Author: Adrienne Gonzalez

Adrienne is a 15-year veteran of the accounting industry, if by "veteran" you mean "vulture prowling the periphery of the profession waiting for something exciting to happen." She has been spewing vitriol on Going Concern since the site was founded in 2009. A former CPA review employee, she has sat through more FAR classes than any CPA exam candidate ever could -- even one who has failed FAR seven times -- and can still recall most of the mnemonics all these years later.

Should/Can Big 4 Employees Unionize?

Though the following inquiry from what we assume to be a Going Concern reader was addressed to my dearest, most lovely editor, I’m hijacking it because I’ve been wanting to write about this for a long time. While the idea of CPAs unionizing seems ridiculous to some, I’m sure more than a few of you have dreamily drooled at the prospect of collective bargaining power while two months in to the most horrendous busy season ever. Is it that silly of an idea?

Hi Caleb,

I am a Big4 Tax Senior and had a question regarding the possibility/benefit of having a union. To my knowledge, one currently does not exist, but why? Entertain me for a second.

If every staff through manager (there ing managers in, so maybe just staff and seniors) were to band together and create a union across all service lines and all of the four firms, what would stop us from getting fair compensation and slightly better hours? If the threat of a strike of 70% of each of the firm’s workforce (who probably actually do 90% of the work on any given engagement) could happen at any time, would the partners really treat their subordinates the way they currently do? Maybe there’s something written somewhere that CPAs can’t join a union?

Imagine if this raise/bonus season were to go poorly, and the union decided that on March 1, 2012…every staff, senior and manager FROM ALL FIRMS would stage a walk out and go on strike until our compensation demands were met. What could the partners do? Could they realistically try to do all the work themselves? Could they really try and replace 60,000 employees (I am guessing on that figure)? Could they try and get all the work done out of India? I HIGHLY DOUBT ANY OF THESE WOULD BE REALISTIC OPTIONS. I can’t imagine the possibility of replacing a dozen auditors overnight with Accountemps personnel in the middle of an audit for a fortune 100 client.

I understand that the possibility of being able to coordinate such a union across all the firms would be next to impossible, but can someone tell me why/how it wouldn’t work assuming it was legal for us to do? Could you post up a poll of those who would be interested?

Wait a second, are you trying to tell us that you don’t feel you are fairly compensated? Are you prepared for the burden of union fees and the inconvenience of having to picket your downtown Big 4 office chanting “Hell no we won’t go!” in business casual should it come down to that?

Why stop at the Big 4? Second-tier capital market servants are just as mistreated as you are (or at least feel that way, and who are we to tell them they don’t get enough engagements to feel burned out?). Think of the collective bargaining power then.

I think part of the reason why anyone you suggest this to might think you’re one tax season away from the funny farm is that CPAs already have a large, powerful trade association which allegedly exists to serve its interests. Granted, the AICPA does more lobbying in Washington than it does to accounting firm partners about easing up on you poor shlubs who have to do all the work, but it’s still a trade association.

In an article about the recent showdown in Wisconsin between teacher unions and Governor Scott Walker, Ann Coulter wrote “the need for a union comes down to this question: Do you have a boss who wants you to work harder for less money? In the private sector, the answer is yes. In the public sector, the answer is a big, fat NO.” Well shit, there’s your answer. We already know how most of you in public accounting feel, no need to elaborate.

Former Congressional candidate and CPA Krystal Ball is all for unions, especially when it comes to balancing the gender inequality that still exists in this country. If criminals in Canada can unionize, why not CPAs? Well for starters, though it may not feel like it, most of you are paid pretty fairly compared to, say, McDonald’s cashiers, Starbucks baristas and Walmart greeters. It may not feel fair based on the service you provide (understandably) but in the big picture, making $50,000 a year fresh out of school in middle America ain’t too bad of a gig. You get vacations, safe work conditions, bonuses, insurance and even free CPA review materials if you’re lucky. I bet OSHA has never seen the inside of a Big 4 office to investigate a fatal Excel accident or random intern decapitation at the coffee machine.

