrence A. "Mac" McClelland

Speaker & Author · K2 Enterprises · ★ 4.5 instructor rating

Mac McClelland, an attorney and accounting professional, is an associate of K2 Enterprises of Hammond, Louisiana, and Network Management Group of Hutchinson, Kansas. Mac was formerly the director of the Centre for Financial Studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he lived and worked for seven years from 1990 to 1997. He was also a member of the faculty of the Advanced Business...

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