Session Descriptions

Trends and forecasts for the US domestic economy – The titles change constantly as does the content. This is a very current assessment of the US economy at the time of the presentation and a forward-looking analysis of trends to watch.  

Do we really understand why we, and our companies, make the decisions? We may believe that we make decisions only after acquiring all the facts, carefully considering all the alternatives and logically choosing the best option. However, Nobel prize-winner in Economics Daniel Kahneman and his longtime collaborator Amos Tversky have proven in numerous experiments and studies that we make most decisions by intuition and not analysis. We will examine Kahneman and Tversky’s groundbreaking work and its implications on us, our companies and the accounting profession.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the field of cybersecurity, offering both challenges and opportunities. As AI technologies advance, they are impacting all aspects of cybersecurity including: protocols, threat detection, and incident response. However, they also introduce new vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cybercriminals.

If you are a Microsoft Outlook user, chances are you are overlooking some of the many time saving features available to streamline the processing of your email messages. This session will provide a review and demonstration of key features of Outlook that will help you compose, process and organize your email messages with greater efficiency.

Do you find yourself hesitating to take action due to the fear of not meeting perfectionist standards? In the accounting field, there’s a constant pressure to deliver flawless results, but this fear of failure can hold us back from seizing valuable opportunities.

We’re sure you’ve heard the famous Babe Ruth quote, “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” This simple, yet powerful quote is a reminder that life is full of opportunities to dive in and participate, but you can’t let your fears keep you from engaging in what you love

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In this workshop, we delve into practical strategies tailored to the world of accounting, designed to help you overcome the paralyzing grip of perfectionism. Led by Kelsey, who has battled with perfectionism firsthand, you'll gain insights into resetting your mindset and embracing a more fearless approach in both your personal and professional endeavors.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Uncover actionable strategies to break free from perfectionism and take decisive action in your tasks.
• Learn techniques to reset your mindset, allowing you to approach challenges with confidence rather than fear.
• Explore how to strike a balance between high standards and practical action, enhancing productivity and well-being.

Do you struggle to keep budgets current in the face of an ever-changing business climate? Do you recognize that last year’s actual spending can be far from what a department’s spending should be? Twenty-first century performance metrics reduce work, reduce politics, provide flexibility and substantially improve the performance management process. This valuable session will show you how to drive organizational performance using these powerful techniques.

In today's dynamic economic landscape, staying abreast of the latest tax regulations, changes, and strategies is paramount for maintaining compliance and maximizing opportunities for your organization. This session will delve into recent updates, key considerations, and practical tips tailored specifically to the needs of CPAs serving in corporate environments.
 

Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, was released in 2009. Fifteen years later, the cryptocurrency market consists of over 5,000 unique coins/tokens with a market capitalization of over 1.5 trillion as of 2024. This presentation will provide an update on the cryptocurrency market and the blockchain technology that supports it.

The world is moving at a faster pace than ever before…and that means constant change and pressure.If you’re struggling to balance priorities amid numerous projects and pressures, you are not alone and could be on the fast track to burnout.

In this action packed session we will focus on time management tips and strategies that will help you gain more control over your schedule and priorities, therefore, resulting in more peace and confidence in your schedule.

KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• How can better time management keep me engaged in my role?
• What role does reflection play in time management?
• What tips and tricks can help me more effectively manage my time?

Most organizations manage their income statement, but many virtually ignore the balance sheet until balance sheet problems create seemingly insurmountable emergencies. This session discusses how to analyze and manage your financial statements more holistically, allowing you to identify and correct balance sheet issues early. How do you choose whether to raise debt or equity? What are the key considerations and the advantages of each? What is the cost of capital? What are the ‘hidden’ balance sheet risks? We will also examine several crucial ideas you can incorporate into your analyses to enhance performance and reduce risk. If you want to enhance your corporate finance skills, this session is for you.

