The world is rapidly changing and the demand to evolve our skills is becoming a job of its own. Together we will explore how to continually invest in ourselves so that even as the world changes at a break-neck pace, we are showing up exactly how we choose. From making time to envision the "us" of tomorrow even as we navigate the challenges of today to creating our very own investment strategy, we will craft a roadmap that is uniquely ours while tuning out the noise of distraction around us. Join us and discover your greatest investment opportunity - YOU!

Learning Objectives:

• Identify a vision of future selves with clarity and discipline.
• Indicate gaps in our skills and behaviors keeping us from our vision.
• Identify how to prioritize our time to focus on gap development goals.
• Recognize unique and actionable personal investment strategy.
• Identify our accountability ally to keep us on the path to our vision.

Technical skills open doors, but influence, focus, and persistence are what accelerate a career. In today’s rapidly changing profession, emerging leaders must learn how to build credibility, expand their impact, and create opportunities that may not appear on a traditional career roadmap. 

Drawing from a career in risk advisory, cybersecurity, and governance, the presenter for this session explores the lessons learned from stepping into uncomfortable opportunities, challenging conventional thinking, and discovering that “no” is often just the beginning of a conversation. 

Whether you’re looking to become a trusted adviser, industry thought leader, or future firm leader, this session will provide practical strategies for designing a career that is both personally fulfilling and professionally impactful.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify strategies for building influence without relying on title or position.
• Select practical techniques to create career momentum.
• Recognize the value of asking for opportunities, even when success is uncertain.

Connect with fellow attendees in a relaxed, fun environment featuring interactive trivia games, friendly competition, and great conversation. Build new connections while testing your knowledge and enjoying a break from the day's sessions.

Strong communication is not a “soft skill;” it is the foundation of leadership credibility, client trust, team engagement, and performance. Yet, many emerging leaders in public accounting struggle with unclear messaging, ineffective digital communication, missed expectations, and difficult conversations, especially in high-pressure environments like during busy season. And in today’s primarily virtual workplace, how leaders communicate replaces most other forms of “being” with people.

In this interactive session, Amanda Simmonds draws on 20 years of experience in public accounting leadership across firms of 30 to 3,000 professionals to explore the most common communication breakdowns that derail emerging leaders. Participants will examine the gap between intention and impact and learn a practical framework to increase clarity, confidence, and accountability in their everyday interactions. Using the SPIIRALL Communication Framework, attendees will learn actionable strategies they can immediately apply to client conversations, feedback discussions, team meetings, and digital communication.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common communication mistakes that reduce clarity, trust, and team effectiveness.
• Recognize the components of effective communication, including listening, emotional regulation, audience adaptation, and action alignment.
• Recognize the SPIIRALL Communication Framework and strategies to improve clarity and reduce misunderstandings in common professional scenarios.

In this session, attendees will learn the critical role of balancing business and employee needs during change events, from internal organizational changes to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) events and everything in between. This session will provide tools and communication strategies from both the leader and the employee perspectives to help mitigate turnover and boost employee confidence.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze how to balance people’s experiences with business priorities during times of change.
• Use empathy and honesty in communication to retain trust.
• Determine how to activate Human Resources/People Operations teams to reduce stakeholder burden.

Join us for a quick wellness reset! Enjoy gentle stretches you can do right at your desk to release tension and reset your posture. Melt away any remaining stress with a quick, guided meditation set to calming music. Leave feeling relaxed and focused!

Americans’ self-rated mental health is now at the lowest point since Gallup started tracking this issue in 2001. Roughly one-third of U.S. adults, particularly among young adults and women, report feeling high levels of stress and overwhelm most days. At a time when leaders are navigating heightened stress, overwhelm and emotional strain, burnout and compassion fatigue — within their teams and themselves — and are eager for effective workforce retention strategies, it is time that leaders leverage their influence and guide stigma-free, open conversations about mental health.

Participants in this session will actively engage throughout the workshop — a blend of education, reflection, and shared experiences — and prepare themselves to confidently impact workplace well-being, and foster a culture of care, emotional resilience, and personal agency.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize facts, patterns, and information about mental health, illness, and wellness.
• Identify stigma and its impact on workplace culture and performance.
• Recognize how to lead as an ally by creating a stigma-free culture of care.
• Recall available mental health and wellness resources and support.

Have you heard, “Say yes; it’ll lead to more opportunities”? While that may be true, it is also true that every time you say “yes” to an opportunity, you are saying “no” to something else. It’s time to stop being overwhelmed and time to say “yes” to gaining clarity on what you really want.