Let’s keep in mind that, if necessary, the Big 4 probably could scrape up a motley crew of Indian and Sri Lankan accountants and reluctant partners to do the work while you’re out front calling Raj a scab. Is what you do all that difficult? Look at the moronic intern in your office… a little training and that guy is going to be doing your job in a few years.

Lastly, there’s the legal issue. With all the money the Big 4 throw at lobbying and keeping some of the country’s best lawyers on payroll, do you really think you stand a chance? Someone has to give you the OK to unionize and I just don’t see the Big 4 lawyer machine slipping up and letting that one through. You really are one busy season away from the funny farm if you believe otherwise.

But I’m 100% behind you guys if you try to go for it anyway. Si se puede!

Starting Today, Prometric Will Pull Out the Metal Detector

Prometric is only one step away from TSA at this rate, next thing you’ll likely have to submit to backscatter body scanners. 95 year-old CPA exam candidates will have to remove their Depends, while younger candidates will have to accept getting groped by Prometric staff. Awesome, isn’t it? Aren’t you guys thrilled you chose the most trustworthy occupation on the planet besides Hollywood madam?

Thanks to the many (and I mean many) tipsters who sent us the following email which was sent out to all CPA exam candidates on Wednesday:

Prometric is committed to a strong, secure, testing environment for the CPA Examination and for all candidates visiting one of its test centers. Over the past few years, Prometric has made several significant investments to further strengthen security in its test centers, including a global roll-out of digital video recorders and enhancements to biometrics at the centers. This communication is to advise you that there is a new security enhancement being introduced into Prometric centers this week.

Starting July 1, Prometric Test Center Administrators (TCAs) will be using hand-held metal detector wands to scan all candidates in the Test Centers in the United States and Territories. All candidates will be scanned prior to each entry into the test room, including returns from breaks. Candidates will still be required to turn their pockets out, and the scan will be done immediately afterward. The purpose of the wand scan is to take an additional step in identifying any prohibited items that a candidate is attempting to take into the testing room.

Prometric’s Security Department conducted a pilot of this program in 2010 using the wands for a period of five months. Approximately 60,000 candidates were scanned during that time. Ultimately, the wand was found to be a strong deterrent and operationally effective. Based on the results of the pilot, Prometric has decided to move forward with this program and has deployed hand-held metal detectors to all U.S. Test Centers.

In addition to this message, information about wanding has been added to Prometric’s standard Test Center Regulations Form. This form is posted on Prometric’s website and is given to all candidates to read prior to check-in.

The scan will be done in full view of the TCA DVR camera so it will be recorded, and any candidate complaints or escalations can be properly investigated. All candidates will be required to submit to the scans. Any candidates refusing to be scanned will not be permitted to test. Please rest assured that the metal detectors do not affect pregnancies, pacemakers, or other medical equipment that’s connected to the body.

This small change will help to make our test even more secure, and further protect the integrity of our exams.

I wonder how much this has to do with the candidate in Illinois caught “cheating” (we still don’t know what exactly he or she was busted doing, be that using a crib sheet or actually trying to smuggle out exam content).

We checked the Test Center Regulations and still don’t see any mention of metal detectors (or bodyscanners).

New Audit Associate Details Her First Busy Season Via the McGladrey Blog

Who knew that being able to ask all the questions you want is how you have a good busy season?

Via Success Starts Here, the McGladrey career blog meant to give you “[a] view into what it’s like to work for McGladrey”:

Starting as a new hire in Audit at the beginning of busy season was a little intimidating since not only were the hours lengthy but there was so much to learn. Would I be able to learn and understand things quickly? Were the clients nice? Would my team have the time or patience to sit down and teach me about the Financial Services industry? Those were the questions running through my mind during the first few days of orientation.

As I progressed through busy season, the hours got longer and the work load became heavier. I noticed the more work I was assigned the more questions I would ask. Thankfully, my team was very easy to work with since they were more than happy to take time out of their busy schedules to sit down and walk me through certain audit procedures. Knowing that I was free to ask any of my superiors questions made my first busy season experience that much easier.

