B&I Session Descriptions
Why Strategy Fails at Execution ... and What Leaders Can Do About It
Organizations rarely struggle because they lack strategy. More often, execution breaks down in the human layer of work when decisions stall, priorities compete, communication becomes unclear, accountability weakens, or teams struggle to coordinate across functions.
This session explores the hidden factors that create the gap between strategy and results. Attendees will learn how decision-making, communication, leadership, and organizational friction influence execution, and how leaders can identify risks earlier before they become missed milestones, rework, or business impact.
Participants will leave with a practical framework for strengthening execution capability and helping their organizations turn strategic priorities into measurable outcomes.
Speaker: Heather Polivka
Credits: 2 CPE (Finance - Technical)
Budgeting from the Bottom Up
Financial statements and budgets are only valuable when they drive action. Yet many leaders struggle to translate financial reports into meaningful insights that support better decision-making.
In this session, you'll learn how to transform financial data into impactful visual dashboards and graphs that clearly communicate trends, performance, and organizational health. Discover practical ways to help executives and operational leaders understand profitability, productivity, and cash flow indicators so they can identify emerging challenges and take corrective action before they become significant business issues.
Attendees will leave with strategies to present financial information more effectively, enabling stronger decision-making and greater organizational performance.
Speaker: Ruth King
Credits: 2 CPE (Finance - Technical)
AI as Your Partner: Advanced Financial Analysis Beyond Basic Prompting
The era of merely “chatting” with AI is evolving into a more sophisticated partnership where Large Language Models (LLMs) act as highly capable analytical associates. For the financial professional, the challenge has shifted from writing simple prompts to building complex, multi-step workflows that can spot anomalies, perform deep variance analysis, and automate testing protocols. This course moves beyond the basics, showing you how to treat tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot as “agents” that can handle sequential tasks while you maintain the professional skepticism and oversight required to ensure accuracy and compliance. Success in an AI-integrated firm requires more than just technical skill; it requires a robust framework for data security and risk management. We will explore how to protect sensitive client information through a tiered approach to security, ranging from standard privacy settings to “closed-loop” enterprise systems. Participants will learn how to integrate these advanced analytical capabilities into their existing work in Excel and Power BI without disrupting established operations. By the end of this session, you will be able to move up the value chain of analytics, transforming the “hallucination risk” into a structured “AI audit” process that keeps the practitioner firmly in control.
Speaker: Stephen Yoss, Jr.
Credits: 2 CPE (Information Technology - Technical)
Influence - The 12 Timeless Truths of Gaining Trust
As CPAs and business leaders, our ability to influence others is one of our most valuable assets. Every day, we provide guidance, recommendations, and insight that help shape decisions and outcomes. In this session, participants will explore 12 timeless principles for building trust, strengthening relationships, and increasing their ability to positively influence clients, colleagues, and stakeholders.
Speaker: Randy Johnson
Credits: 2 CPE (Professional Development – Non-technical)
