Why Telephone Seminars - Training Resources

Understanding LEED for Sustainable Building BenefitsThis teleconference will help you better understand the U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, as it was significantly revised in 2009. The comprehensive introductory materials will prepare you for additional training to receive your LEED credential as an accredited professional or LEED AP. In January 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council  more...

Building Preservation: Preventive Measures to Combat Deterioration ...d and old building exteriors. We will help you understand why certain buildings are considered historic and how to preserve their valued designation while also meeting today's code and functional requirements. We will discuss why preserving and maintaining historic buildings is economic and can fit into a broader 'green' strategy for your organization. Learn that repairing a building but not  more...

Estate Planning for the Final Years of Life ...ost stressful experiences. This teleconference will cover why people need to plan, what they need to plan for and how to apply proven strategies for dealing with the final years of life. Thomas Day, a senior citizen himself, has spent more than 20 years helping people across the country with these issues. Mr. Day provides a wealth of knowledge, identifies specific planning sources and offers  more...

Maintain and Gain Downtown Businesses in a Tough Economy: Key Retention and Recruitment Concepts ... Learning Objectives - You will be able to define reasons why businesses succeed and fail. - You will be able to identify when a business is struggling before it's too late to help them. - You will be able to review the most common business retention strategies available to downtown businesses. - You will be able to discuss techniques for good business recruitment. City managers, municipal  more...

IRS Guidelines for Good Governance and the Continued Tax Exemption of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations ...ganizations. This teleconference will help you understand why Congress, the IRS and others insist on requiring that Section 501(c)(3) entities implement the best practices in corporate governance. Further, this teleconference will assist those persons responsible for completing the governance portions of the Form 990. We will include tips for how to establish systems to collect the necessary  more...

Avoiding the Pitfalls of GMP Contracting ...cription and analysis of the five components of a GMP and why it is so important to fully understand how each is defined and the conditions that apply to the payment of each component; the four phases of work that are typical when working under a GMP format, and the things to do and not do during each of these phases; tools for monitoring the risks that are unique to GMP contracts; what a  more...

Public/Private Partnerships and Major Infrastructure Construction BenefitsThe term public/private partnership (P3) has recently emerged as one of the latest buzz words in the development area. States and local governments are struggling with resource limitations and ever-increasing demands of infrastructure. The involvement of the private sector offers an enticing solution for meeting massive infrastructure needs. At the same time P3s provide an opportunity for  more...

Economic Nexus Standards in State Taxation ...developments. Understand emerging trends in this area and why merely having customers in Ohio and Michigan could subject you to new business tax liabilities. Learn how to handle nexus inquiries and which states to look out for in terms of nexus planning. This teleconference is a must for any business that sells to or generates receipts from customers in states where they otherwise have no  more...

Common Pitfalls of Certificates of Insurance Benefits'Trust me, we're covered. We have General Liability Insurance.' This statement is also often times followed by an all too common explanation: 'My company employees are listed as additional insured so we are covered.' Certificates of insurance are meant to evidence insurance coverage for landlords and tenants; secured transactions; and other property, casualty and liability exposures  more...

Utilizing Graphs and Charts in Microsoft Excel ... way needs to know the basics of chart creation; how (and why) to use different chart types; and how to alter the look of a chart with layout, color and content changes. Depicting data in a chart may reveal a trend that was not so obvious in the numerical data, which often can be dry and boring. That elusive meaning, buried in the obscurity of a sea of numbers suddenly springs to life in a  more...

Fraud and Embezzlement in Nonprofits: How It Happens and How to Prevent It! BenefitsIt's unfortunate, but the reality is that thinking your employees are honest isn't true! This fascinating and practical teleconference will walk you through actual fraud scenarios: discuss how the frauds occurred; and show profiles of embezzlers, why they did it, how they did it and what internal controls would have prevented them. Additionally, you will be provided a valuable handout to  more...

Strategies for Reducing Unemployment Claims Costs ...loyment compensation benefits no matter what they do - so why bother? Not so. This teleconference will assist you in defending against unemployment compensation claims, thereby reducing your costs. In doing so, you will learn the importance of accurately and persuasively completing the unemployment compensation questionnaire, thorough documentation, the orderly presentation of their side of the  more...

A Primer on Social Security Disability Law BenefitsThe Social Security law encompasses the Social Security regulations which span nearly a full volume of the Code of Federal Regulations, many volumes of law reporters, dozens of separately issued Social Security rulings and many volumes of internal regulations. This is why most lawyers do not want to develop an expertise in this area. This teleconference is designed to give you a broad  more...

