How can you unlock your full potential at work without uncovering your blind spots, strengths, passions, career goals, and next steps?

To do this, you must tap into your own wisdom and resourcefulness, and the insights and knowledge of those around you. To thrive in today’s ever-changing world of uncertainty and ambiguity, we must all become more coachable.

During this hands-on, interactive workshop, we’ll explore the following questions, and you’ll walk away with your own personalized coachability plan to help you get the most out of your conference experience and your career!
- What is coachability, and why does it matter?
- What does it mean to be coachable (or not!)?
- How could you intentionally solicit and implement the feedback, coaching, and mentoring you need to succeed?

Empowering individuals and families to make informed, confident decisions is essential at every stage of life. This session explores practical strategies for helping clients take ownership of their choices—both for themselves and for their children—while navigating evolving personal, financial, and family needs. Participants will learn how to recognize meaningful planning opportunities across the lifespan, from early childhood through retirement, and how to guide clients in aligning these decisions with their long-term goals. The session will also highlight a range of creative and effective alternatives for achieving family objectives, enabling professionals to offer flexible, client-centered solutions that adapt to changing circumstances. Attendees will leave with actionable insights and tools to support stronger, more empowered decision-making in every phase of life.
In addition to core content, this interactive session provides ample opportunity to ask questions, exchange insights, and share best practices with peers. Participants will leave with actionable tools and a stronger network of ideas to support empowered, family-focused decision-making in every phase of life.

Selling a business is one of the most financially significant events an owner will ever experience—and the tax landscape around that sale can create tremendous opportunity or costly pitfalls. This session equips advisors with the technical insight and practical strategies needed to guide clients confidently through every stage of a business sale.

We will break down the full life cycle of planning around a transaction: how to position a business for a tax-efficient exit, how to model and structure deals to maximize after-tax outcomes, and how to coordinate post-sale planning to preserve and grow the client’s newfound liquidity. Attendees will learn the essential pre-sale steps (entity clean-up, reasonable compensation, timing considerations, QSBS qualification, state tax ramifications, buyer vs. seller priorities, and due-diligence readiness) as well as the tax strategies most commonly overlooked during and after a sale (installment planning, rollover equity, charitable planning, trust structures, estimated tax management, and advanced wealth strategies).

Whether your clients are in the early stages of thinking about a sale or actively working through a transaction, this session provides the framework, tools, and actionable guidance you need to elevate your advisory value and help clients achieve tax-optimized outcomes.

(This hands-on workshop gives CPAs, CFOs, financial advisors, and tax professionals a practical guide to implementing the power of generative AI into your daily work using popular tools such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot. The session is built for beginners who want a safe, structured starting point, as well as professionals with some AI experience who want to sharpen their skills. You will work directly in these tools on your laptop, learning how to draft better prompts, analyze financial data, create client-ready materials, and streamline common accounting and tax workflows.

Attendees will complete guided exercises designed around real-world professional tasks, including research, documentation, workpaper preparation, financial analysis, and communication. By the end of the workshop, you will understand core AI concepts, know how to evaluate outputs responsibly, and walk away with practical skills to apply immediately. To get the most from the experience, participants should create an account in Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, or ChatGPT before attending—free versions work, though paid subscriptions offer additional features that enhance the exercises.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. THE FOLLOWING PRE-WORK IS REQUIRED BEFORE ATTENDING THE SESSION: 1) Purchase a license for either ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini (note: free versions can be used but will have limitations). 2) Bring your laptop to follow along with each use case. 3) Download materials that will be provided to registered workshop attendees via separate email.
Beginner - Intermediate)

AI is moving past chatbots. Taking the AI workshop to a technical level, we will activate Agents in accounting systems to get work done. Topics covered will be System Prompts, Automation workflows, Agent Execution, Model Context Protocol and other ideas to elevate AI usage.

Reviews the basics of the income taxation of estates and trusts including the distribution system and potential elections available to the fiduciary

Selecting the right audit methodology is a high-stakes decision for any firm, yet the process can be overwhelming without real-world insight. Join us for a dynamic, practitioner-led panel where senior leaders who have recently navigated this journey will share their candid experiences, not presentations from vendors, but direct accounts of what worked, what didn’t, and what they wish they’d known at the start.

Each firm on our panel has selected a different audit methodology or vendor, ensuring a wide range of perspectives across various firm sizes and solutions. Through guided discussion, you’ll get a side-by-side comparison of selection processes, key considerations beyond just cost, and practical tools to apply back at your own firm. Expect an honest look at challenges, ROI calculations, and essential stakeholder conversations. Attendees will leave with actionable questions to ask vendors and a framework to help define their firm’s unique needs.

This session is designed for any firm with an audit department whether you’re just starting to explore your options or ready to make a change. You'll gain practical insights no matter where you are in the process.

Partner compensation and governance are closely connected yet often addressed separately. This session helps firm leaders understand how governance design, decision rights, evaluation processes, and transparency shape partner behavior and compensation outcomes. We’ll focus on how firms can assess whether their governance structures support fairness, accountability, and strategic alignment to drive sustained partner performance and growth.

Part 1: Decode the SOC 2 Privacy category—when to apply it, what controls matter, and how to audit effectively.

Part 2: Navigate HIPAA compliance for CPAs serving healthcare clients, with practical guidance on risk, rules, and remediation."

AICPA Update

Mergers and acquisitions continue to play an important part of the capital markets. Deal structures continues to evolve, resulting in accounting complexities. In this session, participants will learn about emerging issues in accounting for business combinations including recognition and measurement of intangible assets, valuation of contingent consideration, and other current topics.

Artificial intelligence is transforming investment management—from research and security selection to tax planning, rebalancing, and client communication. But planners often see only the extremes: either black-box “AI robo” marketing or discrete AI tips like “use ChatGPT to summarize earnings calls.”

This session goes deeper. We’ll examine how advisors can incorporate AI into the entire investment process—as a research assistant, portfolio analyst, risk evaluator, tax optimizer, scenario-generator, and client explainer—while maintaining human judgment, fiduciary standards, and compliance controls.

We’ll walk through practical examples you can use immediately, plus governance considerations that ensure AI augments your process safely and intelligently.

Advisors will leave with an actionable roadmap for building an AI-augmented investment process, not just a collection of tools.

This isn’t your typical M&A session - it’s a candid panel of firm owners who’ve lived it. Some sold. Some merged. One walked away from deals altogether. Hear what worked, what went sideways, and what they wish they’d known before signing. Whether you're exploring growth through acquisition, planning your exit, or skeptical about private equity altogether, this session gives you a front-row seat to the real stories behind the headlines.

What do tires, fine dining, and CPA firm growth have in common? More than you think. Michelin created demand not by selling products, but by reshaping experiences. The results? More demand, more value, and more sales. Inspired by Michelin’s bold marketing move, this session unpacks how CPA firms can position for growth beyond compliance, create demand for high-value services, and provide an elevated client experience.

This dynamic presentation introduces CPAs to an ancient but proven model utilizing a powerful framework for designing a career filled with purpose, passion, and impact. Participants will explore how to align their professional paths with four key elements: what they love, what they excel at, what the world needs, and what they can be paid for. Through interactive exercises, real-world examples, and practical strategies, individuals will learn to identify their unique strengths, uncover meaningful opportunities in the accounting field, and overcome common career challenges like burnout or lack of fulfillment. Attendees will leave with a personalized roadmap to build a rewarding career that balances personal passion with professional success, along with actionable steps to sustain long-term growth and satisfaction in their work.

Qualifying for the estate tax marital deduction by making a QTIP election seems simple. However, the election is full of technical requirements and traps for the unwary. This session will explore the QTIP requirements including what types of interests qualify, who makes the election, how to QTIP an IRA, how to cure a defective QTIP election and recent cases that deal with Section 2519 and terminating a QTIP trust and much, much more.

Navigating S corporation rules for estates and trusts can be complex—missing an election or misinterpreting shareholder eligibility may result in compliance challenges. This course provides practitioners with essential information about trust and estate S corporation shareholders.
You’ll gain clear guidance on when and how long estates and trusts may hold S corporation stock, what makes a trust or estate eligible as a shareholder, and the practical considerations involved with shareholder elections. Real-life scenarios will help you identify and address common issues, such as missed elections or inadvertent terminations, before they escalate.

