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Cybersecurity training, Security Training, Soft Skills training, PCAOB Auditing Standards, Accounting Standards, CPE events, internal audit training, internal control training, fraud prevention and detection
The AccountWare Group
The Accountware Group works with Corporate Compliance Seminars (CCS) to created CPE training events and courses. These CPE events focus on internal audit training, internal control training, PCAOB Auditing Standards, Accounting Standards, cybersecurity program events and information technology training events.
CCS offers over 200 "Online Instructor-Led" webinar and in-person training courses. In 2026, CCS is offering in-person courses in selected cities. CCS can present any of the events and other training onsite at your office or via a private live webinar.
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How Arizona CPAs Actually Get in Trouble
Lessons From the Arizona State Board of Accountancy Most CPAs do not begin their careers expecting to face professional discipline. They pass the CPA examination. They satisfy experience requirements. They complete continuing professional education. They work hard to serve clients and employers. Then something goes wrong. Sometimes it involves a major ethical failure. Sometimes it involves poor professional judgment. Sometimes it is much less dramatic: deficient CPE records,
John Blackshire
1 hour ago9 min read
PCAOB Broker-Dealer Inspections: Where External Auditors Are Still Getting It Wrong
The Latest PCAOB Inspection Results Should Get the Attention of Every Broker-Dealer Auditor The latest PCAOB broker-dealer inspection results contain both good news and a serious warning. Audit quality improved. But the deficiency rates remain far too high. In its 2026 Annual Report on the Interim Inspection Program Related to Audits of Brokers and Dealers, reporting on 2025 inspections, the PCAOB reported that it reviewed 103 broker-dealer audits and identified deficiencies
John Blackshire
5 hours ago8 min read
Insurance Cybersecurity Failures Lead to More Than $21 Million in Regulatory Penalties
Cybersecurity requirements for insurance organizations are no longer theoretical. Recent enforcement actions demonstrate that state regulators are prepared to impose substantial financial penalties when insurers fail to protect nonpublic information, maintain effective cybersecurity controls, or report cybersecurity events promptly. Between October 2025 and April 2026, the New York State Department of Financial Services imposed more than $21 million in cybersecurity penalties
John Blackshire
6 hours ago6 min read
The AI-Assisted Internal Audit Report: 10 Methodologies Auditors Can Use to Turn Evidence Into Action
AI Can Make Audit Reports Better—but Only When the Auditor Gives It a Methodology Artificial intelligence can dramatically improve internal audit report writing. But there is an important distinction between using AI to write and using AI to think through a structured audit methodology. An auditor who types: “Write an audit finding about poor purchasing controls.” may receive polished prose. That does not mean it is a good audit finding. The AI does not automatically know: Wh
John Blackshire
1 day ago10 min read
Leading Change: Step Two—Build a Guiding Coalition
Urgency Starts the Change. A Guiding Coalition Gives It the Power to Survive. In the first article in this series, “Leading Change—Step One: Create a Sense of Urgency,” we examined Dr. John Kotter’s first requirement for successful organizational transformation. People must understand why change is necessary now. That first step creates momentum. But urgency by itself does not change an organization. Someone must convert that urgency into coordinated action. That is the purp
John Blackshire
1 day ago10 min read
Being an Audit Leader in the AI Era: The Leadership Skills Every Chief Audit Executive Must Develop
In-Person Leadership Academy • Dulles, Virginia • September 2–4, 2026 The Best Audit Leaders of the Next Decade Won't Simply Manage Audits—They Will Lead AI-Powered Audit Functions Internal Audit is experiencing the most significant transformation since computerized auditing replaced paper workpapers. Artificial Intelligence is changing: Risk assessment Audit planning Process walkthroughs Data analytics Fraud detection Internal control testing Audit reporting Audit Committee
John Blackshire
6 days ago5 min read
Why Every Internal Audit Leader Must Embrace Artificial Intelligence Before Their Audit Function Falls Behind
AI Will Not Replace Internal Auditors. But Internal Auditors Who Don't Use AI May Be Replaced by Those Who Do. For decades, Internal Audit has continuously evolved. The profession moved from paper workpapers to electronic workpapers. From manual sampling to data analytics. From compliance auditing to risk-based auditing. From transaction testing to continuous auditing. Today, the profession stands at another transformational moment. Artificial Intelligence (AI). The question
John Blackshire
6 days ago6 min read
TUSD Is on Arizona’s Financial Watch List: Stakeholders Must Demand Action Before the District Loses Control of Its Future
A Financial Warning Is Only Useful When Leadership Responds to It Tucson Unified School District is not facing an abstract financial concern. The District has been identified as one of Arizona’s higher-risk school districts under the Arizona Auditor General’s financial-risk analysis. The reported warning indicators include declining weighted student count, shrinking operating and capital budget capacity, pressure on the General Fund, and the use of capital resources to suppor
John Blackshire
6 days ago11 min read
Leading Change: Step One—Create a Sense of Urgency
Organizational Change Begins When People Believe Staying the Same Is More Dangerous Than Moving Forward Organizations rarely fail to recognize that change is needed. Leaders see declining performance, outdated technology, customer dissatisfaction, control failures, employee turnover, increasing costs, regulatory pressure, new competitors, and emerging risks. They hold meetings. They prepare presentations. They appoint committees. They announce initiatives. Then very little ch
John Blackshire
6 days ago14 min read
How Memphis City Schools Went “Out of Business”: The Political, Financial, and Governance Decisions That Ended a 140-Year School District
Memphis City Schools Did Not Go Bankrupt. Its Governing Board Voted to Eliminate the District. Memphis City Schools did not close because it filed for bankruptcy, ran out of cash, or became legally unable to educate students. It went “out of business” because its own Board of Education surrendered the district’s charter, Memphis voters approved the transfer of responsibility, and the school system was ultimately absorbed into Shelby County Schools. That distinction matters. T
John Blackshire
Aug 319 min read
Snakes in Suits and Internal Auditing: How Auditors Should Respond to Manipulation, Deception, and Destructive Leadership
Internal Auditors Audit Systems—But People Can Defeat the Best-Designed Systems Internal auditors are trained to evaluate: Governance Risk management Internal controls Compliance Fraud risk Operational performance Most audit methodologies assume that people generally act within the organization’s established structure. Management sets objectives, employees perform controls, supervisors monitor results, and governance bodies receive reliable information. That assumption does n
John Blackshire
Aug 317 min read
Internal Auditing 101: How New Auditors Can Communicate Better, Get to the Facts, and Overcome Competence Gaps
The New Auditor’s Biggest Challenges Are Not Usually the Audit Checklist New internal auditors are frequently trained first on procedures: How to complete a workpaper How to select a sample How to document a walkthrough How to test an approval How to write an exception Those procedures matter. But they are rarely the hardest part of becoming an effective auditor. The new auditor’s most difficult challenges are usually more fundamental: Communicating effectively with audit cli
John Blackshire
Aug 313 min read
COSO vs. the GAO Green Book: Which Internal Control Framework Should Your Organization Use?