White-Collar Defense Strategies and Developments BenefitsWhite-collar criminal defense is very different from the defense of other criminal cases. It must be approached uniquely from the time an attorney first learns of a client's target status in an investigation through trial. Failure to understand these differences and nuances can be fatal. This teleconference will examine some of these most important distinctions, and discuss the proper  more...

Getting Advice from the IRS: Letter Rulings, Pre-Filing Agreements, TAMS and GLAMs ... This teleconference is designed to discuss how, when and why to seek qualified written advice from the IRS, normally in the form of a private letter ruling request, a review of the ruling requirements set forth in Rev. Proc. 2009-1, what is not covered by a private letter ruling, the benefits of a pre-filing conference prior to the actual filing of the ruling request, as well as timing issues.  more...

15- Minute Expert Adult Patient Assessments: Practical Strategies, Tips, and Updates for Health Care Professionals ...ands-on with each patient seems to be decreasing. That is why every health care professional needs to be proficient in assessment skills. This teleconference, '15-Minute Expert Adult Patient Assessments: Practical Strategies, Tips and Updates for Health Care Professionals,' will help you identify practical strategies for completing an exam that efficiently evaluates your patient from head to  more...

Drafting Clear and Enforceable Contracts ...ave become increasingly complex in our litigious society. Why can't contracts just be written in plain language with the common words (and sentence structures) we use in everyday conversation? The truth is - they can! This teleconference is an introductory course on drafting clear and enforceable contracts in a business environment - using language that everyone can understand. It will cover  more...

Prevailing Wage Law--An Understanding of The Davis-Bacon Act BenefitsWage and hour laws have become the principal source for the new wave of employment class actions, which often result in hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in many cases millions of dollars, of recoverable damages and attorneys' fees awarded to the successful litigants and their attorneys - in addition to the substantial amount of legal fees and administrative costs incurred by  more...

Medical Identity Theft: Why You Must Prevent and How to Minimize Its Occurrence BenefitsMore and more patient information is being captured electronically, both within the provider setting and remotely from the patients themselves. Additionally, an increasing number of myriad touches of this data occur on a daily basis by various known and unknown entities, not all of whom are authorized or have a specific need to know. In this environment, ample opportunity exists for  more...

How Letters of Credit Work and Why Sometimes They Don't BenefitsThis teleconference will walk you through the steps in the life of a letter of credit, identifying pitfalls along the way. The teleconference will review and illustrate fundamental principles using real-life examples. Our presenter will explain how these principles apply to both commercial and standby letters of credit and how these two types differ. In particular, you'll learn why letters  more...

Collection Techniques for Landlords ...take a look at standard collection techniques and discuss why they may not be effective as they historically have been, to identify alternate collection techniques for you to utilize with respect to both current and future tenants, and to discuss bankruptcy-related considerations you should keep in mind when attempting to collect from your tenants. Attorneys, presidents, vice presidents, real  more...

New Rules and Formats for International ACH Transactions nInternational commerce is rapidly growing but with that growth comes challenges, the most significant being the need to track transactions to ensure funds are not being disbursed to or from individuals that are threats to the U.S. The Office of Foreign Asset Control is the government organization that tracks this information. Their regulations require that all international transactions comply  more...

Construction Site Hazard Prevention nSerious injuries, fatalities and citations issued by OSHA tend to involve the same violations over and over again. Penalties can be quite severe and may also result in lost business. Although most companies have detailed safety programs, translation of requirements to field activities may not be consistent. The most difficult aspect of establishing an effective safety plan involves the  more...

Preventing Workers' Compensation Abuse nNationwide, workers' compensation abuse costs the insurance industry billions of dollars each year. It is sometimes called "The Hidden Tax" because each of us absorbs these monies in the costs of goods and services each year. This teleconference will give you a better understanding of workers' compensation abuse, keys to a successful investigation and how to avoid claim pitfalls. This  more...

Understanding the Language of Mold Assessment Reports ...an expert could be excluded in a future legal proceeding. Why would an unqualified consultant or an unqualified laboratory be selected in the first place, and how might this affect the outcome of a possible legal matter? n nThis teleconference will help you understand the most commonly used language, units of measurement and terminology in use today. It explains the basic terminology and  more...

Why Is This Guy Still on My Health Plan? nThis teleconference will cast light on an area many employers overlook but which has the potential to create significant exposure - that is, failing to coordinate a company's leave policies with the eligibility and termination provisions of its benefit plans. This results many times in inactive employees (inactive usually because of a disability or other leave of absence) lingering on employer's  more...

7 Questions to Ask When Establishing Cause for Disciplining and Terminating Employees nThis teleconference will focus on understanding and implementing a simple, yet comprehensive approach to investigating and documenting potential disciplinary and termination actions. You will learn seven questions to establish cause for discipline or termination, as well as why proper investigation and documentation minimizes potential for the filing of discrimination claims, decreases settlement  more...