The associate goes on to describe a bright spot in her busy season, 20 minutes taken to eat cupcakes sitting outside with the Private Equity gang. “Sitting outside and eating a simple cupcake made a world of a difference for the rest of the day,” she writes. Can you imagine having the kind of job where you appreciate the opportunity to take a cupcake break? Oh wait, I forgot who I’m writing for…

Not to be distracted by memories of that cupcake, Emmy wraps up on a positive note (it is unclear whether or not this is a requirement to post on the Success Starts Here blog) “As busy season came to an end, not only had I learned so many new skills but I also kept thinking to myself ‘It wasn’t that bad.’ Even though the hours are long and the work can be a little tougher in the beginning, working with a great team can make a world of a difference. It reminds me that I’ve made a great choice by choosing to work at McGladrey.”

Conveniently enough, McGladrey has added a jobs tab to its Facebook page if this entices you. All you self-loathing masochists out there know what to do.

Fund Manager Blames Just-in-Time Inventory and the Accountants Who Push It For High Food Prices

Yes, you read that headline correctly. Not inflation, not emerging nations, not more people on this planet than we have food to feed them and not Ben Bernanke’s penchant for leaning on the PRINT MORE button but inventory. Well, a specific inventory method and the accountants who encourage companies to use that particular method.

The Guardian has the story:

Speculators, the weather, biofuels and the growing appetite for meat in developing countries have all been blamed for the high food prices that have hit countries such as Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia particularly hard.

But what about the accountant accountants. Greg Smith, managing director of Global Commodities, an Australian investment fund, said fund managers were being unfairly scapegoated. He argued that measures to curb speculative activity, such as limits on contracts and higher margins (less reliance on borrowed funds when making trades), would not deal with the fundamental problems, such as the weather and, more pertinent from Smith’s viewpoint, just-in-time inventory.

“We have volatility in food prices because of inventory shortages,” said Smith, who was attending the fourth annual world agriculture investment summit in London, bringing together investment managers, policymakers and NGOs. “What we need is more inventory instead of this just-in-time approach. We need to look at how we increase buffer stocks of grain. After the second world war, governments would have three to six months of supply of grain. Now it’s two or three weeks.”

Smith feels the accountants bear the brunt of the blame for this just-in-time issue as they are the ones who try to convince companies to adopt this particular inventory method in the interest of cost cutting.

While they don’t specifically come out and blame the accountants like Smith, Oxfam recently published a paper called Preparing for Thin Cows in which they question the current view on food reserves. “International institutions have warned G20 leaders that renewed food price volatility is now a high risk. However, the same institutions have summarily dismissed food reserves as one of the ways to stabilise prices,” said the report’s co-author Thierry Kesteloot. “Food reserves were largely dismantled in the 1990s and have been ignored ever since as too expensive and ineffective.”

Check out this 2008 piece from The Hightower Report which foretells the problem with the just-in-time idea. “The combination of oversupply, ultra high interest rates and new business practices quickly turned the idea of owning extra inventory into financial heresy of the highest order. Accountants, bankers and MBAs descended on America’s businesses to preach the gospel of wringing every last ounce of unnecessary corn, wheat, cotton, copper or wing nuts out of every conceivable supply ‘pipeline.’ To a large degree, the gospel of just-in-time inventory control has prevailed right up to the present – or at least into 2007.” The article blames a global attitude that inventory can easily be had should it be needed – thereby eliminating the need to keep excess reserves – for just-in-time’s popularity.

Problem being this attitude assumes an unrealistic scenario in an inflationary environment in which 40% of the U.S. corn supply is used as “fuel” (ask Joe Kristan about ethanol if you’re not hip) and completely ignores unforeseen issues like, oh, I don’t know, drought and higher demand in emerging nations for corn-fed meat.

There’s a problem alright, just not sure if it’s with the accountants.

