Accounting firms have long understood the need to bring additional services and value to their clients, with one key area being wealth management services. However, whether built internally or through an external partnership with a wealth management firm, many have struggled to capitalize on the opportunity for a variety of reasons.

Tom Tillery will be sharing his experiences in building collaborative partnerships between accounting firms, COIs and financial advisory firms. These collaborative partnerships are essential to his role as an investment advisor representative of Paraklete® Financial, Inc., a fee-for-service registered investment advisor. Paraklete® provides unbundled virtual family office services to families throughout the United States acting as their Advocate in Financial Services®.

This session will provide practical and executable strategies that you can apply in your business to drive a successful accounting/wealth management partnership.

We often of hear of this thing called “DEI fatigue.” Is it real? Should we lift our foot off the gas on diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) initiatives to give people a break? This panel of professionals will discuss why maintaining momentum on DEI is critical to firm success. They will also provide strategies to ensure that DEI goals remain a priority and that all staff stay energized and invested in creating a workplace that supports people from all backgrounds and cultures.

Did you realize estate tax planning doesn’t end with death? Many practitioners rightfully focus on the variety of inter vivos options clients can choose from. However, after death there’s plenty of work remaining beyond mere reactionary compliance. The options and choices are meaningful.

Specifically, there are many options to choose from when filing the: final 1040, final 709, 1041s, and the 706. Informed and deliberate filings can save significant tax presently and prospectively, protect the executor and retain future flexibility.

This presentation will cover many elections you must consider when helping to administer an estate.

We will cover accounting and auditing concepts related to business combinations. These concepts will include identifying business combination transactions, recognition and measurement principles as well as auditing considerations for consideration transferred, assets acquired and liabilities assumed, certain exceptions to recognition and measurement principles, private company accounting alternatives, presentation, and disclosure.

In today's fast-paced business environment, effective digital collaboration is crucial for enhancing productivity and staying ahead of the competition. Join us for an engaging and informative session as we unpack the difference between collaboration and teamwork, and then leverage the power of Microsoft Teams to boost collaboration efficiency and streamline communication across your organization. In 2022, Microsoft announced that Teams was used by 270 million users, making it by far the most popular business communication platform, vastly outperforming Slack’s 18 million active users. 

In this session, you will learn: The criteria for effective collaboration, as it differs from the criteria for effective teamwork.

* Techniques for real-time communication through chat, voice and video calls, and screen sharing, reducing the need for long email chains and unnecessary meetings. 

* Various methodologies to deliver content for contemplative reasons, including files, notes, and tasks. 

* Tips for setting up channels, managing permissions, and organizing your workspace to encourage a clutter-free environment. 

Whether you're new to Microsoft Teams or looking to optimize your current setup, this session will equip you with valuable insights and practical tips to take your team's collaboration to new heights. Don't miss this opportunity to elevate your firm’s collaboration efficiency and harness the full potential of digital collaboration using Microsoft Teams.

This session will discuss the income tax consequences with an estate or trust transfer assets to the beneficiaries, whether that beneficiary is an individual or a trust. We will review the funding issues for (1) a specific bequest, (2) a pecuniary bequest and (3) a fractional or residuary bequest. The session will review the 6 issues that must be addressed for each of the three listed types of bequests.

Firm Managers, also known as Firm Administrators, COOs, Directors of Operations, and more, are known for "wearing many hats" in their firms. They lead administrative teams and functional areas such as Human Resources, Finance, Marketing, and Technology. But more importantly, firm managers can help grow the firm and improve both the employee and client experience. With our rapidly changing environment, including the talent shortage and the rise of automation and artificial intelligence, the most important "hat" our firm managers must wear is that of "change agent." During this session, learn more about the importance of the role of firm managers, how the role changes with firm size and growth, and how firm managers can directly support your firm's growth. If you are a firm manager, leader, or managing partner, this session is for you.

Join us for a plan-English overview in accounting for nonfinancial asset impairment models. We’ll make this an interactive session to discuss accounting and auditing concerns when dealing with various impairment models for nonfinancial assets.

The U.S. retirement market was roughly $33.6 trillion at the end of 2022, and more than half of those assets were held in IRAs and similar defined contribution plans. Much of that wealth rests in the hands of an aging Baby Boomer generation, and financial advisors will play a critical role in passing these assets along to clients’ beneficiaries as intended, and as tax efficiently as possible. Sometimes, that may require using a trust as an IRA beneficiary. But while these tools can be incredibly effective at protecting and preserving wealth, they can also add considerable cost and complexity to a plan, especially in light of changes made by the SECURE Act. In this session, attendees will learn about some of the biggest pros and cons of leaving an IRA to a trust, as well as the critical IRA trust rules they must know in order to properly guide clients.

Ever feel like you're shoulding into the void when it comes to your marketing? Maybe, sometimes, it even feels like you're wasting your breath. Let's fix that. In this session, let's learn about what it takes to have your voice heard about the din and how to land your brand in the hearts and minds of your ideal target customers.

Prepare for a powerful exploration into one of life's most significant changes – retirement.

Picture the journey into retirement as a path with two lanes - one technical, the other human. Each is intricately woven with complexities and details, and each is as critical as the other. In this presentation, we'll delve into the realm of Authentic Intelligence - the artful fusion of the fact-driven technical side with the deeply personal human experience. We'll explore how they inform and shape each other and why this balance is not just important, but essential.

Trying to inspire young staff to pursue their CPA license or a student to consider an accounting degree? Or maybe you are trying to figure out the next step in your own career path? Come listen to and interact with six young CPAs who each started a different journey through the CPA profession. Questions welcomed!

For a decade, estate planning advisors operated in an interest rate environment where the applicable federal rate (and Section 7520 rate) were historically low and essentially stable. Over the last year, that environment has changed, with interest rates increasing and showing signs of volatility month-to-month that can have real world impact on how clients achieve their objectives. With input from an estate planning lawyer and a financial planning advisor, this session will tackle the world of planning in a changing interest rate environment with a focus on the analysis of advanced estate planning techniques that thrive – or falter – as interest rates change.

The AICPA and CPA.com launched a startup accelerator in 2017 focusing on Accounting, Finance & Regulatory tech solutions. Its purpose is to foster innovation and assist emerging technologies to better understand and service the accounting profession. Investment into new technologies and solutions is critical for not only staying ahead of the curve, but providing client-centric services. In this session, you will hear about trends in FinTech and AI developments – and meet the startup companies that represent the 2023 cohort.

Understanding how and why people make decisions is a very difficult concept to grasp. Furthermore, influencing one’s decision making can be even more challenging. In the business world, building connections and influencing decision making is key for the success of any firm. To help professionals develop emotional intelligence and to understand the ideal frame of mind, Strategic Advisory Solutions’ Business Strategy team offers “Building Connections and Influencing Decision Making.” This interactive workshop teaches numerous best practices that can be utilized every day.