Keynote Presentations

Monday, September 20 | 8:15 - 9:30 am 

A. Professional Issues Update - Bill Pirolli, CPA, PFS, CFF, CGMA

William (Bill) Pirolli, CPA, PFS, CFF, CGMA is a partner in the accounting, consulting and financial services organization of DiSanto Priest & Co., CPA’s located in Warwick, Rhode Island. For over 40 years, Bill’s passion has been representing individuals and family/privately owned businesses in a wide variety of service areas including tax, estate and life planning, wealth creation and management, merger and acquisition, succession planning and everything else in between. Bill currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the AICPA with a term of June 2021 – 2022.  He also serves as Vice Chair of The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants for the same period. Bill is an avid golfer, loves to cook, enjoys photography and rides his Peloton with passion. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife Joanne. Join Bill as he discusses the latest issues and opportunities happening in the profession.

Monday, September 20 | 9:45-11:00 AM

B. How to Communicate with Everyone Who Isn't You - Denise Ryan, MBA, CSP

Life would be so easy if everyone we interacted with was just like us. They would understand our cryptic e-mail messages, forgive our bizarre text messages, and understand why we unfriended them on Facebook. There would be no hard feelings, no conflict, and clearly, world peace. Unfortunately, no one else is exactly like you and to succeed in life and business, you have to work with the confusing, the angry, the silly, and yes, even the smarter and more articulate. This session will help you do just that. You will learn about barriers to communication and how to remove them. You’ll take a communication styles quiz and will learn just how different a large portion of the world really is and how to adapt to connect with them. People won’t stop being different; this session will help you understand them.

Monday, September 20 | 11:10 - 12:00 PM

C. Current Issues in Business Ethics - 2021 - Boz Bostrom,CPA

Boz Bostrom will provide participants with an update on current issues in business ethics. There will be a focus on learning using real-world cases/examples and participant discussion. Boz is a professor of accounting and finance at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.  Boz teaches a variety of accounting and finance courses, including a capstone course which has a focus on the study of business ethics.  Boz also is active as a CPA, as a tax and finance consultant for a large multinational corporation in the Twin Cities. Prior to becoming a professor, Boz was a senior manager in Deloitte’s international tax practice.

Monday, September 20 | 1:00 PM - 2:40 PM | Concurrent Sessions

D1. Uniform Guidance & Yellow Book

Diane Edelstein, CPA

When conducting a Single Audit you must follow Yellow Book and Uniform Guidance .  We will discuss the 2018 Yellow Book effective June 30, 2020 year ends and the update to Uniform Guidance issued in August of 2020.

D2. Individual Tax Update

Pat Garverick, CPA

This session will review various Federal income tax laws impacting “individuals” with an emphasis on newly enacted tax legislation, court cases and IRS guidance.  Topics are TBD depending on the most recent developments incurred up to date of seminar. 

D3. Survival Skills for Leaders

Denise Ryan, MBA, CSP

This session offers a deeper dive into essential leadership skills.  It covers effective delegating and coaching (two of the most challenging skills to develop), dealing with conflict, and how to run an effective meeting.  We’ll also discuss leading those with different communication styles – a must in today’s diverse workplace.  You’ll also get tips on time management to create the space to implement all this!

D4. Online Meeting & Collaboration Tools

Randy Johnston

In this session, we will cover the leading meeting and collaboration tools. We will note the features and benefits of options available and will provide a comparison of critical items. We will also explain deployment and control considerations from a management perspective, citing questions you can pose to technical consultants. If you want to improve your team’s productivity, this session will give you independent guidance.

Monday, September 20 | 3:00 - 4:40 PM | Concurrent Sessions

E1.The Unique World of Nonprofits

Diane Edelstein, CPA

Non-profits are unique.  We will look at some of challenges of recognizing exchange vs contributions and recognizing conditional  vs unconditional contributions.  We will also look at better ways to tell your non-profits story through flexibility in the Statement of Activities and the use of Footnotes.

E2. Business Tax Update

Pat Garverick, CPA

This session will review various Federal income tax laws impacting “businesses” with an emphasis on newly enacted tax legislation, court cases and IRS guidance.  Topics are TBD depending on the most recent developments incurred up to date of seminar. 

E3. Motivation by Chocolate

Denise Ryan, MBA, CSP

This session features two things everyone likes – chocolate and motivation!  It teaches nine key motivational concepts that can help participants get more out of every day – both personally and professionally.  They’ll learn about persistence, passion, effective allocation of resources, keeping an open mind, and much more!  The session includes a chocolate tasting to demonstrate not only how to appreciate chocolate, but life itself.  Time to celebrate!

E4. Current Tech Crimes - Ripped from the Headlines

Randy Johnston

Security is a top concern for CPAs every year. Yet many hacks result from organizations not implementing effective internal controls over information technology.  In this session, you will learn about critical IT-related controls using a case study approach. More specifically, you will learn from real-world examples of breaches and security failures. Accordingly, you will better understand how to protect your company and its data.  Attend this fast-paced session and learn more about IT-related controls you can use to prevent computer crimes such as identity and information theft, tax refund fraud, and more. 