Illinois Candidate Caught Cheating on the CPA Exam

We have better things to do than comb through the minutes of each accountancy board’s meetings, so thanks to the tipster who obviously doesn’t and sent in the following tip from the January 25, 2011 minutes of the Illinois Board of Accountancy:

b. Mr. [Richard] York led a discussion regarding a recent candidate caught cheating by Prometric. The Committee agreed with the Executive Director’s recommendation to void the candidate’s scores for that examination. It was agreed by the Board to implement a prohibition of testing privilege for 2-5 years as provided by Administrative Rule for future candidates caught cheating.

It’s common knowledge that if you are caught cheating on the CPA exam you should expect for your scores to be thrown out and will likely receive some sort of administrative penalty (such as being barred from taking the exam again for a certain number of years) but this is the first reference I have seen to an actual candidate getting busted.

How does one go about cheating on the CPA exam anyway? With countless questions completely locked down by the AICPA, how could a candidate cheat? Sharpie notes on the palm of his hand? Smuggled in snot rags?

The official line on cheating from the AICPA, NASBA and Prometric goes something like this:

The Boards of Accountancy, NASBA and the AICPA take candidate misconduct, including cheating on the Uniform CPA Examination, very seriously. If a Board of Accountancy determines that a candidate is culpable of misconduct or has cheated, the candidate will be subject to a variety of penalties including, but not limited to, invalidation of grades, disqualification from subsequent examination administrations, and civil and criminal penalties. In cases where candidate misconduct or cheating is discovered after a candidate has obtained a CPA license or certificate, a Board of Accountancy may rescind the license or certificate.

If the test center staff suspects misconduct, a warning will be given to the candidate for any of the following situations:
· Communicating, orally or otherwise, with another candidate or person
· Copying from or looking at another candidate’s materials or workstation
· Allowing another candidate to copy from or look at materials or workstation
· Giving or receiving assistance in answering examination questions or problems
· Reading examination questions or simulations aloud
· Engaging in conduct that interferes with the administration of the examination or unnecessarily
disturbing staff or other candidates

Grounds for confiscation of a prohibited item and warning the candidate include:
· Possession of any prohibited item (whether or not in use) inside, or while entering or exiting the testing room
· Use of any prohibited item during a break in a manner that could result in cheating or the removal of examination questions or simulations

Inquiring minds are dying to know what went down.

The scariest part is that in 2 – 5 years, this candidate can head back into Prometric and give it another shot. Looks like it’s payroll clerking it in the meantime.

Let’s Talk About CPA Review Again, Shall We?

Last week, Caleb respectfully requested you all participate in a TPTB-sponsored poll to tell us which review course you are using. As expected, a comment was made along the lines of “it doesn’t matter which review course you use,” which we hear just about every time we dare to bring up the subject of CPA review.


We’ve talked about picking a review course, getting the most out of yours and even got bold enough to name names but have thus far (mostly) avoided getting into the dirty details due to my perceived bias as a former CPA review hack. But for those of you who are new to this whole CPA review thing, I figured it might be useful to revisit the topic and offer some tips for finding a review course and making it work for you since I’m far enough away from the industry as this point not to have an interest either way.

As always, picking a review course comes down to a few simple questions you have to ask yourself.

First, is someone paying for it so you don’t have to? If so, take it but let me give you a small piece of advice based on what I saw working in CPA review for four years: treat it like you paid for it. Too often I would see people who took their good fortune for granted and blew off studying only to discover a year or year and a half later that their “free” course expired, leaving them with outdated books and a set of flashcards they never opened. Don’t be that guy, use what you’ve been given or trust me, you’ll regret it later when you really need it and don’t have it or, worse, end up having to pay for Round 2 yourself. Most firms will only pay once so make it count.

Second, as many many people have pointed out here and elsewhere, which review course you take doesn’t really matter as everyone teaches based on the same bank of information made available to them by the AICPA. What does differ is the way the material is presented, therefore it’s up to you to figure out what you need. Some courses teach straight from the book while others don’t necessarily “teach” at all; if you’re the type of person who needs to be guided (and/or hand held) through huge amounts of information, you will want to go with something that breaks down concepts.

