Class Choices
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The Accounting Firm of the FutureCourse Formats:
= Lecture
= Workshop
= Roundtable
= Panel discussionCourse Levels:
= Basic
= Intermediate
= Advanced
= Update
= Overview
= New Session
- Adding Business Acumen into Your IT Department
- Building Value
- CPAs and Social Media — Passing Fad or Valuable Tool?
- Creating Customer Happiness
- Developing Goal-Based Performance Achievement Systems
- Disaster Planning for CPA Firms
- The Economics of Running Today’s CPA Firm
- Employee Retention and Hiring in Today’s Competitive Market
- Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining
- Is Your Web Presence Working for You? 10 Ways to Measure Your Web Presence ROI
- Kaizen for Accounting Firms
- Leadership, Management and Administration
- Why CPAs Get Sued — and How to Make Sure You Don’t
- Your Firm’s Invisible Balance Sheet
The Accounting Firm of the Future
For the accounting firm of the future, change merely represents an opportunity for improvement and elevated success. And to get there, firms will need to follow a simple formula: Define. Communicate. Deliver. During his presentation, Darren Root, CPA, CITP, will show you what comprises an accounting firm of the future and explain how to manage paradigm shifts effectively and with ease; the newest technologies and how to properly assess them; the value of integrated systems and a paperless work environment; and the benefits of Software as a Service (SaaS) and the virtual office.
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
Adding Business Acumen into Your IT Department
An efficient IT Department in a CPA firm is one in which its members understand that it's not just about the deadlines, but so much more. This session will give you practical solutions as to how to get your IT Department to not only understand the business, but appreciate it and therefore become a higher performing group.
Who Should Attend: Partners & Managers
CPE Field of Study: Computer Science
Building Value
CPAs face a constant challenge defending their pricing in a crowded, competitive, and commoditized market. At the same time, standards and regulations are increasing and require more time invested in engagements than years past. The result is often frustrating — low realization and profitability, especially in some of our core services. Building value is related to several factors, including selling skills. As the ability to persuasively communicate value increases, so does the client's understanding and willingness to pay. This topic is designed to help you understand how to identify, build and defend the value of engagements and relationships to clients and prospects.
Who Should Attend: Partners & Managers responsible for developing business and managing current clients
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
CPAs and Social Media — Passing Fad or Valuable Tool?
Join us for this enlightening session about how CPAs are using Social Media to develop business, make connections, do research and become thought leaders. Tom Hood and the MACPA have led the CPA profession in innovative uses of social media and will be presenting the latest tips and techniques to get you started using these exciting new tools.
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
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Creating Customer Happiness
One of the goals of a business is to provide an above average return on investment to stockholders over the long run. In order to accomplish this objective, the organization will have to create a sustainable competitive advantage. One path to achieving such a position is by providing a unique and compelling value proposition for customers. Customers measure value by dividing the benefits they receive by the costs they incur. One aspect of the benefits a customer can receive is the overall "experience." The goal of this session is to provide case studies and best practices in creating a superior customer experience.
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
Developing Goal-Based Performance Achievement Systems
Technology changes more than just how you prepare tax returns and financial statements. Is your firm’s employee appraisal system effective? Are you still evaluating people using old systems? Imagine if everyone in your firm predictably hit their production targets and had exemplary technical and professional skills — what would be the result? In this highly interactive session, we will discuss the three must-have components of any employee performance achievement system. Come learn how to develop a system of evaluating your employees that is beneficial to the employee, the reviewer and the organization as a whole.
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
Disaster Planning for CPA Firms
What would happen at your firm if you were to suffer a disaster — such as a storm, a software virus or a computer meltdown? Would you be prepared? Would your employees be protected? The responsibility for preparing for a potential disaster belongs to a firm’s management team. It is so much more than just an IT issue. In this session, we will focus on disaster recovery planning for accounting firms. We will look at how a disaster could impact a firm and define the risks associated with CPA firms. We will discuss how firm management can prepare themselves for the unexpected and look at methods for building a disaster recovery plan.
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
The Economics of Running Today’s CPA Firm
Hear a CPA firm managing partner tell what his firm does in practice to address pricing, staffing and administrative overhead. The current times call for extraordinary management skills and the ability to navigate the road ahead. Many firms, after spending years building a strong recruiting culture, are laying off personnel. Now is the time to plan how to navigate the road ahead. This session will help you navigate your firm down a profitable path.
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
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Employee Retention and Hiring in Today’s Competitive Market
Employee retention and hiring, especially of the best and most desirable employees, are challenges accounting firms have been facing for the last several years. Firms are struggling with the best way to avoid staffing issues while paying equal attention to employee retention. Share your experiences and concerns regarding how to hire and retain great employees, what people want from work, and why people join and then stick with an employer in today’s competitive market.
Who should attend: HR, Trainers, Partners
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining
The old expression, “every cloud has a silver lining” applies well to the recession's impact on CPA firms. Like Sarbanes Oxley, today’s problem — the recession — creates opportunities. Firms are moving their client base upscale by taking advantage of the downstream flight from larger firms by smaller clients in pursuit of lower fees. They are upgrading their staff level, taking advantage of the best market for experienced staff in 20 years. They're spending more, not less, money on marketing because they recognize that, more than ever before, they need to proactively seek new business. They are searching for mergers because some firms are feeling even more vulnerable than they did during the boom times. They are doing more consulting work because, in a recession, clients need help weathering the storm. Don’t be left out in the rain.
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
Is Your Web Presence Working for You? 10 Ways to Measure Your Web Presence ROI
Use your web presence to enhance your overall marketing program. Generate leads and target marketing to new clients through your site. Attract new talent through a robust recruiting site. All these are great ideas, but how do you measure success? Discover indicators of an effective web marketing strategy. Learn how to measure the ROI for your website.
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
Kaizen for Accounting Firms
The focus of this session is on how to conduct a Kaizen (Japanese for continuous improvement) event in your firm to eliminate waste. It comes in many forms: talent, time, money, effort, opportunity, etc. Ideally, firms can build a culture of continuous improvement through education, reinforcement of correct actions, awareness and a focused management approach.
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
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Leadership, Management and Administration
Firm owner's and talent scouts have this in common — they never stop looking for the next "star." Identifying those who are best suited for management and other leadership roles while keeping a strong administrative force intact is a crucial initiative. This session clarifies what various roles require and how you can develop people for each.
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
Why CPAs Get Sued — and How to Make Sure You Don’t
Learn from others’ mistakes in this insightful seminar that reviews the most common reasons CPAs get sued by clients. You’ll hear about actual cases in which practitioners were sued by clients and what you can and should do to prevent similar situations in your practice. When your income and your reputation are on the line, you can’t afford to make these blunders!
Who should attend: All Levels
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
Your Firm’s Invisible Balance Sheet
The number one issue facing firms around the world is the challenge of attracting and inspiring talent. This presentation will provide insights and methodologies enabling firm leaders to develop an alternative business model to gain a competitive advantage. We will explore the three components of Intellectual Capital (IC) that comprise your firm’s wealth-creating capacity: Human Capital, Structural Capital, and Social Capital. Leveraging these sources of IC is the primary driver of wealth in today’s economy.
Who should attend: Partners & Managers
CPE Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
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