The ease of access to and rapid flow of information makes cybercrime different from real-world crimes. For example, the transformation of crime with the establishment of the computer and networked technologies leads to the shift of target from more tangible to less tangible forms in values of wealth; from things to ideas expressed in informational sources. Cybersecurity is a complex and ever-changing phenomenon. This cybersecurity course for accountants online is designed to help you navigate the complexities of this field. It is divided into four parts:

Part I: Adopt A Security Mindset - Cybersecurity is not just about techniques, it is also about a mindset, which is critical to crime prevention efforts. Part I introduces the concepts and understanding of the field of cybersecurity. It discusses some common cybersecurity myths and explains how to address them, and identifies cybersecurity frameworks for managing risk and reducing vulnerabilities. It also describes different types of cyberattacks and threat sources.

Part II: Create A Security-Conscious Culture - Cybersecurity is only important to an organization if the board and management make it so. A successful cybersecurity program requires ongoing governance. Part II explains how to design and implementation of a holistic IT governance. It also provides guidance on how to develop an effective security policy.

Part III: Apply Security Countermeasures - Cybercriminals are constantly evolving their capability to exploit vulnerabilities inherent in the global business ecosystem.  Organizations need an innovative approach; allocating and prioritizing resources to effectively protect critical assets.  Part III discusses various strategies to help an organization advance to a high level of performance in its security ecosystem. It also includes recommended steps that organizations can take to address cloud privacy and security concern. Finally, it identifies key controls designed to protect data on portable devices and the network connected to the devices.

Part IV: Meet Regulatory Compliance - Compliance is challenging for many organizations, especially in heavily regulated industries such as healthcare and financial services. Understanding significant implications in the disclosure and governance of personal information reduces the risks of non-compliance, which may result in civil and criminal penalties, loss of public trust and reputation, and unnecessary down time. Part IV highlights key federal laws that concern cybersecurity and privacy and discusses examples of states that have enacted comprehensive consumer data privacy laws. It also describes some legal challenges in the cross-border data flow. It also reviews the major laws for regulating the healthcare and financial services industries.

This EXCEL Challenges course is one of a video series that documents common issues met in working with Microsoft EXCEL. Each part tends to present 10 cases that have been collected directly from real working environments and are intended to be shared with professionals using EXCEL.

For these cases to be relevant and organized, the course first provides a unique view of the Body of Knowledge (BOK) of EXCEL created by the instructor, which is a first in the EXCEL training and publications. The BOK illustrates the usual learning path of an EXCEL learner, naturally from basic to intermediate, and from advanced to expert levels. The BOK is open-ended ended with the top level embracing all miscellaneous skills and future developments in EXCEL.

Under the guidance of the BOK, all cases are tallied to the corresponding knowledge level so that our viewers may learn which areas they are good at and which require a bit more work. For each case, the course illustrates what the issues are, why the issues, and how to solve them. Also, the course encourages contributions from the audience who believes there may be better ways of resolving these EXCEL issues. Those suggestions from the audience will be shared and acknowledged in future parts of the series.

This EXCEL Challenges course will serve as a refresher for all professionals who need to sharpen their EXCEL skills in their professions.

The course is presented as a case study course.

First, we start from building a short version Profit & Loss report based on system data. In this case, we teach students how to avoid hard-coded numbers and hard-linked sources in the report. Instead, we deploy some advanced formulas that make the report dynamic.

Second skill is about using pivot tables in reporting. It makes reporting much easier by slicing and dicing. This skill can differentiate rookies and gurus.

Third, we fine-tune the model by upgrading it into a dynamic model by including the assumption page, data page, reporting page, dashboard, and proof check.

Fourth, once reports are completed, we need to generate region-specific reports to distribute to regional managers. We can automate the whole report generating process through a programming language in Excel called VBA (Visual Basic Application).

Last, once we receive revised reports from regional managers, we need to consolidate them into the corporate P&L report. We teach methods at all levels: basic, intermediate and advanced.