For an idea of which courses do what, the CPAnet forums are still one of the best resources as responses are written (mostly) by actual candidates without being as spammy as some of the CPA exam marketing blogs put out to steer customers into certain products. It’s also worth checking out blogs written by actual CPA exam candidates for nearly real-time comments on what’s working (or what isn’t) for them. If you’re on Twitter, check #twudygroup for candid tweets about studying, which will inevitably include comments about the review courses the kids on Twitter are using (and love tweets to Peter Olinto, natch).

It’s true that any review course (or even a set of CPA exam textbooks) can get you through this, but it doesn’t happen just because you gave a company your credit card details. Hate to break this to those of you hoping a $3000 course plus flashcards will automatically make you pass but regardless of which course you choose, you’ve got to study and sit for the exam just like every other candidate.

Now stop playing around on the Internet and get back to those books, you’ve got an exam to pass.

Ten Most Expensive iPad Apps List Includes Becker’s Mobile Flashcards

The Most Expensive Journal recently came out with a top 10 list of most expensive iPad apps and – surprise, surprise – it looks like Becker’s mobile flashcards made the list.

The mobile flashcard set includes over 950 cards with questions on the front and brief answers on the back, which will look familiar to any of you who have used Becker’s regular flashcards.

The app works on iPhone or iPad but you don’t have the option to use it on both if you happen to own both devices; you’ll have to buy two copies of the app if that’s what you’re trying to do.

Curious to hear what your most expensive app is and whether or not you’d buy these.

India Is Still Balking at This Whole Convergence to IFRS Thing

In May, IASB member Prabhakar Kalavacherla threatened India by telling a conference in Mumbai “to put it in one sentence, we strongly encourage adoption as against convergence,” suggesting that India could totally contribute to the rule-setting if it will just go ahead and adopt IFRS now. That sort of attitude is hilarious and why watching the IFRS “condorsement” plan getting burped up around the world is so much fun. Really? Adopt first, ask questions later?

India isn’t buying it, although looking to the U.S. and Japan for answers isn’t going to help matters either.

The Economic Times has the story:

The government is planning to introduce additional changes to global accounting standard, IFRS, to make it more palatable for Indian companies, overriding the international opposition to amendments already made. Such a move will extend the eventual migration by Indian companies to the global standard and also insulate local firms from any short-term capital market shocks that may arise due to erosion in valuations.

However, any changes to the Indian version of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will take time as the government will initially look at some of the revisions being suggested globally, specially by the developed markets of US and Japan, before finalising the road map, secretary, ministry of corporate affairs D K Mittal told ET on Thursday. “We have to see how IFRS will meet our requirements. Our markets are different, our standards are different,” he said.

Quote of the convergence! “Our markets are different, our standards are different.” I’m sorry, maybe I’m confused on how this convergence thing is supposed to work (entirely possible as I’m not an accountant and therefore not required to understand what’s happening here) but couldn’t each country getting IFRS shoved down its throat say the same? That’s why global economies are (read: were) such a beautiful thing; different markets breed different standards, and market participants have the option to say whether or not they find a particular country’s financial standards appealing. With forced adoption of a single arbitrary standard, determined by an entity with questionable self-interest at work, you take away investors’ ability to put their money where their mouth is.

GAAP has obviously failed. The evaporation of capital in the United States over the last 3 years proves it. But the whole Adopt-or-Else plan isn’t necessarily any better either.

In my humble opinion, it just makes the IASB look desperate and India look awesome. For now.

What Your CPA Exam Scores Say About You

Since it’s score season, here’s an overly appropriate question from the mailbag:

Just a quick question. Does CPA exam score reflect one’s ability at work? Does 76 on AUD necessarily mean one would be a bad auditor?

90 on REG means one would good at tax? Not sure how should I choose career-path between tax & audit.

The short answer here is that a 76 on AUD means you studied just enough to pass (congratulations) and has absolutely nothing to do with how good (or bad) of an auditor you might be.

