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Year-End Technology Optimization & Cleanup Week
Year‑End Technology Optimization & Cleanup Week is a four‑day live online CPE conference designed to help accounting and finance professionals tighten security, clean up workflows, and enter the new year with stronger systems. Held Dec 7–10, 2026 (Pacific Time), this event focuses on practical...
Presented in partnership with Oklahoma Society of CPAs, New Mexico CPA Foundation, Montana Society of CPAs, Georgia Society of CPAs, Washington Society of CPAs, Kentucky Society of CPAs, Virginia Society of CPAs, Minnesota 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, Ohio Society of CPAs, Oregon Society of CPAs, Society of Louisiana CPAs, K2 Enterprises.
On the agenda
10 sessions across 4 days, taught by Atiba Lewis and Lawrence A. "Mac" McClelland — see the full agenda ↓
About this event
Agenda
Select a day, then a class, for full details.
Day 1 Monday, December 7, 2026 3 sessions
Are You Really Ready? Effective Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Planning
7:00 – 9:00 AM · Stephen Yoss · 2 credits
Disaster can come in many forms, from a flood to a data breach, to the death of a critical member of your team. When a disaster happens, it is never at a convenient time. It doesn't matter if it is the holidays, right before your vacation, or at the end of a grueling busy season. It just happens and you're left to pick up the pieces. The first 24 hours of a disaster are the most critical. How are you going to get back online? How are you going to organize a safe work environment for your staff? How are you going to communicate what has occurred and what you are doing to resolve it to your stakeholders? An organization that is without its data or communications for a prolonged period has a significant risk of going out of business. Every minute of downtime is lost productivity, a missed deadline, or a forfeited opportunity. It isn't a matter of if a disaster occurs, but when it does...
- Identify the major types of disasters, how they occur, and the impact on the organization.
- Outline best practices and steps necessary to resolve and mitigate the most common types of disasters inside an organization.
- Analyze the financial, environmental, and societal impact of a disaster on an organization.
- Develop a plan to identify the major risks to an organization and make recommendations to management to mitigate exposure.
- Identify existing business functionalities that could be moved to the Cloud to help reduce operating risk to the organization.
Tech Tips and Tricks for Excellent Video Conferences
9:30 – 11:30 AM · Stephen Yoss · 2 credits
As working remotely becomes the new normal, virtual meetings are now the norm. How do you put your best foot forward and make sure your space and tech are up to the challenge. We will show you some of our favorite tech to make you stand out. From the best cameras and microphones for outstanding quality to using a green screen and making custom backgrounds, there are many ways to look and sound your best.
Building Bulletproof Spreadsheets: When Accuracy Is Everything
12:00 – 2:00 PM · Stephen Yoss · 2 credits
This course equips accounting and finance professionals with practical methods to strengthen spreadsheet accuracy in environments where reliability directly affects reporting, analysis, and decision support. The content emphasizes modern Microsoft 365 capabilities, including dynamic arrays, data types, structured references, version history, and collaborative features that reduce formula risk and manual intervention. Participants see how sound workbook design, thoughtful data organization, and targeted validation rules reduce the likelihood of downstream errors and create spreadsheets that stand up to real‑world pressures. The session also highlights common failure points found in finance teams—such as fragile formulas, inconsistent structures, and user‑driven overrides—and demonstrates how to avoid them through protective controls, guided templates, and streamlined calculation...
- Identify modern Excel features that strengthen spreadsheet accuracy and reduce manual risk.
- Explain how structured references and tables improve workbook consistency and clarity.
- Apply dynamic arrays and data types to streamline calculations with fewer errors.
- Demonstrate protection methods that preserve formulas while enabling controlled data entry.
- Analyze spreadsheet designs to detect weaknesses and improve long‑term reliability.
Day 2 Tuesday, December 8, 2026 2 sessions
Free and Open Source Technology For Your Organization
7:00 – 9:00 AM · Stephen Yoss · 2 credits
There are a ton of amazing open-source or free Apps, services, websites available today. Open-source is the philosophy of making the code of applications available freely to the public. Meaning, apps that are free to download and modify to your personal requirements. Anybody can download these Apps and immediately use them for their own projects. Open-source Apps and services are often of the same quality and usability as their proprietary counterparts. This is an opportunity for organizations to save money, better utilize Cloud resources, improve security and mobile access to data. While reducing cost, implementation time and workflow complexity. This course will highlight some of the best open-source or free services available today for desktops and mobile devices. Including Apps and services that organizations have typically paid for in the past. For example, using Open Office...
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2026's Biggest Security and Privacy Concerns
9:30 AM – 1:30 PM · Stephen Yoss · 4 credits
In an era where digital threats are evolving at an unprecedented pace, financial professionals require a robust understanding of cybersecurity measures to protect both their personal and client data. This course offers a thorough update on the latest security and privacy challenges that CPAs and business experts will face in 2025 and beyond. Participants will delve into the intricacies of Windows 11 security features, learn to recognize and respond to sophisticated ransomware attacks, and understand the implications of data breaches in a heavily interconnected world. With a focus on practical solutions and actionable strategies, this course equips attendees with the knowledge to implement robust privacy policies, counteract phishing attempts, and navigate the complex landscape of regulatory compliance. Attendees will emerge from this course not only with a comprehensive grasp of...