This session will be a high-energy recap of SOC School. This session bridges foundational concepts with real-world application, emphasizing the SOC 1 guide and practical takeaways for practitioners navigating complex client environments.

Stay ahead of the ever evolving landscape of state and local taxation with this concise, high impact session that translates the latest 2025–2026 legislative changes into clear, actionable guidance. You’ll explore emerging nexus standards—examining recent court rulings and statutes that redefine “economic presence” and trigger new filing obligations—while comparing modern apportionment methods like single factor sales and market based sourcing. We’ll also track key conformity dates and “decoupled” OBBBA provisions across major states, highlighting where add backs and differing state treatments will affect your clients.

[I pulled out the credit section for input from the additional speaker]

Recent tax reform complicates strategies for tax-efficient charitable contributions. Using actual client experiences, this presentation explores practical solutions and innovative ways to help donors evaluate their options and make good decisions about tax-effective giving. During the program, you’ll get an in-depth look at charitable IRA rollovers, legacy IRAs, CRTs, charitable gifts from trusts and estates, donor advised fund distribution requirements, purpose trusts, 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, and “charitable LLCs.”

Staying current with today’s technology is no longer optional; it’s essential. Tech Update 2026 offers accounting professionals a clear and strategic view of the evolving tech landscape, enabling you to cut through the noise and make informed decisions. This forward-looking session is built for practitioners who want to leverage innovation to enhance client service, boost operational efficiency, and remain competitive.

Explore the most impactful trends in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, automation, and cloud-based ecosystems. Understand how technologies like Microsoft 365 Copilot, generative AI tools, industry-specific SaaS platforms, and blockchain are reshaping the profession. Learn to identify which solutions align with your firm’s goals—and which are just vendor hype.

As workplaces evolve, attracting and retaining younger team members has become essential for fostering innovation, collaboration, and long-term success. This session takes a deep dive into strategies to create an environment where younger professionals feel valued, supported, and inspired to stay. Key focus areas will include identifying strategies to bring in new team members and encourage long-term growth, recognizing organizational culture aspects that appeal to younger employees, and tailoring workloads and job roles to meet their needs. Additionally, we will explore how to cultivate a workplace where different perspectives are respected, behaviors that foster a sense of belonging are modeled, and self-awareness around varying backgrounds and experiences is encouraged. Join us for actionable insights and practical tools to help your organization attract, engage, and retain the next generation of talent.

This session breaks down the practical implications of SSARS 27 for CAS practitioners. Attendees will walk away with a clear understanding of: When AR-C 70 requirements are triggered and when they’re not; how to properly scope and document CAS engagements that include financial statement prep; why this guidance is a pivotal moment in aligning standards with the realities of CAS.

Firms don’t lose momentum because of bad decisions - they lose it because of misaligned conversations. In this session, Rom Lakritz (Anchor) and Dan Luthi (Ignite Spot) will introduce the concept of Intentional Communication - a practical framework for aligning goals, clarifying expectations, and reducing the noise that holds teams back.

Through a leadership lens, attendees will explore how to speak with purpose, listen for “metadata,” and build communication rituals that create real alignment and accountability across the firm. Whether you lead a team or advise clients, this session will upgrade how you show up in every conversation.

A discussion of the most recent cases, rulings and legislative changes that impact the estate, gift and generation-skipping tax areas. Planning ideas to consider in light of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" and other tax law changes will also be discussed.

New accounting standards and new agenda priorities are on the horizon for the FASB. During this session, FASB Member Sue Cosper, FASB Vice Chair Hillary Salo, and FASB Supervising Project Manager Jenifer Wyss will focus on what you need to know about recently issued and upcoming accounting standards. The panelists will provide a progress report on the 2025 Invitation to Comment: Agenda Consultation and how the Board is addressing issues that were identified by stakeholders. Finally, they will discuss the continued importance of your feedback on the Board’s cost-benefit analysis of potential and existing accounting standards.

AI has many use cases in audit but also brings up valid concerns - data privacy and fidelity, accuracy, hallucinations - we'll discuss the latest advances, how to leverage them, and what to watch out for.

Note: Due to the nature of the evolving nature of AI, this session description will be updated to reflect the topical nature most relevant to firms based on AI use cases. This session will include practical application of AI, using use cases, suggested resources for practitioners and will be an application-based session, based on real use in firms.

This session will cover the latest thinking on how to effectively construct multi-asset portfolios for investors with a goal-oriented focus - whether this a retirement, college savings or other future-expense funding goal that requires an accumulation and decumulation-focused asset allocation. We will discuss how to tailor investment design for individual characteristics and circumstances and review recently emerging trends in the portfolio construction landscape and their potential to help investors more effectively meet their goals.

-The evolving definition of the family office (and different ways to think about it)
-What a traditional family office progression typically looks like and typical structures (size and complexity)
-The important functions (core vs concierge) "getting things done"
-The rationale, risk mitigation, and opportunities for the family choices
-The importance of an accounting spine (and other core functions)
-The family office role in intergenerational communication and development
-The scale, institutional knowledge, and tax advantages for internalizing functions
-The costs (upfront and ongoing), staffing, technological, security and unanticipated difficulties in seet-up and maintenance
-Insiders vs outsiders (and family/board governance and time horizons)
-The type of wealth and the Integration with multiple constituencies
-Archetypes where it has worked (and where there are challenges)
-Should the family office look like a business?
-Taking a family (and their advisors) through the analysis
-MFO, Hybrid, SFO solutions . . . . where do many families land?
-International vs Domestic?
-Bringing on other families?

Financial exploitation is now one of the fastest-growing threats facing older adults, and CPAs are uniquely positioned to detect warning signs before the losses become catastrophic. In 2023 alone, Americans filed 880,000 fraud complaints with losses exceeding $12.5 billion, including $3.4 billion lost by adults over 60 — an 11 percent jump from the prior year. And because only one in 25 cases is ever reported, the real exposure is far greater.

In this session, Robert Powell will walk CPAs through the most urgent fraud and scam trends affecting clients today, from AI-enhanced impersonation and “pig butchering” schemes to tech-support fraud, government impersonation, romance scams, and cryptocurrency deception. Drawing on research from the FBI, SEC, FINRA, NASAA, Wayne State University, and a nationwide adviser survey, he will explain who is most at risk, why these schemes are becoming more sophisticated, and the behavioral, cognitive, and financial factors that make older adults vulnerable.

CPAs will learn practical steps they can take immediately, including how to:
• Spot early indicators of diminished financial decision-making and undue influence.
• Use trusted contacts, financial-vulnerability tools, and structured conversations to assess risk.
• Build firmwide processes to verify suspicious transactions, stop fraudulent transfers, and educate clients.
• Incorporate evidence-based screening tools from OlderAdultNestEgg.com to document concerns and protect both clients and practitioners.
• Create ongoing systems — from newsletters to Google scam alerts — that keep clients informed and safer.

Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to strengthen their role as trusted financial gatekeepers and to better safeguard their clients’ wealth, dignity, and financial independence.

Discover how the CITP credential can amplify your impact in SOC and third-party risk engagements. This fireside chat unpacks the credential’s value, pathways to certification, and its strategic role in a tech-driven assurance future.

The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) introduces substantial changes to U.S. international tax rules, most of which will first apply in the 2026 tax year. This session will provide an overview of the international tax provisions that practitioners need to understand now—including the transition from GILTI to Net CFC Tested Income (NCTI), updates to FDDEI, modifications to foreign tax credit rules, and structural changes such as the reinstatement of Section 958(b)(4) and the permanent look-through rule. The session will also highlight key regulatory developments. The session will further provide practical guidance to help taxpayers of all sizes prepare for the transition, including considerations for modeling, provision work, and future compliance.