Individuals wearing the "HR hat" play a pivotal role within the organizational landscape. As we emerge from the pandemic, we have a tremendous opportunity to engage in thought leadership like never before. This session will dive into the HR trends firms navigate on a daily basis and what should be on our radar for the future. We will discuss the value of utilizing a strategic lens while navigating complexity and explore what it means to be a "future ready" organization ready to shape culture and engagement. We will wrap up with a robust conversation on supporting employee wellbeing and mental health.

Learning Objectives

1. Examine current HR issues and trends shaping our organizations
2. Discuss strategy and resources to navigate the future of work
3. Tap into the knowledge in the room to build skills and cultivate relationships to support our organizations into the future

If your organization uses Microsoft 365, chances are that you are underutilizing your monthly subscription investment. The session will provide a lightning round review and demonstration of the many different apps available in the Office 365 ecosystem to maximize your ROI.

In the fast-paced and challenging landscape of modern business, exceptional leaders are distinguished not only by their skills and abilities but also by their resilience and leadership mindset. Join us for an interactive leadership and personal development workshop where we delve into the inner game of leadership.

This session goes beyond conventional leadership and personal development training, placing a spotlight on the quality that sets outstanding leaders apart – their mindset. Through engaging discussions, reflective exercises, and hands-on activities, participants will identify mindset challenges that may be holding them back in their careers. They will also learn strategies to overcome these mindset challenges, enabling them to excel as leaders and maximize their impact.

Many financial managers wage a constant struggle to keep their projections current and keep their operating managers engaged and focused on their budgets. This session will show you how to use performance metrics to reduce forecasting work and improve financial control and manager engagement in their department’s numbers.

This session will focus on the essentials all organizations must understand to navigate HR and employment complexities. We will cover the basics in the employment lifecycle... from recruiting and hiring, to the alphabet soup of employment laws, to discipline and discharge.

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss the HR topics all employers need to know and understand to avoid costly mistakes and stay out of legal hot water.
2. Review tips to bolster trust and employee engagement.
3. Discuss best practices for firms and organizations, large and small.

This presentation will provide a primer on ChatGPT and generative AI technology and its potential impact on business. The concepts of generative AI will be explained, along with the nomenclature. A discussion and demonstration of practical applications for ChatGPT in accounting, finance and tax will be provided to show you how you can put this powerful tool to work in your organization now.

As your organization faces the prospect of upcoming retirements, strategic succession planning becomes a critical investment in its future. During this interactive session, we will delve into strategies to identify and develop emerging leaders within your organization.

This workshop provides practical insights and actionable steps to address the unique challenges posed by impending retirements. Through engaging discussions and hands-on exercises, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of succession planning and best practices in building a leadership pipeline for your organization.

Here’s the brutal truth: organizations are as consistent as their people, and 80% of people are NOT consistent. Approximately 20% of people have a natural tendency to be consistent. We call them: leaders. Then we ask these (naturally consistent) leaders to coach, instruct, and assist (naturally inconsistent) people, who are literally wired differently. (The disparity can be seen on an FMRI machine.) That disconnect results in mutual frustration and huge opportunity losses. To bridge this gap, aspiring companies need be to create a Culture of Consistency.

“Until the 80% are given a strategy aligned with their hard wiring, they are going to struggle. They are currently trying to change behavior through “brute force.” And over time, “brute force” saps energy and willpower. And people stop.” It doesn’t matter if it’s a new sales goal, customer service initiative, or diet and exercise regimen. Over time, most people slide back to the norm. So, it really comes down to three concepts:

• The most certain way to make your organization more valuable is to make your people more valuable.
• And the most certain way to make your people more valuable is to make them more consistent.
• Consistency Chain is the science-backed, subject-tested, most certain way to help your people grow more consistent.

Boz Bostrom will provide participants with an update on business ethics. There will be an emphasis on discussing cases that have been in the news in recent years and focusing on what business professionals may learn from them.