This session is designed to help you align your career and life so that you can be intentional about where you spend your time — which may mean saying “no” to things — to increase your success and confidence as a leader. Walk away with a clearer vision, a stronger sense of purpose, and practical strategies so you can lead with focus and confidence.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the personal and professional priorities that shape long-term vision.
• Analyze how current commitments align (or conflict) with defined values and goals.
• Apply boundary-setting strategies, including using “no” effectively, to make more intentional decisions.

In today’s accounting profession, technical skills are only part of the equation. Career growth often comes from the relationships we build and our willingness to both ask for guidance and share what we know with others. This session invites emerging CPAs to consider mentorship not as a one-way exchange, but as a powerful partnership that supports personal and professional growth.

In this session, participants will learn how to confidently seek out mentors, ask for support with purpose, and build meaningful connections that create value for everyone involved. Attendees will also explore how anyone — regardless of title, experience, or position — can make an impact by mentoring others through generosity, encouragement, and shared learning. Whether you’re just starting your career or taking on new leadership responsibilities, this session will provide practical strategies to help you build strong relationships, embrace continuous growth, and use mentorship as a catalyst for greater success and lasting impact.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key elements of effective mentorship relationships in the accounting profession.
• Apply a structured approach to making purposeful and confident mentorship requests.
• Determine strategies to create mutual value in mentoring relationships.
• Analyze ways to contribute as a mentor regardless of role or tenure.

Connect with speakers and fellow attendees in an informal networking session designed for meaningful conversations, mentorship opportunities, and professional growth. Ask questions, share experiences, and build valuable connections in a welcoming environment.

This session examines how professionals can evolve from technical specialists into strategic leaders as AI and automation reshape the workplace. Presenters will help you focus on developing skills that complement, rather than compete with, intelligent systems, including critical thinking, communication, and decision-making under uncertainty. Participants will explore how to translate technical expertise into organizational value, lead cross-functional initiatives, and guide ethical AI adoption. The session also highlights practical approaches to continuous learning and adaptability. Attendees will leave with a clearer framework for positioning themselves as forward-looking leaders capable of navigating technological disruption while driving innovation and long-term impact within their organizations.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize how AI and automation are reshaping professional roles and the skills required to transition from technical execution to strategic leadership.
• Identify frameworks for translating technical expertise into business value, including decision-making, communication, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Select a practical plan to build future-ready capabilities, including continuous learning, ethical AI oversight, and leadership in technology-driven environments.

Professional effectiveness in accounting and finance depends not only on technical expertise, but also on the ability to exercise sound judgment, communicate thoughtfully, and manage interpersonal dynamics. Social and emotional intelligence plays a critical role in how professionals respond to pressure, navigate workplace challenges, and make decisions that affect colleagues, clients, and organizational outcomes.

In this session, participants will analyze how communication tendencies and emotional responses influence professional judgment and workplace interactions. Attendees will identify key social and emotional intelligence competencies that support ethical decision-making and effective collaboration and select strategies to strengthen self-awareness and communication effectiveness. Participants will leave with practical techniques they can immediately apply to enhance decision-making, improve professional relationships, and support positive workplace outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify social and emotional intelligence competencies that support sound professional judgment.
• Analyze how communication patterns and emotional responses influence decision-making.
• Apply strategies to improve interpersonal effectiveness and professional behavior.
• Determine approaches to strengthen collaboration and support positive workplace outcomes.

This session introduces participants to the foundational concepts of burnout, stress responses, and personal resilience. Through guided inquiry and self-reflection, learners will explore how prolonged stress affects physical and mental well-being and identify their own patterns of reactivity. The session provides practical, easy-to-apply stress management techniques designed to help individuals regulate their nervous systems, create space between stimulus and response, and cultivate a more balanced mindset. Emphasis will be placed on building awareness, practicing simple resilience tools, and developing habits that support healthier reactions in high stress environments.

The CPA profession is facing a critical pipeline challenge, but emerging leaders have more influence over the future of the profession than they may realize. This session explores the current state of the CPA talent pipeline and highlights practical ways early-career professionals can help strengthen recruitment, retention, and professional engagement within their organizations and communities.

Drawing on the profession’s Talent and Workforce Development initiatives, participants will gain actionable strategies to build professional influence, support future CPAs, and contribute to a stronger and more sustainable profession.

Learning Objectives:

• Recall the current state of the CPA talent pipeline and the key factors shaping the future of the profession.
• Recognize opportunities for emerging leaders to positively influence recruitment, retention, and professional engagement within their organizations and communities. 
• Identify practical actions and resources that support future CPAs and contribute to a stronger, more sustainable accounting profession.