This session zeroes in on the three things firms must get right now: how today’s §174 R&E rules (domestic expensing vs. amortization and foreign amortization) interact with the §41 R&D credit and drive cash-flow and P&L outcomes; what the updated Form 6765 means, especially expanded disclosures and business-component reporting that many filers will encounter beginning with 2026 filings; and why rigorous documentation is non-negotiable. We’ll translate the rules into a practical playbook you can take back to your team: aligning §174 and §41 choices, preparing for the new 6765 requirements, and building claim files (component narratives, QRE tie-outs, and evidence of experimentation) that hold up under scrutiny.

Data Foundations in Power BI: Getting It Right Before the Visuals

Convergence of Cybersecurity and Privacy - As small to medium-sized accounting firms increasingly rely on digital platforms to manage sensitive financial data, the convergence of cybersecurity and privacy has become a critical concern. Speakers will discuss how these two domains intersect, highlighting the unique challenges and opportunities for accounting businesses.

For this session, a panel of diverse professionals who want to help break the notion of a stereotypical CPA career in public or private… some who have actually done it and others who are doing things to motivate and inspire the next generation. The course will focus on early career choices that lead them to their current role. The course will include what we could be doing now to impact the next generation to spread awareness. The course will also touch upon career growth and trajectory.

This session will see the return of one of our highest-rated speakers, John Tousley, CFA from Goldman Sachs. His presentation Responsibly Bullish will discuss the latest in macroeconomic and market conditions, including the common topics of artificial intelligence (bubbles and it's impact on the labor market), recession risk, tariffs, inflation, monetary policy, geopolitics, US mid-terms, valuation, and volatility.

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transforms business operations, CPAs are uniquely positioned to guide clients through its responsible and effective adoption. This session equips CPAs with the knowledge and language needed to discuss AI opportunities, risks, and best practices with clients across industries.

Attendees will learn how to frame AI as a strategic tool—not just a buzzword—by focusing on its practical applications in finance, accounting, risk management, and decision support. The session will provide a clear overview of key AI use cases such as automated reconciliation, fraud detection, financial forecasting, and enhanced analytics.

Participants will also explore frameworks for evaluating AI tools, with emphasis on data privacy, governance, and regulatory compliance. The discussion will include talking points for managing client expectations and ethical considerations when recommending AI solutions.

Additionally, CPAs will gain best practices for integrating AI into their own firms’ operations, from enhancing productivity with AI-assisted workflows to ensuring appropriate human oversight. Real-world examples and case studies will be shared to illustrate successful implementations and common pitfalls to avoid.

By the end of this session, CPAs will be prepared to serve as trusted advisors on AI adoption, helping clients and their own organizations harness AI’s potential while safeguarding financial integrity and public trust.

The Private Company Council (PCC) helps improve the financial accounting and reporting standards for private companies and evaluates whether private company alternatives to existing GAAP are necessary. The PCC takes a proactive approach to its mission, engaging with private company stakeholders through various channels and providing important feedback to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to help it develop standards that provide more relevant information to users of private company financial statements.

This interactive, town hall-style forum will provide participants with the opportunity to engage directly with PCC members, FASB members, and FASB staff by providing feedback on the PCC’s current projects and future agenda priorities and discussing potential improvements to financial reporting for private companies.

The panelists will facilitate the discussion by providing an overview of the PCC’s agenda priority process, which ensures its efforts are aligned with the evolving needs of private company stakeholders and are focused on identifying solutions to their most pervasive and impactful financial reporting challenges. They will engage participants in a dialogue on the PCC’s current research projects resulting from previous private company Town Halls, stakeholder liaison meetings, and other stakeholder discussions and solicit input from participants on future PCC agenda priorities. Panelists will explain how the PCC evaluated and prioritized private company stakeholder feedback provided to the FASB during the Board’s 2025 agenda consultation process. Finally, they will highlight how you can share your views with the PCC on an ongoing basis and why your input is critical to its current and future projects.

As the audit landscape continues to evolve, firms must adapt by embracing new strategies, technologies, and leadership approaches to stay competitive. This session will provide an in-depth look into the modern audit practice of the future with overview of what a modern audit practice will look like in the future with a focus on strategic vision and leadership. Attendees will explore how emerging trends such as automation, AI, data analytics, and shifting client expectations are reshaping audit practices. We’ll also discuss the leadership skills required to guide firms through these transitions, drive innovation, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. With insights on long-term planning and positioning, this session will equip participants with the tools to lead their firms confidently into the future of auditing, ensuring sustainable growth and resilience in an increasingly complex environment.

Join an industry thought leader on FASB ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, as he explores continuing areas of difficulty for reporting entities with revenue recognition. Among other items, the session will cover auditing best practices, regulator focus areas, and peer review findings.

Join Bill Pirolli, a 4o plus year practitioner, firm and profession leader, as he explores practical real-world best practices for increasing your firm’s profitability by working smarter, not harder.

In this fast-paced, popular session, Bill will review the seven drivers of profitability, including client selection and dismissal, billing and collection, building client leverage, avoiding scope creep, and more. Learn how deepening your efforts on client service lines and industry concentrations can lead to greater efficiency and profitability.

Bill's insights into Firm profitability comes not only from his years as a practitioner, partner and his firm administration roles but also from consulting with many individual firms across the country in his role at Succession Institute as Director of Firm Services. What are the attributes of highly profitable Firms? Is your Firm a high achiever?

In times of employee and capacity shortages, are you making the right decisions that will maximize client leverage as a Most Trusted Advisor? Come join the discussion!!!

Explore the evolving landscape of peer review and quality control in SOC engagements. Learn how to build resilient quality systems, prepare for external inspections, and leverage technology to enhance consistency and reduce risk across your firm.

In the wake of recent tax law changes and extensions, the landscape of entity structuring has shifted dramatically. This session dives into the core principles of entity selection and explores how recent legislative changes have reshaped the tax, liability and growth implications for businesses and their owners. Attendees will gain practical insights into the advantages and pitfalls of common entity types - including sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, C corporations and LLCs - while learning how to align entity choice with strategic business goals. Through real-world examples and case studies, this session will equip practitioners to guide clients in making informed decisions that optimize tax outcomes, protect personal assets, and support long-term growth in today's evolving regulatory environment.

With the IRS's budget and staffing levels in seemingly constant flux, it can be easy to lose track of the current state of IRS enforcement efforts. This session will provide an update on current enforcement trends and recent notable cases, as well as some timely suggestions for working with the IRS during this resource-strapped era.

This session delivers a fresh, energizing perspective on leadership by connecting three core pillars of professional success: Conation, Leadership, and Relationships. In this interactive and thought-provoking session, it explores how high-performing individuals and teams can leverage their natural instincts (conation), elevate their leadership presence, and build meaningful relationships, both in and out of the workplace.

Accountants and financial professionals are often tasked with more than technical expertise. They must communicate across departments, lead under pressure, and drive results in a people-centric world. This session introduces attendees to the science of conation, helping them understand how their instinctive approach to problem-solving directly impacts their leadership style, team dynamics, and personal relationships. We pair this with real-world leadership strategies and practical relationship-building tools that professionals can apply immediately in client meetings, team collaborations, and their personal lives.

Participants gain insight into how self-awareness and conative strengths can unlock better decision-making, reduce burnout, and increase workplace harmony. The session is designed to be engaging, insightful, and packed with practical takeaways—perfect for the modern finance professional who wants to lead with greater purpose and authenticity.

This session will explore the new rules and benefits of the Opportunity Zone Program (version 2.0). It will provide planning opportunities for individuals with capital gains and interesting ways to combine the OZ Program with other capital gain management tax rules.

What do you get when you mix one of the nation’s top tax writers with a seasoned IRS insider? A specially brewed “Tea Time” discussion between Forbes columnist Kelly Phillips Erb and long-time IRS communications chief Terry Lemons.

During this chatty and informative session, Erb and Lemons will spill the tea on a fun, wide-ranging session covering everything from insider IRS stories, the latest tax law developments, the state of the media, what really happens in Congress, the best barbeque in the country and whatever else comes up.

This discussion will feature a unique perspective from Erb, the “Taxgirl” famous for her high-profile columns and influential social media work, and Lemons, the former behind-the-scenes guy at the IRS who created the Dirty Dozen tax scams list and launched the agency’s social media program.

