The Association is dedicated to removing barriers to the accountancy profession and ensuring that all accountancy professionals and other members of the public with an interest in the profession or joining the profession, including those with disabilities, have access to the profession and the Association’s website, educational materials, products, and services. The Association is committed to making professional learning accessible to all product users. This commitment is maintained in accordance with applicable law. For additional information, please refer to the Association’s Website Accessibility Policy. As part of this commitment, this product is closed-captioned. For additional accommodation requests, please contact adaaccessibility@aicpa-cima.com and indicate the product that you are interested in (title, etc.) and the requested accommodation(s): Audio/Visual/Other. A member of our team will be in contact with you promptly to make sure we meet your needs appropriately.
Filter by Tag Key:
The business environment is complex and evolving more rapidly than ever. In order to position ourselves for success, we must understand prevailing environmental trends, how they impact what we do as assurance providers, and the opportunities they present.
Objectives:
- Analyze the trends in the environment that are impacting assurance practice
- Determine impacts on audit quality
- Discover insights into developments that will affect practice in the near future
- Evaluate new assurance opportunities
Click here to ask a question or participate in polling.
The year 2020 was unlike any other - requiring each of us to quickly pivot and transform virtually all aspects of our personal and professional lives. Working from home, video meetings and the elimination of business travel became the "new normal" in just a few day's times. But these significant changes also presented tremendous opportunity for innovation and digital transformation. Join Inspector Gadget has he examines the latest technology developments and products supporting these rapid changes. Topics will include blockchain, machine learning/AI, 5G, big data, cloud, quantum computing and more! This session will also uniquely examine the impact of these technologies on A&A. Technology has never been more critical and impactful than it is today. Make certain you have the essential details you need to navigate your next steps.
Objectives:
- Recall the latest technology trends and the impact these trends will have on next generation devices.
- Assess how selected technologies are revolutionizing A&A practices, and how you can leverage these technologies within your own firm
- Order technology initiatives based on greatest impact.
With more than 500 different profession-specific software products to choose from in at least 30 different categories, building your tech stack is more complicated than ever. Join a panel of tech experts and business consultants as they survey the landscape and provide guidance on your selection process and what to look for in the CPA planner’s tech future.
Objectives:
- Develop an understanding of the profession’s current tech landscape.
- Create a process for comparing your evolving tech needs with the options in the marketplace.
- Identify some newer software functionality that most advisors are not familiar with.
- Discover what industry experts see coming from technology providers in the next 24 months, including new tech being developed commercially by advisory firms.
- Develop a workable strategy for staying current with technology trends and how to leverage your evolving tech stack.
Inclusion is often described as a Human Resources initiative along with Diversity and Culture. However, it is also a strategic business imperative that can lead to firm growth, increased clients, higher team retention and innovative offerings.
Objectives:
- More about inclusion’s positive impact on team engagement, client relationships, and business partnerships
- How to re-evaluate perceptions and thoughts to more effectively lead diverse team members
- How to increase retention and remove barriers that discourage a sense of belonging
In this session, we will talk about the necessity of upgrading leadership skills and more intentional development of future leaders to meet the demands of the Next New Normal. The new normal will be a hybrid of people working from home which will require enhanced leadership.
Objectives:
- Identify what it means to set competency expectations for leaders and why we should give leaders an opportunity to fail.
- Discover the importance of promoting people with values of our firm rather than on longevity.
This session will cover the adaptation of change and establishing a new normal.
We will learn how to maintain relationships, teamwork and networking in a new virtual workspace. Learn how to implement virtualization of staff management, client management, and selling. Also, learn to tailor hiring criteria and offering dynamic incentives to retain staff and appeal to incoming talent in today's competitive market. Learn how to take responsibility as a leader to create a people-first culture with emphasis on diversity and inclusion.
Objectives:
- Review the adaptation of change.
- Identify how to establish a new normal.
This session will share how COVID has impacted deal structures and practice valuations when selling externally. It will also address whether it is a buyer or seller's marketplace and what the future market may look like. We will discuss trends started prior to the pandemic that still are important and what new ones have been created. We will also look at the diminishing meaning of equity in many firms, how partners are buying each other out, what you can do to make your firm more attractive and the keys to client retention post selling or merging. During the session, we will help you understand when and why is the "right" time to merge up, merge a firm in, acquire a firm or remain independent.
Objectives:
- Assess how 2021 practices will be valued when selling externally or to partners - what is the multiple?
- Interpret the importance of adding advisory services and alternative methods of merging or acquiring a niche.
- Evaluate when to commence your succession plan and how to chose the "right" firm to merge, acquire or sell to.
- Summarize the shortcut to initially determining culture fit before diving too deep.
2020 was a unique time to lead a practice. There were many DEI related circumstances that impacted firms where leaders were unsure how to navigate. It uncovered diversity focus areas that needed revisiting, and identified the need for difficult conversations to take place among peers. In this panel discussion, attendees will learn how to better maneuver through these different situations, understand steps that need to be taken to advance DEI in their firms, and hear tips for how to handle and manage difficult conversations. Panelists will share and discuss their experiences and the importance of being able to respond appropriately in times of crisis.
Objectives:
- Determine how to lead and move teams forward in times of uncertainty.
- Identify skills and tools that will advance DEI in your organization.
- Discover how to make the uncomfortable comfortable when leading teams.
The much-debated ruling by the US Supreme Court forcing the NCAA to alter long-standing financial policies around collegiate athletics, athletes and teams speaking out on social issues, and the Tokyo Olympics taking place amid a global pandemic has made the intersection of business and sports more apparent and newsworthy than ever.
The role of the trusted, professional financial advisor is critical from the onset of an athlete’s career requiring an understanding of financial literacy, wealth management and compliance. Given the stunningly short, average length of a player’s career, preparing for the day the buzzer sounds should start well before they sign their first professional contract.
This session features lessons learned from three groundbreaking professionals - Amobi Okugo, Jeremy Bloom and Nicole Lynn - each bringing their own unique perspectives on overcoming adversities, maximizing opportunities and navigating an often treacherous business environment on and off the field.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated change in the profession. This panel discussion will provide insights into the trends and issues impacting the profession and how these are creating new opportunities to thrive in the future.
Objectives:
- Describe the current economic environment and important issues impacting the accounting and finance profession.
- Recognize how accountants are leading in economic recovery efforts and hear how the Association is supporting them through advocacy, resources and learning.