The ease of access to and rapid flow of information makes cybercrime different from real-world crimes. For example, the transformation of crime with the establishment of the computer and networked technologies leads to the shift of target from more tangible to less tangible forms in values of wealth; from things to ideas expressed in informational sources. Cybersecurity is a complex and ever-changing phenomenon. This cybersecurity course for accountants online is designed to help you navigate the complexities of this field. It is divided into four parts:

Part I: Adopt A Security Mindset - Cybersecurity is not just about techniques, it is also about a mindset, which is critical to crime prevention efforts. Part I introduces the concepts and understanding of the field of cybersecurity. It discusses some common cybersecurity myths and explains how to address them, and identifies cybersecurity frameworks for managing risk and reducing vulnerabilities. It also describes different types of cyberattacks and threat sources.

Part II: Create A Security-Conscious Culture - Cybersecurity is only important to an organization if the board and management make it so. A successful cybersecurity program requires ongoing governance. Part II explains how to design and implementation of a holistic IT governance. It also provides guidance on how to develop an effective security policy.

Part III: Apply Security Countermeasures - Cybercriminals are constantly evolving their capability to exploit vulnerabilities inherent in the global business ecosystem.  Organizations need an innovative approach; allocating and prioritizing resources to effectively protect critical assets.  Part III discusses various strategies to help an organization advance to a high level of performance in its security ecosystem. It also includes recommended steps that organizations can take to address cloud privacy and security concern. Finally, it identifies key controls designed to protect data on portable devices and the network connected to the devices.

Part IV: Meet Regulatory Compliance - Compliance is challenging for many organizations, especially in heavily regulated industries such as healthcare and financial services. Understanding significant implications in the disclosure and governance of personal information reduces the risks of non-compliance, which may result in civil and criminal penalties, loss of public trust and reputation, and unnecessary down time. Part IV highlights key federal laws that concern cybersecurity and privacy and discusses examples of states that have enacted comprehensive consumer data privacy laws. It also describes some legal challenges in the cross-border data flow. It also reviews the major laws for regulating the healthcare and financial services industries.

This EXCEL Challenges course is one of a video series that documents common issues met in working with Microsoft EXCEL. Each part tends to present 10 cases that have been collected directly from real working environments and are intended to be shared with professionals using EXCEL.

For these cases to be relevant and organized, the course first provides a unique view of the Body of Knowledge (BOK) of EXCEL created by the instructor, which is a first in the EXCEL training and publications. The BOK illustrates the usual learning path of an EXCEL learner, naturally from basic to intermediate, and from advanced to expert levels. The BOK is open-ended ended with the top level embracing all miscellaneous skills and future developments in EXCEL.

Under the guidance of the BOK, all cases are tallied to the corresponding knowledge level so that our viewers may learn which areas they are good at and which require a bit more work. For each case, the course illustrates what the issues are, why the issues, and how to solve them. Also, the course encourages contributions from the audience who believes there may be better ways of resolving these EXCEL issues. Those suggestions from the audience will be shared and acknowledged in future parts of the series.

This EXCEL Challenges course will serve as a refresher for all professionals who need to sharpen their EXCEL skills in their professions.

The course is presented as a case study course.

First, we start from building a short version Profit & Loss report based on system data. In this case, we teach students how to avoid hard-coded numbers and hard-linked sources in the report. Instead, we deploy some advanced formulas that make the report dynamic.

Second skill is about using pivot tables in reporting. It makes reporting much easier by slicing and dicing. This skill can differentiate rookies and gurus.

Third, we fine-tune the model by upgrading it into a dynamic model by including the assumption page, data page, reporting page, dashboard, and proof check.

Fourth, once reports are completed, we need to generate region-specific reports to distribute to regional managers. We can automate the whole report generating process through a programming language in Excel called VBA (Visual Basic Application).

Last, once we receive revised reports from regional managers, we need to consolidate them into the corporate P&L report. We teach methods at all levels: basic, intermediate and advanced.