Flavoring the conversation will be their different backgrounds and career paths. Erb started in tax and law before becoming one of the industry’s top journalists. Meanwhile, Lemons began his career as a reporter covering the White House and Congress before joining the IRS and the tax community.

The transition from Controller to CFO is one of the most significant—and often misunderstood—career leaps in the finance profession. While controllers excel in accuracy, compliance, and operational excellence, CFOs are expected to shape strategy, influence enterprise-wide decisions, and serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO and board. This session provides a clear, practical roadmap for finance leaders preparing to step into this expanded sphere of impact.

This session demystifies the differences between the two roles by examining how responsibilities, expectations, and measures of success shift at the executive level. Participants will explore how the CFO role extends beyond financial stewardship to include strategic planning, organizational leadership, risk navigation, and cross-functional partnership. Through this lens, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of what organizations truly need from their next CFO—and how to position themselves as that leader.

Attendees will be guided through an assessment of common gaps that can hinder the transition, including leadership presence, strategic thinking, communication with non-financial stakeholders, and influencing without authority. The discussion will highlight how controllers can begin closing these gaps long before stepping into the CFO seat by broadening their exposure beyond finance, developing stronger business acumen, and sharpening their ability to translate data into insights that drive action.

The session will also provide practical guidance on building an intentional development plan tailored to the CFO role. Panelists will share actionable strategies for cultivating executive presence, earning credibility across departments, and positioning oneself as a trusted strategic advisor. Topics will include leveraging stretch assignments, engaging in cross-functional initiatives, strengthening board-level communication, and seeking out mentors, sponsors, and coaches who can accelerate growth.

By the end of the session, participants will have a clearer understanding of what differentiates a successful controller from a successful CFO—and how to bridge that gap with purpose and confidence. Whether attendees are actively pursuing a CFO role or preparing for future opportunities, this session will equip them with insights and tools to step into the next chapter of their leadership journey with intention and impact.

Numbers inform decisions but stories are what move people.
Yet most financial presentations stop at the numbers.

In this high-impact session, you’ll discover the six stories every accounting and finance leader should master to drive clarity, confidence, and action inside their organizations. You’ll learn how to use contrast, connection, strategy, vision, benchmarks, and narrative reframing to turn your financial insights into stories executives can rally behind.

If you’ve ever felt your message wasn’t landing, your recommendations weren’t adopted, or your presentations lacked engagement, this session will show you how to fix that with simple, practical story frameworks you can apply immediately.

Get ready to elevate your influence and become the strategic finance leader your organization trusts.

This session covers frequently asked A&A questions asked by members of the Private Companies Practice Session’s (PCPS) Center for Plain English Accounting (CPEA) in the areas of audit, compilation, and review engagements, with a focus on private company issues. Get answers to technical questions that are impacting practitioners and their clients.

U.S. GAAP isn’t the best financial reporting framework for all entities. This issue is a common peer review finding when financial statements are prepared in accordance with special purpose frameworks (such as, cash-basis, modified cash-basis, tax basis and the AICPA's FRF for SMEs). This session will cover the special purpose frameworks that are available, how they differ from U.S. GAAP (including recent changes to FRF for SMEs), and the common peer review findings.

The “sandwich generation” is redefining the future of financial planning, as professionals, firms, and clients alike juggle the competing demands of aging parents, growing children, and complex financial realities. This session explores the latest technology, consulting tools, and evolving resources designed to support caregivers and families in navigating this journey.
We’ll examine the challenges from every angle—clients we serve, the firms and teams we lead, and our own lives as professionals—covering critical areas such as retirement and tax planning, estate strategies, and long-term care. Beyond the technical, we’ll dive into the human side of planning: difficult family conversations, care coordination, and the dynamics that shape decision-making. Attendees will leave with practical insights, out-of-the-box strategies, and a toolkit of emerging solutions to better guide families through the longevity economy.

As client needs shift from compliance to advisory, many accountants feel stuck—they know the numbers but struggle to lead strategic conversations. This high-energy, interactive session uses foundational improv techniques to build the communication muscles accounting professionals need to thrive in today’s environment.

Through practical exercises, small-group activities, and real-life client scenarios, participants improve their listening, learn to handle curveballs, and practice having value-driven conversations. No performance required—just a willingness to grow.

This session is especially powerful for firms developing advisory services or looking to increase team confidence and client trust. Participants consistently report feeling more confident in high-stakes client conversations after applying these techniques.

Put your SOC knowledge to the test in this fast-paced, interactive gameshow. Compete with peers, tackle real-world scenarios, and walk away with bragging rights and practical insights into SOC guidelines and best practices.

Every new client is an adrenaline rush, but if it’s a high profile or high-net-worth client, it’s even more exciting— until a dispute arises. Learn why working with the rich and famous may result in expensive and time-consuming claims and hear strategies for reducing the impact on your firm.

CPA firms are moving fast with AI, but most are trying to layer it on top of scattered data, inconsistent workflows, and years of workarounds. This session shows how to fix that foundation without turning it into a massive project. You’ll learn how to build a smarter data ecosystem that supports accuracy, efficiency, and practical AI adoption.
We start by looking at the real issues firms are dealing with today. Files live in too many places. Core data like client info, engagement setup, and workpapers isn’t defined the same way across teams. Processes vary by partner. Staff spend too much time looking for information, reworking tasks, and navigating unclear systems. These challenges existed before AI, but AI is now magnifying them.
From there, we introduce a simple framework you can apply immediately. The first layer is data governance, which gives your firm clarity about what data matters, who owns it, and what “good” looks like. The second layer is process quality. When steps, handoffs, and workflows are consistent, you reduce rework and make it possible for automation to perform reliably. The third layer is enablement. With good data and better flow, you can start unlocking real AI gains, such as faster prep work, improved review, and more confidence in final outputs.
You’ll work through a real firm scenario that highlights how governance, process, and automation come together. In small groups, you’ll identify the root cause, define the data owners, outline the process fixes, and consider a small AI win that becomes possible once the foundation is in place. The exercise gives you a practical feel for how this framework works in day-to-day situations.
The session closes with a three-week action plan you can take back to your firm. Week one focuses on choosing one data domain to clean up and assigning ownership. Week two walks through mapping and improving one workflow. Week three offers simple automation or AI ideas that show quick impact without requiring a major investment. This plan is realistic for firms of any size and helps build momentum without overwhelming staff.
You’ll leave with a clearer view of what a smarter data ecosystem looks like and how it supports reliable AI. You’ll also have a practical starting point to begin improving your firm’s data, processes, and decision-making.
By the end of the session, you’ll understand why good data is your firm’s greatest asset, why process consistency matters more than ever, and how small, thoughtful steps can set you up for better AI use and better results for clients and staff.

Leadership isn’t built in isolation, it’s cultivated through meaningful relationships, intentional networking, and the presence of influential advocates. This session will explore how professionals can move beyond transactional connections and begin building strategic, trust-based relationships that support long-term growth. Participants will learn how to identify and nurture networks that align with their goals, how to show up with purpose in relationship-building, and how to develop and sustain sponsor relationships that open doors to visibility and advancement.Whether you're emerging in your career or stepping into higher leadership, this session will provide practical tools to strengthen your influence and position yourself for growth, intentionally.

Key Topics:
* The difference between mentors, coaches, and sponsors—and why each matters
* Shifting from transactional networking to strategic, purpose-driven connection* Building trust and credibility as the foundation for meaningful relationships
* Identifying high-impact relationships that align with your goals
* Cultivating and maintaining sponsor relationships with authenticity
* Navigating relationship-building in hybrid and virtual settings
* The role of influence and visibility in leadership advancement

Generative AI continues to transform how business professionals approach research, writing, analysis, and decision-making. As these tools become more advanced and deeply integrated into platforms like Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, and others, mastering prompt engineering has become a core digital skill. This session reveals the proven techniques for crafting effective AI prompts that yield faster, clearer, and more actionable results—whether you’re generating reports, analyzing data, or creating client communications.

Rather than relying on trial and error, participants will learn to structure prompts with precision, effectively leverage context, and understand the nuances of interacting with various AI systems. With intelligent prompting, you’ll unlock higher-quality output and maximize your return on AI investment.