What is the most common management mistake? Why is it so damaging and prevalent? Learn how managers mis-manage the most important assets in the business – our employees. More importantly, what we can we do to get the most out of our people and correct the single most common mistake made in business. The performance review process is broken, and we will discuss how to correct it.

We will define collaboration engaging the audience in a high energy interactive session on this topic. Mike will be using elements from three of his books in today’s presentation, The Collaboration Effect, Peaceful Resolutions, and The Servant Manager. Brain science will be applied to enlighten participants on the steps necessary in order to explore and enhance opportunities to provide for better client outcomes. Participants will get one of the tools they need so that they can apply this technique immediately at work and in life and other helpful information.

Boz Bostrom will lead participants through a discussion on key aspects of networking. There will be discussion on why networking is important, how to network at meetings and events, and how to network in everyday life and through social media.

So, you’ve been using Power BI to create fundamental reports and dashboards, and now you’re ready for even more advanced reporting…if so, this session is for you. In this session, you will learn how to extend your Power BI environment by incorporating tools such as Data Analysis Expressions, Key Performance Indicators, Hierarchies, and Apps and Content Packs, among others. By taking advantage of the tools and techniques covered in this session, you will be able to move beyond simple reports and dashboards in Power BI and truly leverage the power of this awesome reporting tool.

Does it seem like you spend far too much time recruiting? Do your people leave just as they become productive? If you think your turnover is because Millennials are different from earlier generations, you probably are not looking at the real source of your problem. Learn the changes you should make now!

In this session we will define partnership and collaboration focusing on ways to foster and improve business partnership collaboration internally and externally. Identifying 15 traits to improve business partnerships, three will be focused on to help you develop better partnerships within the firm, external to the firm, and outside of work for better partnership outcomes. Participants will leave with two handouts on delegation and with a participant’s summary as a reference to bring key points home. Mike will also share two bonus items and a tool so that participants can apply techniques learned today immediately at work and in life.

The Strategic Outlook 2024 is designed to equip you with the insights and tools to not only foresee but shape the emerging landscape. You'll dive into the forces reshaping the economic, business, social, political, and technological domains, discovering how to align your organization's vision with these dynamic shifts. This is your opportunity to transform from a "Maintainer" into a "Visionary," leading with innovation rather than merely responding to changes.

This session will highlight the expanding scope of the Controller and CFO roles, emphasizing the transition towards a more integrated accounting and technological savvy professional. You'll explore essential functions that are becoming critical to success, such as Efficiency Expert, Financial Analyst, Technology Expert, and Futurist. The future demands financial leaders who are not just proactive and insightful but also strategic and adaptable.

Remote work environments have created many new opportunities for cybercriminals and other fraudsters to exploit, and accounting professionals are some of the most commonly targeted individuals. This session is a series of case studies that examine actual criminal filings and news accounts and use them to highlight some of the actions you can take to limit your exposure to similar schemes. Attend this session and learn more about how high-profile control failures occurred so you can be more effective at preventing crimes in your organization.

In a world of too much constantly changing information, the challenge for financial professionals is how to provide the right amount of information at the right time and in the right way. How can we create truly innovative finance departments? Learn a few simple steps you can take now to create a 21st century finance department, which will add true value to your company.

Mike introduces The Collaboration Effect ®, shares insights as a servant manager and brings home key concepts related to leadership. A more in depth analysis based on current research associated with virtual leadership is presented to assist you with addressing the challenges and how to apply the key characteristics of effective virtual leadership. Additional insights are provided to provide you with tools you need to be successful. It’s not about me. It’s all about we. But it begins with me and my attitude. Mike will be using current research in this area and elements from three of his books in today’s presentation, The Collaboration Effect, Peaceful Resolutions, and The Servant Manager.

Dive into the realm of "The Art of Financial Storytelling," a presentation designed to unveil the power of narrative in the accounting domain. Explore the mastery of constructing a compelling story in financial reports, employing metaphors and analogies to demystify complex accounting concepts, and the art of grabbing attention from the onset, all while fostering a culture of independent interpretation among your audience. Delve deeper as we unearth the stories lying within data, balancing qualitative and quantitative facets, ensuring ethical storytelling, and leveraging visualizations to enhance comprehension.