They Share the Same Architecture, but They Serve Different Governance Environments Organizations often speak about COSO and the GAO Green Book as though they are competing internal control frameworks. That is not an accurate way to view them. The two frameworks share the same fundamental internal control architecture: Five components of internal control Seventeen principles Objectives involving operations, reporting, and compliance An entity-wide approach to designing, implem
John Blackshire
Aug 213 min read
What the PCAOB Has Been Telling Auditors About Audit Sampling: Five Years of Inspection Lessons
Audit sampling has been a fundamental part of auditing for decades, but recent Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspection reports demonstrate that sampling itself is rarely the root problem. Instead, PCAOB inspectors have repeatedly found that audit firms often fail to design, execute, document, and evaluate sampling procedures in a manner that produces sufficient appropriate audit evidence. In many inspections, sampling deficiencies were symptoms of broader
John Blackshire
Aug 25 min read
In-Person Training vs. Webinars: Which Format Produces Greater Knowledge Gain?
The Honest Answer: The Delivery Method Matters Less Than the Instructional Design The pandemic forced professional training providers to replace conference rooms with Zoom rooms almost overnight. Many organizations initially viewed webinars as a temporary substitute for “real” classroom instruction. In-person training was assumed to be more engaging, more credible, and more effective. Online learning was often treated as a lower-cost alternative that sacrificed educational qu
John Blackshire
Aug 29 min read
SOC Reports Under Pressure: The Control and Assurance Problems Organizations Have Faced During the Past Five Years
Obtaining a SOC Report Is Not the Same as Managing Third-Party Risk During the past five years, organizations have become substantially more dependent on cloud providers, software platforms, payroll processors, data centers, claims administrators, payment processors, managed security providers, and other service organizations. Obtaining a SOC Report Is Not the Same as Managing Third-Party Risk During the past five years, organizations have become substantially more dependent
John Blackshire
Aug 224 min read
Internal Auditor Basic Training: How the CCS Program Differs from IIA and Other Entry-Level Audit Courses
New Auditors Need More Than an Introduction to the Profession Most internal audit training programs begin with the same essential subjects: What Internal Audit is The role of professional standards Risk assessment Engagement planning Internal controls Audit evidence Workpapers Reporting Those subjects are necessary. A new auditor cannot perform credible work without understanding the professional foundation. The real difference among basic training programs is not whether the
John Blackshire
Aug 212 min read
Model Audit Rule Compliance Problems: What Insurance Companies Keep Getting Wrong
The NAIC Model Audit Rule Is Not Merely an Annual Filing Exercise Insurance companies frequently approach the NAIC Model Audit Rule as a year-end compliance requirement. Management prepares the annual audited financial statements. The external audit firm completes its work. Required reports are submitted to the state insurance department. The organization then turns its attention to the next regulatory deadline. That approach misses the primary purpose of the regulation. The
John Blackshire
Aug 211 min read
Student Achievement at Tucson Unified School District: The Measure That Matters Most
Every school district has a mission statement. Every school district has a strategic plan. Every school district has a budget. But ultimately, there is one question taxpayers, parents, and governing boards should ask: Are students learning? Student achievement is the single most important measure of whether a public school district is fulfilling its mission. Student Achievement Is the Ultimate Internal Control Auditors often evaluate financial controls, procurement controls,
John Blackshire
Jul 303 min read
The Internal Auditor Is Not the Process Expert—And That's Exactly the Point
Why Great Auditors Compare Business Processes to Standards Instead of Becoming Management One of the biggest misconceptions in internal auditing is that the auditor should become an expert in every business process they audit. Many new auditors believe they must know as much about payroll as the Payroll Manager, as much about procurement as the Purchasing Director, or as much about cybersecurity as the Chief Information Security Officer. That is neither realistic nor desirabl
John Blackshire
Jul 305 min read
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7850 North Silverbell Road, Suite 114-358, Tucson, AZ 85743-7399
479-200-4373
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