As organizations increasingly integrate AI-powered tools from third-party vendors into their operations, the risks extend far beyond technical vulnerabilities. Ethical considerations – such as bias, transparency, accountability, and data privacy – are now central to responsible AI adoption. This session equips participants with a framework for evaluating AI tools (i.e. ISO 42001) not just for functionality, but for ethical integrity. Attendees will learn how to ask the right questions during vendor onboarding, assess risk across compliance and reputational dimensions, and implement governance strategies that align with organizational values and regulatory expectations. The session will also explore how these considerations impact SOC engagements — both in evaluating vendors included in the report and in assessing third-party tools used by companies to gather and process information for the controls.

Existing irrevocable trusts often lack the needed flexibility to achieve certain goals. This session will explore why clients are interested in modifying trusts, the mechanics and techniques used to modify trusts as well as the tax and fiduciary concerns associated with modifying trusts.

For closely held and family-owned businesses, succession planning is one of the most important—and most commonly deferred—elements of advanced estate planning. A successful transition requires far more than technical tax work. It demands alignment of the owner’s personal goals, business objectives, family dynamics, valuation considerations, and long-term wealth strategy.

In this session will outline a practical framework for advising clients on ownership and leadership transitions. The session emphasizes actionable planning steps that advisors can implement immediately, supported by real examples drawn from client engagements.

This session will provide an overview of the Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) and projects, including such hot topics as alternative practice structures, artificial intelligence, and harmonization with international ethics standards.

This session covers frequently asked A&A questions asked by members of the Private Companies Practice Section’s (PCPS) Center for Plain English Accounting (CPEA) in the areas of accounting and financial reporting, with a focus on private company issues. Get answers to technical questions that are impacting practitioners and their clients.

CPAs are redefining their roles by providing holistic financial guidance as needs expand beyond traditional tax preparation. With growing complexity in retirement and estate planning, professionals are increasingly asked whether annuities and life insurance can provide effective solutions.

This session explores how these tools can be strategically applied in tax planning, retirement income strategies, and estate preservation. Attendees will gain practical insights into structuring annuity contracts for predictable cash flow, leveraging life insurance for wealth transfer and asset protection, and navigating the regulatory and ethical considerations surrounding these products.

Through practical case studies and actionable frameworks, CPAs will learn how to incorporate annuities and life insurance into comprehensive planning. These strategies not only deliver reliable retirement income but also safeguard assets, support long-term care needs, and ensure efficient estate preservation. By embedding them into broader financial plans, CPAs can help reduce tax burdens, protect wealth across generations, and provide guidance that truly resonates. Participants will leave equipped with strategies they can immediately apply in practice.

The session will cover the different options available to existing CPA firms or individual CPAs to add Financial Planning services. It will include options where the CPA manages assets as well as does planning only.

Form 1099-DA is new for 2025 along with new basis tracking and identification rules effective starting in 2025. Many digital asset transactions will not be reported on this new form but still have tax consequences taxpayers and their tax advisers need to understand and apply. Legislative changes likely in the 119th Congress will be covered along with questions to ask clients to help identify the tax rules applicable to their digital asset activities.

Having a Written Information Security Plan (WISP) is a legal requirement for tax professionals — but in today’s threat environment, simply checking the box isn’t enough. This session brings together a data breach survivor and an IRS insider for a gripping exploration of what it truly takes to protect your firm from evolving cyber risks.

While templates and boilerplate language may technically satisfy compliance, they often leave firms dangerously exposed — to attackers, regulatory scrutiny, denied insurance claims and reputational damage. Through compelling storytelling, expert guidance and real-world examples, you’ll discover how to:

• Transform your WISP from a static document into a living cybersecurity blueprint
• Create a culture of security accountability across every level of your firm
• Prepare your team to serve as a resilient first line of defense—not a weak link
• Avoid common mistakes that can void cyber liability insurance coverage
• Establish safeguards for secure data sharing with third-party vendors and partners
• Learn more about emerging scams and threats aimed at professionals like you.

This session is ideal for firm owners, compliance officers and security leads who want to operationalize their WISP into a practical, breach-ready strategy. It also equips all professionals — regardless of their role — with a deeper understanding of WISP components and how to integrate them into day-to-day practice

It’s no secret that the relationship between bookkeepers and CPAs is often tense – but does it need to be that way?

Instead of throwing the financial statements "over the wall”, let’s create common ground by collaborating throughout the year. We’ll learn to leverage technology and build systems to share information at the time it’s most actionable – rather than only at tax-time, when the pressure’s on and it’s too late to address certain types of issues. Highly-skilled and educated bookkeepers can go a long way toward solving the pipeline crisis as well as closing the tax gap.

Be inspired to establish a workflow that effectively communicates a) who is responsible for what; b) whether or not a task is complete; and c) where the source documents can be found. This process (whether internally at a CAS practice or between firms) can replace the proverbial wall between practitioners with a workflow accessible to everyone.

Who wins when we tear down the wall? CPAs, Bookkeepers, and most of all – our clients.

Leadership is demonstrated in the everyday moments, how we communicate, follow through, take ownership, and handle challenges. This session focuses on how emerging professionals can lead through their presence and actions, even before they hold formal authority. Participants will learn how to build professional credibility, communicate with clarity and confidence, and approach problems proactively to move work forward. Through scenario-based discussion and reflective prompts, attendees will identify practical ways to show leadership in their current roles and strengthen the impact they have on their teams and organizations.

This session will cover the importance for those with estates under $15 million to have an estate plan. It will also cover key post-mortem tax elections available to small estate owners including the portability election, along with pertinent federal and state elections and planning when preparing the decedent's final income tax return and the first return for the estate or trust. Finally, we will cover the options when the decedent was a partner or shareholder of an S corporation at the time of death.

Qualified Small Business Stock/Section 1202 has been ignored for the 33 years of its existence until recently. Currently a "hot" topic since the 50% exclusion was raised to 100%, it will become even more popular with the increase of the per corporation exclusion base of $ 10,000,000 (if greater, 10X basis is the permitted exclusion) to $ 15,000,000, with inflation adjustments in $ 10,000 increments beginning in 2026. Stacking and extended stacking only makes this prospectively more valuable as a planning and tax benefit```` tool.

Bridging the Gap: Integrating SOC Findings into Financial Audits (NAA, SOC)

Four speakers will discuss aspects of a current issue facing the advanced estate planning community. Each speaker will have 15-18 minutes to present their sub-topic and answer questions.

ASB Update

Asset Retirement Obligations

Strategies for maximizing retirement income while minimizing impact on Medicare IRMAA and income tax deductions. Focus on aligning Social Security, Medicare, retirement plan distributions/conversions and tax deductions into a unified retirement income strategy.

Focusing on High-Net-Worth Investors (HNWIs) and elevating the definition of your ideal client is not a new idea, but in today’s environment, how do you refine this focus and create greater momentum with wealthier families? Are you pulling the right growth levers to accelerate your business? How are you delivering the advice and solutions needed from these demanding, discerning, and diverse HNW investors?

If clients create too much risk for your firm or drain your time, energy, or profits—it may be time for them to go. Learn how to evaluate problematic clients and put them on the path to rehabilitation or termination to help reduce risk and make space for those that are a better fit for your firm.

You've heard that CAS is the fastest growing service in the accounting profession, but you're wondering how to adapt CAS best practices to your small firm while still serving your current clients. This session will focus on how you can define services and right-fit clients, create capacity with staff and technology, and share the CAS opportunity with clients, all with a staff of ten or fewer!

Analysis of key business provisions of H.R. 1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act/OBBBA) as well as significant court decisions, federal tax regulations, and IRS rulings of the past year relevant to all types of businesses and entities. Developments covered include new and revised deductions, §174A R&D expensing, the reinstated bonus depreciation landscape, updates to §163(j), interactions with PTET regimes, changes affecting Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ), and refinements to §1202 QSBS. Additional focus is given to new employee benefit considerations, self-employment tax guidance, entity-level planning, and compliance obligations. Throughout the session, due diligence, documentation, and practical planning opportunities are emphasized to help practitioners translate these changes into meaningful guidance for their business clients.