Day 3 Wednesday, December 9, 2026 3 sessions
K2's Data Security And Privacy Issues And Solutions
7:00 – 9:00 AM · Lawrence A. "Mac" McClelland · 2 credits
Data security and privacy issues continue to plague businesses of all sizes. No matter where you look, the numbers are bad – really bad! But that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to reduce these risks. In this session, you will learn about the key security and privacy risks facing businesses today and the steps you can take to mitigate these risks. This session starts with a review of how cybercriminals attack businesses of all sizes and the related costs of these attacks. From there, you will progress into discussions of practical tools, policies, and other solutions you can use to mitigate cybersecurity risks to prudently acceptable levels. This is a “must-see” session for all concerned about data security and how to mitigate threats to sensitive and confidential data.
- Identify at least five examples of common data security and privacy issues affecting businesses today
- Create estimates of the costs associated with data security and privacy breaches
- List examples of internal control best practices you can use to mitigate your security and privacy risks
Privacy Issues And Solutions – What You Need to Know!
9:30 – 11:30 AM · Lawrence A. "Mac" McClelland · 2 credits
Privacy should be everywhere, yet every day seemingly brings a new story about a privacy violation. While it can be frustrating and sometimes scary to think about mishandling our personal information, it's important to remember that we can take steps to protect our privacy. This session will teach you where your critical threats are and what information you may already have at risk. More importantly, you will learn how to manage and mitigate privacy risks. In an era of increasing connectivity – and by extension, risk – this session should be high on your list to take as soon as possible.
Supercharging Your Spreadsheet Collaboration
12:00 – 2:00 PM · Lawrence A. "Mac" McClelland · 2 credits
Collaboration is a key to productivity and success. But remote work can make collaboration more challenging, including collaborating on spreadsheets. Fortunately, tools such as portals with check-in/check-out capabilities, version control, comment tracking, and co-authoring can enable online spreadsheet collaboration. Further, Excel's Inquire tool can facilitate spreadsheet collaboration in offline environments. Don't let remote work hamper your spreadsheet collaboration needs! Participate in this session to learn how to collaborate on spreadsheets effectively from anywhere using tools you already own or license.
- Select various Excel features associated with collaboration
- List the steps necessary to use Excel’s Inquire tool to identify differences between two spreadsheets
- Differentiate between the capabilities of Excel’s Notes feature and its Comments feature
- Choose the correct definitions for key terms associated with file storage such as check-in/check-out and version control from a list of options
Day 4 Thursday, December 10, 2026 2 sessions
K2's Ripped From The Headlines: Lessons From Interesting Tech Crimes
7:00 – 9:00 AM · Lawrence A. "Mac" McClelland · 2 credits
Generative AI and “ransomware for hire” have helped cybercriminals thrive in the post-pandemic period – but how do they do it? This all-new session is a series of case studies that examine actual criminal filings and news accounts and use them to highlight some of the actions you can take to limit your exposure to similar schemes. Attend this session and learn more about how high-profile control failures occurred so you can be more effective at preventing crimes such as theft, malware, ransomware, phishing, and hacking.
- List at least three major security incidents reported in the headlines in the last year, and explain at least one major internal control design or operation flaw that allowed the hack to occur
- Select the correct definitions for common security terms such as attack surface, vulnerability, exploit, social engineering, phishing, malware, heuristics, biometrics, and multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- List at least three best practices learned by reviewing the control failures cited in the case studies
K2's QuickBooks Online For Accountants
9:30 AM – 5:30 PM · Atiba Lewis · 8 credits
Discover the power of QuickBooks Online (QBO)! Intuit's cloud-based accounting platform has evolved and thrived over the past decade, now generating approximately five times the revenue of its desktop counterpart. Yet, many accountants and business professionals are still unaware of the extensive features QBO offers. Unlock the advantages of the subscription model and learn how to leverage QBO to manage inventory, enhance internal controls, create presentation-quality financial statements, and seamlessly migrate from QuickBooks Desktop or other accounting platforms. Join our dynamic session to explore the best practices for implementing, using, and excelling with QuickBooks Online. Don't miss out on the opportunity to elevate your accounting game with this surprisingly robust platform!
- Differentiate between some of the characteristics of QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online
- Identify the ideal QBO subscription model that would work best for a given company and best practices for converting to QBO
- Select the best path for performing routine accounting tasks in QBO
- Determine the way to set up QBO or convert from QuickBooks Desktop to QBO
- Identify and implement advanced options in QBO, such as workflow management, fixed asset tracking, and enhanced financial and operational reporting
Your instructors
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...
Full profile →
Stephen Yoss
Speaker & Author · CPE Today · ★ 4.7 instructor rating
Stephen M. Yoss, Jr., CPA, MS, is a certified public accountant, partner and CEO of Devmatics, LLC, a continuing education instructor for financial professionals, a and a licensed pyrotechnician. While his interests and skills are varied, they all share a common thread—his love for and skill in finding technology-based solutions. In 2017, Stephen and Alex White formed Devmatics, LLC, a company focused on helping...
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What attendees say about these sessions
Every event runs once, so these are verified reviews from past attendees of the individual sessions on this agenda — the same instruction, the same courses.
“Having a strong defense is important. The changes are fast and furious. Clear communicator, focused and precise.”
“An important look at some bad stuff. It's information we all need, so we can do our work with more care and caution and realism.”
“Great session to end the Tech conference. Lots of interesting real life cases.”
“Always important to review this subject matter every year, good update.”
“gave me lots to think about in my work setting”
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