Through illustrative case studies and enhanced presentation skills, this program not only illuminates key financial ratios and real-world examples but also fine-tunes your delivery with visual aids, voice modulation, and non-verbal cues. Learn to transcend traditional accounting lingo and enhance listener understanding.

What are my best technology choices, and how do I keep up? Even informed accounting professionals will find multiple ideas they can apply daily. This visionary session provides insights, options, and recommendations to help you decide which technologies will affect your business and which will give you a competitive edge. Included in Tech Update are emerging and evolving technologies important to accounting professionals. We will cover the benefits and risks of adopting recent technologies, ranging from software applications to hardware devices. You will also learn to develop a balanced technology strategy that includes your firm or business's current, emerging, and future technology choices.

The average CFO’s tenure is about three years, while the tenure for other financial positions may not be much better. One cause may be our responsibility to deliver BAD news. Sadly, sometimes the messenger gets shot. How can some people deliver the bad news and actually strengthen their position, while others find themselves without a job?

Many financial professionals believe that, “I just need to know the numbers really well to keep my job.” Every day proves this fallacy wrong. How you say it - is often more important than what you say. This session will teach you proven techniques to deliver bad news so that you actually strengthen your relationship with your CEO, Board, bank and management team.

Mike introduces The Collaboration Effect ® and categorizes the skills you need to excel in a negotiation. A more detailed look at soft, hard, and principled negotiators, with over 14 characteristics, illustrates how each approaches a negotiation. Building off this information, six models are presented with real-world stories of success to demonstrate why you should consider elements of these different models in a given negotiation. A negotiation preparation checklist handout is presented to help you with any important negotiation. A pocket guide on The Collaboration Effect based on neuroscience is offered as take aways you can apply to promote collaboration with others going forward. References include contemporary research Peaceful Resolutions, and The Servant Manager

The Story is in your Data!  You just need to access it and interpret it.  The role of the accountant will continue to morph at a rapid pace.  The progression from bookkeeper to accountant to Controller/CFO has changed due to Data Analytics, Business Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence.  Accountants will be more valued by what information they can derive and interpret to improve the organization instead of transaction aggregation and reporting.  This course will highlight how Data Analytics, Predictive Analytics, Business Intelligence and Generative AI will become essential components of the accountant's responsibilities.

Some estimates indicate that business professionals spend almost half their time in Excel applying formats. If you want better formatting results in less time, participate in this session to learn the best practices for formatting your Excel spreadsheets.

In this session, you will learn best practices for applying formats in your workbooks. More specifically, you will learn about features such as Custom Format Codes, Templates, Styles, the Accounting Format, Precision as Displayed, date formats, and many others, all of which can save you substantial time when working in Excel.

Imagine living a lie for 31 years. That’s what James Olson and his wife Meredith did while spying for the CIA. Spying for his country was the furthest thing from his mind when Olson, a farm boy from Iowa, received a mysterious phone call that changed his life forever. In his presentation, Olson takes you inside the real world of being a CIA spy. He describes the rigorous training they receive and the difficult dilemmas that they face in the field on a daily basis. Olson explains how the global war on terror affects everyone and that the country needs to know that the United States will be hit again within its borders. The United States needs spies to protect the country and its vital interests.

James Olson, former CIA Chief of Counterintelligence, will describe his undercover career in the CIA, including how he was recruited, the training he received, the risks he and his wife faced (she was also a CIA operative), and the effect of this undercover lifestyle on their marriage and children. Mr. Olson will also discuss the role of the CIA in the current Global War on Terrorism and other current issues affecting the safety and security of American citizens. Finally, Mr. Olson will take the audience on an actual espionage operation he and his wife carried out in Moscow at the height of the Cold War. Time will be left at the end for Q&A