Strategic guide to building a future-proof, AI-enabled infrastructure without drowning in tools or distractions. Explore how do you strike the right balance between a best-of-breed approach and platform consolidation; what’s critical to invest in now—and what can wait.; how should firms think about sequencing their technology investments.

Table Top Exercise

Leveraging a reality-based ransomware attack, this interactive exercise with audience participation will walk individuals through what actually happens during an attack, what decisions need to be made, and lessons which are typically learned. Topics covered will include incident response, attorney contact, cyber insurance, forensics and remediation.

Audience members will have the opportunity to participate and uncover, piece by piece, the elements of an attack and your organization’s response. The goal of this program is for participants to take away a high-level understanding of how incident response works, what to consider, how to prepare, execute on your incident response plan and pattern corporate lessons learned into your overall cybersecurity program.

In a profession built on precision, pressure, and constant change, finding internal stillness can feel impossible. In this session I share my personal journey, not as an expert, but as a business leader, father, and partner, searching for greater clarity and calm. What began as casual reading and small experiments slowly reshaped how I lead teams, handle stress, and approach everyday choices. Simple practices like “control what you can” and “pause before reacting” became daily habits that helped me show up with more presence, patience, and purpose at work and at home. This session isn’t a lecture on theory, it’s a practical, story-driven look at habits that quietly improve decision-making, improve team dynamics, and make leadership more sustainable.

This seesion will take the attendee beyond the basics and explore the more complex situtations that a practiioner may encounter. Among the topics to be discussed are including capital gains in DNI, dealing with the fiduciary income tax deduction under Section 642(c), the income tax issues of funding bequests, how to calculate and allocate DNI on the death of a beneficiary, dealing with estates and trusts holding interests in partnerships and S corporations and more.

As digital assets reshape financial services, SOC auditors must adapt. This session demystifies blockchain auditing, asset verification, and transaction tracing, equipping CPAs with the tools to confidently assess digital asset environments.

Modern CPAs need more than technical accuracy. They need the ability to turn data into a clear, compelling story. This session builds on the foundation of your Power BI data modeling skills and shows you how to translate numbers into insights leaders can act on. We’ll focus on how to highlight what truly matters, connect financial results to the broader business narrative, and elevate your reporting from informative to influential. Attendees will walk away with practical strategies to communicate financial performance with clarity, confidence, and impact.

Change rarely fails because of strategy—it fails because of people dynamics leaders underestimate. In this session, global finance executive and author Pascal Kornfuehrer reframes change leadership through the lens of a modern business fable, revealing what truly happens inside teams when transformation begins. Drawing on his international CFO career, Post-Merger Integration leadership, startup advisory work, and forthcoming book, Pascal introduces a practical, story-driven model for leading change when the path ahead is unclear.

Participants will explore why clarity is a leadership responsibility—not an outcome—how trust forms through vulnerability, and why resistance often signals misalignment rather than capability gaps. Through relatable characters and real-world lessons, Pascal offers a refreshingly human perspective on transformation that goes far beyond traditional change management frameworks.

The automatic allocation (GST trust) rules under section 2632(c) are some of the more complex rules in the federal wealth transfer tax law. Yet, since the enactment of section 2632(c) in 2000, the IRS has issued no regulations and very little guidance interpreting the rules. As a result, there are many common situations where GST exemption is applied to trusts that are unlikely ever to need it and where GST exemption is not applied to trusts that are likely to need it. Additionally, there are situations where the application of automatic allocation is ambiguous. This presentation will discuss these ambiguous, unwanted and unexpected automatic allocation results and what you can do to remedy them.

With the issuance of SAS No. 149, Special Considerations—Audits of Group Financial Statements (Including the Work of Component Auditors), firms face significant changes in how group audits are planned, performed, and documented. This session will highlight the most impactful updates—particularly around risk assessment, component auditor oversight, and coordination—and offer practical guidance to implement the standard effectively.

Asset protection trusts are frequently used in the context of elder care and special needs planning. We will discuss strategies to address challenging trust tax structures and diverse assets such as IRAs, real estate, annuities, and business interests. We will compare available tax opportunities, highlight lurking tax traps, and compare techniques to maintain tax benefits. Optimizing tax basis step up and residential tax
exemptions will be covered.

Robert S. Barnett and Stuart H. Schoenfeld will present an in-depth presentation focusing on the intersection of tax law with elder care and special needs planning. Topics will include the following:
*How to insure that the Medicaid trust does not result in adverse tax
consequences.
*Domicile issues to be considered with elder care planning
*§1014(a) Basis of trust property and protecting the step up upon death
*Potential tax pitfalls of using joint trusts
*Incorporating QTIP and credit shelter provisions to a Medicaid protection trust
*Proper drafting for compliance with grantor trust rules
*Elder care planning with annuities
*Taxation of Supplemental Needs Trusts and
*Supplemental Needs Trusts after the Secure Act.

This presentation is designed to assist the participant in assessing the firm's current partner evaluation and partner compensation processes. It is designed to challenge the participant to identify where the current evaluation and compensation plans reinforce or hinder the firm's strategy and vision. Are they aligned? Pillars to be discussed are growth goals, accountability, team development, profitability, succession planning, and strategic initiative participation. Additional coverage will include Compensation Committees, closed compensation, and overcoming partner objections to modifications to the evaluation and compensation plans.

This session equips emerging professionals with the mindset and tools to lead themselves and others through the lens of servant leadership. Participants will explore how to build trust, give constructive feedback, set SMART goals, and plan their careers with intention. Through real-world case studies and interactive exercises, attendees will learn how their work impacts others, how to navigate accountability, and how to foster a culture of growth and collaboration. Whether you're supervising your first engagement or planning your long-term career, this session will help you “get better” by focusing on purpose, process, and people.

This session provides a comprehensive review of the myriad of tax and financial issues involved in the administration of a client’s estate, including first steps to take upon learning of a client's passing; coordinating efforts among the financial advisors assisting the family; planning for and preparing Federal and state estate tax returns, including the federal portability election; planning for and preparing federal and state individual income and fiduciary income tax returns, including a review of the various income tax planning issues and elections that arise; discussing various financial planning issues that the family faces, including qualified retirement plan distribution options; and advising on any generation skipping income tax elections and issues.

This seminar equips advisors with practical strategies to navigate the evolving landscape of estate planning following the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Whether your clients have modest estates or complex, multigenerational wealth, this session will address the Act’s impact on core estate planning principles and provide actionable guidance tailored to a broad range of client needs.
Key topics include:
• Tax law changes affecting estate and charitable planning
• Tailored planning strategies for clients with varying degrees of wealth
• Techniques to maximize basis step-up for income tax purposes
• Modernizing existing irrevocable trusts given the increased exemption

Forget everything you've been told about retirement. The 40-year grind followed by 30 years on a golf course? That's a 20th-century invention, and it's quietly dying with the generation that perfected it.

This presentation challenges the narrative we've inherited and offers a more sustainable framework for the life you're actually living: one where student loans, fluctuating housing markets, climate uncertainty, and maybe no kids are more the reality. One where you value experiences in your 40s as much as security in your 70s. One where your body's prime years aren't sacrificed to an arbitrary finish line.

We'll explore the surprising history of how we got sold on the "work-then-stop" model (spoiler: it's newer than you think), why it's unsustainable for Millennials and Gen Z, and how extending your earning years across a longer lifespan can actually buy you more freedom, not less. The secret? Strategic financial and career planning that gives you permission to take a sabbatical at 45 instead of waiting until your knees give out.

Through personal narrative and practical frameworks, you'll discover how to design a career that breathes with space for mini-retirements, location flexibility, and the radical idea that working until 70 might be the best decision you ever make... if it means truly living during your 50s.

Join tax litigator Keri Brown for a discussion of hot topics that the IRS is focusing on in their transfer tax audits and litigation.

This session will focus on current issues and trends at the audit level, appeals, and in litigation, including the IRS’s current darlings (formula clauses, split-dollar life insurance, QTIP terminations, and penalties), as well as the old standbys (section 2036, valuation, and adequate disclosure), and more. We will discuss recent cases (including Elcan and McDougall), the IRS’s positions, and how to best position clients at the planning level.