Effective Exit Interviews ...prove if you don't know what employees are looking for or why they are leaving? n nImplemented properly, a good exit interview program can provide an employer with a host of valuable information that can be used to improve its employee relations and HR function. Why are employees leaving? Is there a problem with a particular department, supervisor or program that is driving employees away? Are  more...

Mitigating the Impact of Construction Projects: Hurdles to Project Success nAll construction projects have impacts on their surroundings, including neighbors, businesses, communities and the physical environment. These impacts frequently are the center of controversy surrounding a project and can lead to unnecessary delays, lost productivity, added project costs and bad public relations. This teleconference will provide you with practical strategies for identifying and  more...

Paycheck Calculation Basics ...o need a refresher course. You will learn tips on how and why to determine if the worker is exempt or nonexempt. We will cover the calculation of and the maximum deductions for Social Security and Medicare taxes in 2009. n nThere are multiple methods of calculating federal withholding, which one should you use? How does an employee's W-4 affect their paycheck? Also, when calculating taxes on  more...

Roundabouts: Planning, Design Principles and Current Practices nAlthough roundabouts have proven safety and operational benefits, proper planning and engineering design is essential for roundabouts to function correctly. This brief, yet practical, teleconference is your opportunity to better understand modern roundabouts and their installation, learn specific design skills and current practices, and apply roundabout design principles to projects in your  more...

Updating and Maintaining Wills, Trusts and Estate Plans for the Evolving Client ...with existing documents. This part will focus on when and why clients need to review and revisit their estate plans and how to spot those issues for existing and potential clients. The second part will highlight various drafting techniques that will allow a will and trust to maintain maximum effectiveness in the future. We'll focus on how to best address a client's future needs with flexibility  more...

The Streamlined Sales Tax Project - How and Why It Affects Your Business nThe Streamlined Sales Tax Project is an effort by state representatives to implement a national uniform, simplified system of sales and use tax compliance. After more than five years of their efforts, the Simplified Sales and Use Tax Agreement came into effect on October 1, 2005. The SSTP now includes 19 full member states and three associate member states. Although initially taking effect as a  more...

What You Need to Know About Section 404 Permits nAny proposed project involving wetlands or other waters of the United States is likely to require some type of permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As the federal agency responsible for regulating impacts to wetlands, the Corps' regulations and the permit process can represent a significant part of a project's development. The identification of wetlands or other waters on a project  more...

Preparing a Winning Closing Argument ...efeat by making a killer closing argument. You will learn why closings matter, what arguments are radioactive, and what arguments are so powerful they are grounds for a mistrial (and why you should make them anyway). This teleconference will conclude with three examples of great closings from acknowledged masters of the art, and you will learn precisely what made these arguments so powerful. By  more...

Overcome Your Competition: Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace ...tual respect. n nHave you ever stopped and asked yourself why your team doesn't start their selling efforts at the top? What is the basis of the relationship that is formed with the prospect? Wonder why the close to pursuit sales ratio is so low? This teleconference will push your team out of their comfort zones and give them the skills they desperately need to sell at the highest levels of the  more...

The Complete Closing Checklist nMany individuals involved in commercial loan transactions never fully understand all the steps and details that go into closing a real estate loan transaction. They understand their participation in the transaction, but do not comprehend everything else that is involved before a transaction can actually close and fund. This teleconference will provide an overview to understand the entire process  more...

Return on Investment for Wellness Programs ...ely, the bottom line? n nThis teleconference will discuss why a wellness program should be a point of serious consideration for your company's health plan as well as how you can implement an effective wellness initiative that delivers significant bottom line results. We'll discuss the management of wellness program performance and how selecting the right metrics can provide an ROI reporting  more...

Estate and Gift Tax Audits ...asks when the estate tax return is selected for audit is "why this return?". What was it about the return that caused it to be selected for IRS examination? n nThis teleconference answers that question and many more related to the subject of estate and gift tax return audits. Learn about the characteristics that trigger audits and why some estate and gift tax returns are more likely to be the  more...

AIA and ConsensusDOCS Contract Documents: Comparison and Contrast nHardly a business day goes by in the construction industry when the parties involved in the construction contracting process encounter standard form contract documents. Two of the principal sources of such standard form construction contract documents have both recently issued the 2007 editions of their respective families of contract forms. The long established family of documents published by  more...

From Contact to Contract: The Ladder Approach to Managing a Sale ...initial meeting with a prospect they wonder how, when and why they should reconnect with the prospect. Not only does this lead to lost opportunities, even with prospects who do become clients the process is difficult, fraught with worry and uncertainty, and wastes a great deal of the salesperson's time and energy. Managing a sale need not be chaotic. The ladder method is a logical progression  more...