Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
The course will take CPAs through key concepts within blockchain. Attendees will learn how bitcoin brings together hashing, encryption, and its infamous ledger to provide decentralized trust. Additionally, there will be an examination of Ethereum, smart contracts, and their link to NFTs, Initial Coin Offering, and Web3. The course also explores the fall of FTX and the ensuing fallout that has precipitated a regulatory crackdown on the technology. The course will close off with a look further resources CPAs can look to deepen their knowledge.
Topics Include:
- Bitcoin: Look at both the capability of the platform to deliver decentralized trust (i.e. how it resolved the "double spend problem") and its limitations (e.g. energy use, anonymity, etc.)
- The 51% Attack: Walkthrough the Achilles heel of the protocol, i.e. how hackers can potentially circumvent bitcoin controls to alter records
- Ethereum and Smart Contracts: Explain how NFTs and ICOs are examples of smart contracts that are provisioned on the Ethereum blockchain.
- Web3 and the Internet of Value: Critically examine the concept of Web3, and the key challenges with comparing it to Web 2.0 (Google, Facebook, etc.) and Web 1.0 (Netscape, etc.) revolutions
- FTX Collapse: Overview of what happened at FTX and illustrate it was "old fashioned embezzlement" and not a specific flaw in blockchain
- Regulatory concerns: Explain how regulators look at the technology
Key Takeaways
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the innovation that underlies bitcoin and smart contracts.
- Appreciate the regulatory posture that the SEC and others have taken with the technology.
- Evaluate the claims behind Web3 and the fundamental challenges that prevent it from being on par with the Web 1.0/2.0.
- Recognize the importance of professional skepticism when it comes to exponential technologies, i.e. by exploring the collapse of FTX.
Who Will Benefit
The course is beneficial to all CPAs, both from industry and audit. The course is built around the assumption that people have a non-technical background.
How to Access the Course
This course is a live webinar. You must attend the live course to receive verifiable CPD hours. We recommend you join five minutes prior to the scheduled starting time.
Electronic material can be accessed one week prior to the course and should be downloaded in advance.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Speaker(s)
Malik Datardina, CPA, CA, CISA is the Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Strategist for Auvenir. His two decades of experience encompasses audit innovation, audit data analytics (ADAs), risk and security governance. At Auvenir, Malik analyzes disruptive trends and technology like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and big data to build the audit platform of the future. He also wears the GRC hat, where he handles risk & compliance issues. Malik uses his wealth of knowledge in the innovation space to explore the impact of both innovation and exponential technologies on the profession and has authored professional publications on the topic.