Charitable gifting starts with the best intentions. However, all too often the law undermines the tax benefits. This presentation will cover income tax and estate tax issues advisors should be aware for charitable planning. It will also cover specific asset situations.

Leveraging Controls to Increase Efficiency

This session will include a discussion of current fraud schemes, methods for preventing, detecting and deterring fraud, the influence of artificial intelligence on fraud-related risks and enabling tools for combatting fraud, and the continued importance of professional skepticism in light of the expanding use of emerging technologies.

Building a tech stack can feel like a full-time job—researching apps, chasing demos, and second-guessing every decision. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, overpay, and still end up with tools no one uses. This session cuts through the noise and helps you focus on the tech that actually works. We’ll show you how to build a simplified, efficient tech stack that supports your firm without running your life.

Join a dynamic panel of SOC veterans as they share candid insights, lessons learned, and bold predictions for the future of SOC reporting. This interactive session invites audience participation and real-time Q&A to spark meaningful dialogue.

The taxation of employee compensatory stock options can be quite complex. Proper planning in this area can also be filled with potential traps. This fast-paced session will help you fully understand the different tax rules for the entire alphabet soup of options: RSUs, NQs, ISOs and ESPPs. You’ll also take away detailed examples of how to strategize these transactions with your clients.

Rapid Fire Apps - Speeding Up

The Distributed Firm: Technology Strategies for Remote-First Practice Management

The shift to remote, hybrid, and offshore work is permanent, with cloud-based operations, virtual collaboration tools, and distributed team management becoming essential for firm competitiveness and talent retention. This session will explore strategies for managing workflows across global and offshore teams, leveraging platforms that enable seamless collaboration regardless of location. Topics include workflow management systems, virtual client service delivery, team collaboration tools, and cybersecurity measures tailored for distributed and offshore operations. Attendees will gain insights into optimizing productivity, maintaining compliance, and fostering engagement in a globally connected workforce.

This session explores a deeply human and refreshingly personal approach to goal-setting—one that begins with who you are, not just what you want to accomplish. Instead of the traditional SMART goals or productivity hacks, Emma Ball shares how choosing a single word to guide her year has shaped her development as a leader, mother, and creative professional. Through storytelling and gentle structure, attendees will learn to reflect on their own personal and professional seasons, identify what they want more of, and create a growth goal that resonates on a deeper level. This session is especially relevant for emerging leaders or values-driven professionals who want to show up more fully and intentionally in their work without sacrificing their humanity. Key takeaways: How to use seasonal reflection to track personal growth A practical, repeatable method for choosing a “word of the year” that aligns with your current chapter. How self-awareness and emotional intelligence support confident, grounded leadership. How to stay connected to your theme throughout the year using rituals, playlists, or journaling. This session is heartfelt, engaging, and rooted in real life. It meets attendees where they are—mid-growth, mid-shift, or mid-struggle—and offers a powerful, doable way to re-center and move forward with purpose.

With the new Quality Management Standard (QM-1) taking effect on December 15, 2025, this session provides a timely and practical guide for firms performing attestation services. The content will be drawn from several suggested topics to provide a comprehensive overview. This session will delve into the ongoing process of monitoring and remediation for a firm's system of quality management, which is required to be performed in 2026. The discussion will cover the requirements for monitoring, how to perform a root cause analysis, evaluating findings, and remediating deficiencies. The importance of proper communication and documentation will also be addressed.

We will also explore the annual evaluation of a firm's system of quality management, a requirement of QM section 10. The session will outline the requirements of this evaluation and the necessary supporting documentation.

Additionally, the session will address the needs of all firms including sole practitioners, small firms and middle market firms. It will cover how these firms are required to implement QM section 10 and operate a system of quality management. The session will also discuss the additional requirements in QM section 20 concerning engagement quality reviews and how these apply specifically to a sole practitioner.

AICPA advocates for good tax policy, including on trust, estate, and gift tax issues. This session will cover the many developments and projects the TRP is advocating for in the estate and trust area. Contacts with Treasury, IRS, and Congress are emphasized.

While many professional advisors know about the basic rules of Roth IRAs, they do not understand the economic/tax intricacies associated with them. Unfortunately, the failure to understand the mathematical fundamentals of Roth IRAs can lead to making disastrous decisions. However, with a good working knowledge of the quantitative “forces” which drive Roth IRA conversions, professional advisors will be able to give cogent, straightforward advice to their clients.

Similar to data analytics and other enterprise technology solutions, AI projects can’t be managed by IT alone. AI in particular has additional governance, risk, adoption, and ethical considerations that accountants and internal auditors should be involved in assessing when an organization is considering an AI project or using a technology that includes embedded AI. Attend this session to understand how you can add value to AI-related discussions and decision-making, ensure that AI-related risks are properly managed, and that ROI considers the broader picture and impacts of AI technology.

Advanced Accounting & Auditing Q&A

What if the "Cadillac" health insurance plans that employers tout as premier benefits are actually holding your clients back from building wealth? When clients who are generally healthy and financially stable select health insurance that offers higher coverage than they need, they are doing themselves and their futures a disservice by pre-paying for healthcare they may never use.

The alternative is selecting high-deductible HSA-eligible healthcare plans and then maxing out Health Savings Accounts, investing those accounts and saving them to use later in life. Using HSA best practices can enable early retirement, the ability to make career shifts later in life with less regard for healthcare benefits or can allow clients to self-fund their own long-term care.

But there is a critical factor missing from this strategy: the need for healthcare financial literacy and what that means and how it works.
This session will cover the strategic use of HSAs, but it will also get into how to use these plans without exposing clients to catastrophic financial risk.

We’ll talk about how healthcare services are priced, why shopping around can make all the difference during accumulation years and how to help clients manage their health and longevity in a cost-effective way that allows them to let their HSAs build and grow tax-free income throughout their earning years.

You'll leave ready to position HSAs as a wealth-building cornerstone that could add six figures to your clients' retirement savings.

Our clients want to hold certain investments that your traditional IRA trustee will not hold. This can include digital assets such as cryptocurrency or Nonfungible Tokens (NFTs), real estate, or closely held businesses. What are the requirements for a self-directed IRA (SDIRA)? We will identify the assets that can be held in the SDIRA and assets that cannot be held in an SDIRA. We will review the tax benefits and common pitfalls of SDIRAs. What are the pros and cons of owning a business or real estate in an SDIRA? We will learn from a real-life case study of a movie star who had an SDIRA.

What if I told you a picture of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich could outperform a $10,000 marketing campaign? Well, it can. And honestly, it makes sense.

In a world full of cookie-cutter captions, AI-generated nonsense, and overpromised ROI, the accounting industry is being sold the idea that you can buy your way to influence. Spoiler alert: you can’t. And anyone promising to make you or your firm “go viral” overnight is selling more fantasy than function.

This session is for the firm owners, marketers, and professionals who are curious about using social media the right way, not the loud way. I’ll walk you through how to build real traction without outsourcing your personality or emptying your budget. You’ll learn how to:

• Avoid getting scammed by overpriced social “experts” who don’t understand this industry
• Find your voice online without sounding like a try-hard LinkedIn bot
• Use organic content to build connection and trust (and yes, it works)
• Start showing up on social with what you’ve got, even if it’s just a few hours a month

If you’ve ever wondered whether people care what you have to say online, they do. You just have to say it like a human. This session will give you the tools, strategy, and confidence to stop overthinking and start connecting with the audience that actually matters to you.

Ditch the vanity metrics, the buzzwords, and the fake polish. Because popularity isn’t for sale, but connection is always here to stay.

Get the inside scoop from SOC 1 and SOC 2 working groups. This session highlights upcoming initiatives, standard updates, and collaborative efforts shaping the future of SOC reporting and third-party risk assurance.

