2024 Digital CPA Conference

In a rapidly changing business landscape, the pathway to the future of the profession is being paved by those who are looking ahead—evolving and innovating across practice areas to deliver higher value advisory services to clients. In this keynote session, Erik Asgeirsson, CPA.com president and CEO, will lead a discussion with AICPA president and CEO Barry Melancon and other practice and technology visionaries on the state of the profession and how firms are embracing transformative technologies, business strategies and services to capitalize on new possibilities so they can continue to thrive now and into the future.

Elevate your practice with a proactive approach to tax advisory services, extending beyond traditional tax compliance and planning. Discover how the spectrum of services, from pure tax advisory to integrated financial planning, can be tailored to the unique needs of both business and individual clients. Understand the blurred lines between business and personal tax planning for business owners and master strategies to communicate the value of these services. Leverage your position as a trusted advisor as you assemble a team of professionals to enhance client relationships, grow lifetime client value, and unlock new revenue opportunities. Join us to transform your tax services and drive your firm's success.

Emerging technologies and the pervasiveness of AI have enabled a higher quality, more efficient audit and changed the landscape of audit transformation. Join industry experts to discuss existing and emerging technologies and how they’re shaping the future of the financial audit.

Join us for an insightful session with client advisory services (CAS) practice leaders as they share the practice transformation journey they currently are on. We will delve into the common obstacles firms face when defining and implementing CAS within their business models. In this comprehensive session, we will explore the intricacies of CAS, demystify its challenges, and arm you with effective strategies to overcome these hurdles. 

Whether you are contemplating the introduction of CAS to your portfolio or looking to refine your existing services, this session is designed to equip you with the knowledge and tools to navigate the landscape of CAS confidently. 

Key Takeaways:

* Identification of common barriers to CAS implementation, from lack of understanding and client resistance to technology integration issues.

* Practical strategies to address and overcome these barriers, paving the way for successful CAS adoption in your firm.

* Insights on how to communicate the value of CAS to clients, facilitating smoother transitions and buy-in.

* Tools and technologies that can streamline the CAS offering for efficiency and scalability.

During this session we will explore the benefits and trade offs of focusing your practice, including your marketing and messaging, around more narrow and specific industry niches and client types.  

The speakers will provide an overview of the niches they are currently serving, some of the benefits and challenges that they have encountered and a few steps to take to adopt a niche strategy for your firm.

As the profession continues to contend with a talent shortage, offshoring is increasingly employed as a way to bridge the gap. In this session, we’ll discuss the various offshoring model options and questions around hiring, training, security considerations, and standardization of procedures.

Explore strategies and best practices for fostering growth within your CPA firm. Discover how cross-selling between different practices can unlock new revenue streams while deepening client relationships. Learn to identify true client value and untapped opportunities through a data-driven, holistic understanding of your clients' needs. We'll also delve into the crucial role of internal communications, demonstrating how transparent and cohesive messaging can lead to seamless collaboration and a unified approach to business development. Whether you're a partner, manager, or staff, this session will provide actionable insights and strategies to enhance your firm's internal growth potential.

Join us for a focused session designed for client advisory services (CAS) leaders, as we dive into crafting a dynamic HR advisory firm strategy. From identifying service offerings to staffing and pricing strategies, attendees will gain actionable insights to elevate their firms in the realm of client advisory. Don't miss this opportunity to unlock new avenues for growth and success in CAS through an effective HR advisory firm strategy.

Packaging and marketing your firm’s CAS offerings are crucial elements for your growth strategy, as they can influence your firm image, client perception, and practice area performance. Questions to ask yourself - have you defined your CAS practice value proposition? How do you market your services to attract and retain your ideal clients? Learn how to create and communicate your value to internal stakeholders and clients to achieve your firm's growth goals and the essentials of growth hacking.

Explore the impact of AI on CAS and how it's setting the stage for a new era in accounting and advisory. This session will focus on AI and CAS, highlighting practical use cases and discussing the nuances of change management related to implementing AI technology. From process to staffing to client experience, there are numerous considerations tied to developing an AI-augmented CAS practice. Learn, not only how CAS practices are leveraging AI to create efficiencies and add value today, but also how CAS practices could be operating in a future AI-augmented world.

New technology is not a threat to your tax practice, but an opportunity to enhance your efficiency, accuracy, and value. In this session, you will learn how to embrace AI as a powerful tool that can complement your human expertise and help you solve complex tax problems. You will also discover how to evaluate the quality and reliability of different AI solutions and how to integrate them into your existing workflows and systems. Whether you want to automate repetitive tasks, improve data analysis, or generate new insights, this session will show you how to take a deep breath and make the most of new technology for your tax practice.

Generating revenue is nonnegotiable for ensuring financial stability, pursuing merger and acquisition opportunities, and building resilience against the ever-increasing pace of change. It’s also a requirement to achieve individual advancement and firm growth. Fortunately, many growth opportunities in the accounting profession are based on referral business. However, as more and more clients seek greater value proposition and different types of services, problem solving, and sales acumen are needed now more than ever. Yet, the idea of selling can evoke discomfort and anxiety - often conjuring images of pushy tactics and relentless pitches. On the contrary, selling is not about client manipulation, but rather about solving problems and meeting needs. What if we reframe sales as an act of problem-solving? 

Join this insightful session to reinforce your client engagement approach and/or learn how to enhance your growth strategies to:

* Change the perception of sales from a pushy, uncomfortable task to a valuable service that meets both client needs and internal revenue goals.

* Learn techniques to identify and understand the pain points of clients.

* Equip attendees with strategies to increase stickiness with clients, handle common objections and concerns while serving as a trusted advisor.

In this course, we will explore real-world scenarios related to assessing potential conflicts of interest and high-risk clients. Attendees will learn about key red flags to look out for when evaluating such situations and how to create internal controls to proactively respond to such professional liability and ethical concerns.

Join these CAS leaders from a variety of firms and practices as they share the specific metrics that have been most impactful and useful to their practice and firms…and those that haven’t. Afterwards you will then be broken into small discussion groups to share your own metrics and discuss your metric related strategies and challenges with your peers.

The 2024 CAS Benchmark Survey shows impressive continued practice growth, but it is clear that there continues to be much opportunity for firms along the spectrum of client advisory services. This session will use the results of the survey to describe seven insights about CAS, and offer firm's specific actions to use the survey data to move their practices long the CAS journey.