Keynote Presentation

Tuesday, September 21 | 8:00 - 9:40 am

F. Reigniting Our Passion - Samantha Mansfield

Accounting professionals have been on the front line of the economic recovery. You have been inundated with questions and fears and have had to maximize your specialized knowledge. And even though you rose to the challenge, you are not immune to the effects of the pandemic.

As leaders brace for “The Great Resignation,” you don’t have to wait to see if your organization will take a hit from a larger-than-normal wave of staff turnover. Instead, you can proactively engage your team members and reignite the passion that led them to a career in accounting.

Tuesday, September 21 | 10:00 - 11:40 AM | Concurrent Session

 G1. Challenges in Single Audits

  Diane Edelstein, CPA

We will look at the 2021 Compliance Supplement.  We will also look at the challenges of an accurate SEFA and Major Program Determination.

 G2. Individual Retirement Account (IRA) Review

Pat Garverick, CPA

This session will review (and stress newly enacted legislation) with respect to the various types of IRAs (i.e., Traditional, Roth, SEP and Simple), contribution and distribution rules, exceptions to the early withdrawal 10% penalty and required minimum distributions (during the taxpayer’s life and after death).

 G3. Successfully Managing Your Remote or Blended Workforce 

Samantha Mansfield

The rapid move to remote during the pandemic caused us to quickly embrace remote work at all levels and in all work. As firms re-populate their offices and begin to manage a blended environment with team members working from home, clients and in firm offices, leaders must embrace flex and remote as a cultural non-negotiable. Attend this session to identify four common leadership mistakes that inhibit you from successfully managing your remote talent and a blended workforce.

G4. Tech Update 2021

Randy Johnston

What technology trends significantly impact you? Which technologies will affect you and your business? This visionary session provides insights, choices, and recommendations. You will experience a summary of 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, and the latest hardware and software trends to help you make the best decisions. You are certainly going to discover at least one new technology you had not considered. This session provides strategic and tactical insight on technology choices.

Tuesday, September 21 | 12:40 - 1:55 PM | Concurrent Session

H1. GASB Update

Diane Edelstein, CPA

What is new in the GASB world?  We will look at GASB 84 Fiduciary Activities and GASB 87 Leases.  We will also mention other upcoming GASBs to watch for. 

H2. Passive Activity & Rental Real Estate Income Tax Issues

Pat Garverick, CPA

This session will review the complex passive activity rules that apply the certain investments in trade or businesses and rental activities.  In addition, this session touch on the applicability of the 3.8% net investment income tax to passive activities and the qualified business income (QBI) deduction with respect to rental activities.

H3. Thriving Through Life's Journey

Terry Eckmann, Ph.D. ACSM-EP, 500RYT, ACE-GFI

Embrace the many demands of life with a perspective that can enhance your personal and professional life. Thrive through the ups and downs with tools and strategies that can help you make the most of every day. Recognize the power of a positive attitude. Explore key choices that can help you make a difference on the journey through change! This session is “you time”!  A humorous and thoughtful presentation filled with research-based practices.

H4. Improving Productivity with Microsoft 365 and Cloud Applications

Randy Johnston

Many Microsoft 365 subscriptions include powerful cloud services for improving productivity. Foundational services, such as SharePoint, OneDrive, and Outlook, are joined by other powerful tools such as Teams, Planner, Power Automation, Forms, and Power Apps to provide a productivity platform second to none. Don't miss this opportunity to get all the knowledge and guidance necessary to take full advantage of your investment in Microsoft 365.

Tuesday, September 21 | 2:05 - 3:20 PM | Concurrent Session

I1. Important Accounting and Auditing Issues Update

Diane Edelstein, CPA

A Series of new Auditing Standards are effective for you December 31^st year ends and will include a new looks for the “Independent Auditors Report”.  We will also cover the latest FASB standards that affect accounting and the leases ASC Topic 842.

I2. Form 1120S and Form 1065 Schedule K-1 Review

Pat Garverick, CPA

This session will not only review the changes to the Schedule K-1s but also the three reasons for calculating a shareholder’s basis in a S corporation and partner/member’s basis in a partnership/LLC. In addition, the effect of the Schedule K-1 items (including distributions) on a S shareholder’s stock and debt basis and a partner/member’s outside basis and where the items get reported will be discussed.

I3. Life Hacks for Living Well

Terry Eckman, Ph.D. ACSM-EP, 500RYT, ACE-GFI

Life Hacks for living well is designed to provide simple and easy to use practices to improve overall wellness.  The number one excuse for not exercising, eating right, and not taking care of self in general is "I don't have time.”  This session will give you little things that can make a big difference in increasing activity levels, eating healthy, embracing a positive attitude, and making simple life choices that can make a big difference.  Participants will get the why, what, and how of practices that can improve quality of life now and well into your golden years.

I4. The Perfect Storm - Data Governance and Data Privacy Regulations

Randy Johnston

How do you control the data you are responsible for? Consider the impact of the May 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as the December 11, 2019 introduction of a law in India giving authorities sweeping access to data and the most important piece of U.S. legislation, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which is in force as of January 1, 2020. Companies like Microsoft and Apple not only claim they are ready, but plan to implement CCPA across the country. What about your business? Have you completed your implementation? Attend this session to learn practical steps you can take to be compliant with mandated regulations.