Sales and use tax obligations are evolving faster than many clients can keep up with and they are increasingly turning to their CPAs to flag risks long before an auditor does. Yet for many accounting and consulting professionals, sales tax remains one of the most challenging areas to assess because the rules vary widely between states, change frequently, and can be triggered by even small shifts in a client’s operations. The stakes are high: failing to identify nexus, misapplying exemptions, or overlooking a client’s exposure in a new market can lead to costly assessments, penalties, and unexpected liabilities that undermine both the client relationship and the CPA’s value as a trusted advisor.
This session takes a practical, actionable approach to navigating today’s multistate sales-tax landscape. We’ll break down the most common and costly pitfalls facing clients from unnoticed economic nexus thresholds, to misclassified services, to overlooked digital product taxability, to gaps in exemption certificate management. Even sophisticated clients may not recognize when their business model, product mix, or geographic footprint has triggered new obligations, leaving CPAs in the critical position of asking the right questions at the right time. This session will help you do exactly that.
You’ll learn a clear, CPA-friendly framework for identifying red flags and assessing sales tax risk quickly and confidently. We’ll walk through the core areas where exposure tends to hide: nexus creation through remote employees or inventory; taxability issues involving digital goods or services; multichannel selling complications; drop-shipment challenges; registration and filing inconsistencies; and the real-world audit triggers. The presentation also highlights how small operational changes like outsourcing fulfillment, shifting to subscription models, expanding into marketplaces, or completing mergers and acquisitions can dramatically alter a client’s tax obligations without anyone realizing it.
Beyond technical rules, the session focuses on how CPAs can embed simple but effective sales tax review steps into their existing client processes. You’ll gain practical language for asking the right discovery questions, strategies for minimizing surprises, and insights into when deeper analysis or specialist support may be needed. The goal is not to turn CPAs into sales tax experts, but to equip them with the tools and confidence to identify exposure early, reduce risk proactively, and elevate the value of their client advisory services.
Attendees will receive a sales tax risk checklist designed that can be incorporated into client onboarding, annual planning meetings, SALT reviews, advisory engagements, or internal quality control processes. It offers a structured way to evaluate sales tax risk giving firms a consistent, repeatable method for protecting clients from significant liabilities.
Whether you regularly advise clients on state and local tax or simply want to strengthen your risk identification approach across your broader client base, this session will provide the clarity and tools you need. You’ll leave with a stronger understanding of how sales tax exposure develops, how to spot risks early, and how to guide clients toward compliance with confidence before an auditor forces the issue.

Online Self Defense - Personal Privacy

If running your firm feels harder than it should, you are not alone. This session breaks down the core building blocks that small firms must get right to thrive in today’s landscape. We’ll dig into smarter processes, intentional org design, client segmentation, tech that actually reduces workload, and practical ways to build advisory capacity. You’ll leave with a playbook of ideas, clarity around what to fix first, and confidence to evolve your firm into one that grows sustainably without burning you or your team out.

Stepping into new and unfamiliar territory is where real development happens. This session explores how to recognize when we’re staying “safe,” reframe discomfort as growth, and intentionally pursue stretch opportunities. Participants will learn practical strategies to build confidence, resilience, and adaptability, unlocking new capability and accelerating career progression.

Hot Valuation Topics for Estate Planning

Is your firm subject to peer review? Do you want a better understanding of the types of issues peer reviewers encounter and how they come to their conclusions? This session will be a hands-on review of situations frequently encountered with peer reviewers facilitating conversations in small groups. You’ll discuss the situations with your peers to learn how others deal with similar issues while having the opportunity to ask questions of your facilitator and gain a deeper understanding of the thought process for coming to conclusions and how peer review standards impact the result.

Not all numbers are worth tracking. This session breaks down the key metrics that actually move your firm forward. Learn how to monitor the right KPIs, connect them to your goals, and use the data to drive smart decisions and sustainable growth.

Many firms use Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or similar AI tools—but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. This session explores what comes after the initial AI assistant adoption: how to evolve from basic task support to firm-wide, intelligent workflows.

You will learn about:

* Expanding from AI-optimized tasks to AI-optimized workflows
* Successfully leveraging AI beyond initial time savings — such as improved decision-making, elevated client service, unlock new value for clients, and deeper insights
* Emerging tools and best practices to orchestrate multiple apps and agents (Copilot agents, custom GPTs)
* Setting up appropriate guardrails and "human-in-the-loop" checks with increasingly sophisticated agents and customGPTs usage
* New inspiration, templates, and ideas to immediately integrate AI tools deeper inside their firm.

Attendees will learn what the next wave of AI enablement looks like and how to build toward it while keeping their AI investments safe, scalable, and practical.

Advanced analytics and visualization tools have helped countless audit teams to enhance their risk assessments, increase efficiency in audit execution and deliver more meaningful insights to clients/stakeholders. Success stories from large firms and Fortune 500 companies have been well documented. However, the path to success for smaller organizations can be daunting.

In this session, we will draw on the presenter’s personal experiences and journey from managing large engagement teams supported by the resources of a Big 4 firm to leading smaller (5-10) person Internal Audit departments with limited budgets at both public & private companies. We will discuss practical use cases for leveraging analytics in risk assessments and audits, as well as how to get your program off the ground and on the path to incorporating analytics as a fundamental component of your audit strategy.

This session will be a debate style session, exploring the pros and cons of a remote, hybrid, and in person workforce. The panel will showcase and get the audience to consider all sides. Each panelist will bring helpful tips for how to lead remote, hybrid, or in person teams.

As you evaluate new technology to support service lines, firms often struggle with a fundamental question: should they refine their processes first or implement technology to drive efficiency? In this session, you will learn insights and hear experiences on balancing process optimization with technology adoption, focused on areas like CAS where technology is foundational to the service. Attendees will learn how to align their firm's workflows and tech stack to maximize productivity, improve client outcomes, and avoid common pitfalls, such as implementing technology designed for one service firm wide. This session will provide a roadmap for firms looking to integrate technology and process seamlessly for long-term success.

AI is eating compliance work for breakfast. Smart CPAs are evolving into Business Growth Coaches—and thriving.

This 75-minute session reveals how neuroscience-based coaching transforms you from traditional advisor into a high-impact Fractional CFO powerhouse. Learn why clients resist financial guidance and how brain science unlocks the coaching approach that actually changes behavior.

You'll Walk Away With:
• Battle-tested framework for neuroscience-based financial coaching
• Practical tools to rewire client decision-making patterns
• Real-world case examples from successful CPA coaches
• An action plan for launching your Fractional CFO services

Perfect for CPAs Who:
• Know the writing is on the wall with AI
• Want to 10x their impact and command premium fees
• Are exploring or building Fractional CFO offerings
• Are ready to move beyond traditional advisory models

Fast-paced. Interactive. Science-backed strategies you'll use immediately.

Stay ahead of legal risks with this update from a CPA-focused attorney. Learn about emerging litigation trends, common pitfalls in attest engagements, and how to protect your firm from reputational and financial exposure.

An esteemed panel of Tax Strategies, Advanced Personal Financial Planning, and Advanced Estate Planning conference committee members will provide attendees with the most current planning strategies to discuss — and immediately implement — with clients.

In today’s digital landscape, CPAs are prime targets for cybercriminals due to the sensitive financial and personal data they manage. This session is designed to equip accounting professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to recognize, prevent, and respond to cybersecurity threats that impact their firms and clients.

This session will explore the latest cyber threats affecting the accounting industry, including phishing scams, ransomware attacks, business email compromise (BEC), and data breaches.

Participants will learn how these threats evolve, how to identify vulnerabilities in their systems and workflows, and how to implement practical, cost-effective cybersecurity measures. Beyond technical defenses, this session emphasizes the importance of communication - how to talk to clients about cybersecurity risks, how to respond to incidents, and how to build trust through transparency and proactive planning.

Whether you’re a solo practitioner or part of a larger firm, this session will help you strengthen your cybersecurity posture and become a more resilient, trusted advisor.

Succession isn’t a retirement plan—it’s a growth strategy. And yet, most firms treat it like a last-minute handoff. In this deep-dive session, we’ll dismantle outdated succession mindsets and reframe it as an intentional, leadership-centered process that fuels talent development, firm relevance, and sustainable growth.

Drawing from real firm case studies, practical frameworks, and decades of hands-on experience, we’ll unpack what’s getting in the way of meaningful succession planning—and how progressive firms are shifting from reactive to regenerative leadership pipelines.

This isn’t about choosing the next partner. It’s about creating a firm that’s always ready for what’s next.