AICPA & CIMA CFO Conference 2021

Business is social and CFOs are jumping in to use these ‘social technologies’ to scan emerging trends, connect to customers and suppliers, attract talent, accelerate learning, develop thought leadership and influence their companies. This interactive session will show real examples of how CFOs can use social technologies like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and others to elevate your game. Tom Hood will present research, case studies, innovative uses, and practical tips and techniques to get you started using these exciting tools and not let the tools use you!

According to the World Economic Forum’s latest “Future of Jobs” report, creativity is one of the most sought-after skills needed across industries and job roles. But is creativity really a skill that anyone can learn? Can we all be innovators? In this inspiring and actionable keynote, New York Times bestselling author and innovation expert Josh Linkner reveals a proven strategy anyone can use to unlock their creative potential. You don’t have to be a genius—you just need the right tools to hatch your own breakthroughs.

CFOs and finance professionals have been thrust into the center of attention as they are called on to help businesses 'survive and thrive’ in these extraordinary times. Forecasts, scenarios, and business model transformations are being asked of finance professionals along with outlining the impacts of government relief packages along with the increasing complexity of tax compliance. This update will cover the latest trends and issues facing Finance Leaders and how to prepare for the next normal as we look beyond the pandemic.

As companies enter the recovery stage from COVID-19, many are re-evaluating ownership of non-core assets and operations, and potentially migrating to an ecosystem of strategic partners. These partners, typically “better owners or managers” of such assets, can help transition fixed costs to a variable cost structure, enhance company agility, shift resources to focus on core or critical capabilities and enhance valuation. During this spotlight on “asset light strategy”, we will discuss how businesses can reshape their future using an asset light approach.

This session discusses digital transformation in Operational Risk and Internal Controls, with references to financial services but an approach applicable to all industries. The new approach will lay out how to view and manage risks and use those opportunities for future growth. Often times, Operational Risk and Internal Control assessments are tactical and focus on processes; they do not access holistic or layered risks. Furthermore, they are reactive findings based on limited sample sizes, not proactive monitoring for full population. The reviews focus on risk mitigation and not growth potential. Data is frequently in silos and difficult to extract and analyze. Furthermore, there are increasing challenges with increased regulations, rising volumes, credit defaults, limited resources, and complex IT environment.

This session details how to digitize Operational Risk and Internal Control processes and reviews for that go beyond sampling to full population, reduces subjectivity and focuses on exceptions and red flags. It aims to achieve continuous monitoring on real-time data rather than a review on aged data. The process provides for standard views across multiple markets, with lesser disruption to businesses and better cross-functional/ cross-geographical learnings. In the end, it aims to reduce key operational risks in an efficient and effective way and identify future growth opportunities.

In this session we will discuss the hype fueling automation robots and what impact it is having on finance leaders and their teams.

Business value used to be created by delivering a product or service at the right place, time, quality and price. Similarly, companies used to measure success by following its operational and financial performance metrics. Today, in the experience economy, value is no longer limited to productivity and efficiency, but notably driven by behaviors and the emotions of the people who interacts daily with our business. High performing businesses are leveraging from experience management, actively listening to customers in real-time, armed with advanced analytics, making their employees happier and boosting customer loyalty. Leading companies are harvesting revenue gains of 5-10% while reducing costs by 15-25% within 2-3 years cycle. Are You ready to win in the experience economy?

In this session, financial forecaster and futurist Jason Schenker will discuss the most important dynamics driving current economic growth and financial markets as well as the outlook ahead. Mr. Schenker will also discuss some increasing risks that will be critical for corporate finance, business strategy, accounting, and tax planning. Some of the most important topics will include sector and industry dynamics, global and U.S. growth, the labor market, Fed policy, quantitative easing, consumer inflation risks, asset inflation, and taxation risks. Mr. Schenker will also share Prestige Economics forecasts for growth, inflation, and Fed policy rates for the balance of 2021 and beyond.

While many CFOs are accelerating investments in digital technologies through intelligent planning, machine learning, and analytics, they also need to invest in a future-forward finance capability by redefining roles, empowering workers with skill development, and working with their CHROs to reimagine the finance workforce holistically. Join this session to learn how Workday is creating a finance talent team and finance technology solutions that allow humans and machines to each do what they do best

Now more than ever, finance and accounting organizations are under increased pressure to maximize efficiencies, increase the use of automation, and provide insightful, real-time analytics to the business in order to make faster, business critical decisions. The recent pandemic highlighted that traditional risk-prone manual processes hinder the ability to produce necessary financial statements, track key metrics and deliver those effectively.

Join this session with Trintech to learn how to holistically address the financial close by combining effective processes and technology that increases the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your processes while simultaneously reduces your costs and risk.

As our we struggle to balance a multitude of challenges, we need leaders who promote hope, not fear; inspire unity not division. The solution lies within. JD will share stories from tragedy to triumph and the essential qualities required to go deep inside, rise up, and become an authentic, congruent and bold leader for the modern era.

The Biden Administration is settling in and the Congress and Administration have many issues to address. Which issues are front and center and which ones will affect the accounting profession and business community? What role are narrow House and Senate majorities impacting the current congressional legislative agenda? Will the 2021 off-year elections provide any indicators for potential outcomes in the 2022 mid-terms?

Some feel that DEI is only a human resource matter, or the sole responsibility of a DEI professional, however, to be truly effective, DEI must be everyone’s responsibility. McKinsey & Company’s January 2018 and 2020 research reinforces the link between DEI and company financial performance. In this session participants will learn tips and actions that CFO and finance leaders can take to ensure that they are playing a valuable role in advancing DEI within their organization.

Even before the current crisis, digital transformation and new ways of working were having a significant influence on the critical skills and capabilities of the finance function. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated that need. Barry Payne, Director – External Relations, Management Accounting and panel will share insights on the skills and competencies that will become more prominent in the post-COVID world and tips on developing a measurable roadmap to develop sustainable finance talent. This is an absolute imperative for CFO’s.

During the session we will discuss the updates on the IRS operating status, including the delays that IRS is experiencing with processing taxpayers tax returns, issuing tax refunds, including those that were submitted as tentative refund claims, as well as responding to other taxpayer’s requests. We will briefly touch upon the taxpayer’s advocate report to Congress that identified 10 most serious problems that the taxpayers encountered in their dealings with the IRS. We will discuss how IRS budget impacts IRS enforcement activity and IRS enforcement initiatives for the fiscal 2021 tax year.