Remember that the CPA exam tests entry level knowledge required to be a CPA. An 88 or even a 99 doesn’t mean you’d be a better auditor than someone who failed that section, it just means that you have a better command of entry level skills. That’s great as far as passing the exam goes but has little to do with your career.

The CPA exam and the real world are two completely different places. The exam assumes scenarios that you will never see “in the wild,” as it were, an environment where companies always do the indirect method and auditors always do more testing than necessary.

A higher score on one section could mean that this is a better place for you to look when it comes to picking a career path if, say, you barely studied to get that 90 and actually enjoyed taking that section. Just like you shouldn’t rely on your score report as the gospel, you shouldn’t take that to be a sign that you’re destined for a life in tax but you can certainly take that as a strong hint if you didn’t mind sitting for that section, understood the concepts and kind of liked the process.

Hope that helps!

Studying for the CPA Exam Goes Mobile

There’s a new mobile CPA exam study tool out there, and for once it isn’t direct from one of the major CPA review players. In fact, it’s designed by a former CPA exam candidate:

Studying for the CPA (Certified Public Accountancy) Exam just got a little easier as company CPAGoMobile recently released an app for the iPhone. The app allows users to build customizable practice tests drawing from a pool of over 1,000 multiple choice questions. Candidates have the options to target specific topics, choose question types, and analyze their progress reports to decide what to study next.

CPAGoMobile joins the ever widening landscape of educational apps geared towards professional licensure and examinations. Apps for the SAT, GMAT, Bar, and MCAT exams have given an injection of flexibility into candidates’ study routines by allowing them to study anytime and anywhere.

“When I was studying for the exam and working full time, commuting back and forth with a backpack full of textbooks was not fun. After finishing the exam, I looked at the stack of books and thought: there must be a better way,“ said Chris Armstrong, founder of CPAGoMobile. “Passing the CPA Exam is a difficult undertaking on its own, so any opportunity to make studying more manageable and efficient should be grabbed with both hands. Sure, there will always be a place for more traditional study methods, like books and notes, but I think these types of apps represent the next logical evolution on how we study and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Download the new app for iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad via iTunes here. Questions will run you about 8 cents a piece (the app itself is free to try) if you average out the $19.99 cost for each section.

Please note that the app does not contain IFRS material yet, but the developers have promised they will integrate new material in their next update.

The app is not intended to replace a full, comprehensive review but meant to serve as a useful supplement to your regular study routine that is accessible anywhere you might find yourself.

Let’s Finally Talk About How Much Money You Can Make In Advisory

Somehow I find myself pulling the Accounting Career Emergencies rabbit out of my hat (or, as I like to say, “Decide My Life For Me: GC Edition”) and for once it has absolutely nothing to do with the CPA exam. We get yelled at all the time for focusing too much on tax and audit and not enough on advisory, so now’s your chance to start the discussion.

Though this question ended up in my inbox, it’s obvious that it was directed at you, dear Going Concern readers:

There is a lot of discussion on GC about the compensation for the audit and tax arms of the B4, but I don’t remember seeing much on what the strategic advisory/consulting branches of the B4 can expect in compensation as one rises through the ranks. It is pretty much assumed that compensation is much better on the performance and strategic side of the business but can you lay it out what is expected at each level?

I know different markets will pay at different rates, so a general range would be appreciated. I expect for associates in all branches to start in the same general range between $45,000-$58,000 but at what point in the chain of command does advisory compensation really separate itself compared to audit and tax?

Signed,

New Advisory Associate

First off, you’re right that we don’t discuss advisory that often but we do discuss it when we can, dependent on how many emails like yours we get and whether anyone in the advisory family has embarrassed themselves enough to warrant a note to us telling us all about it. If you’re playing along at home, that’s a strong hint that we’d talk about other areas besides tax and audit more often if more of you non-tax-and-audit folk contributed to the conversation. This is a good start, keep it going.

Anyway, based on comments left here and there around this site, the separation between audit/tax and advisory is not so much defined by dollars but by quality of life. What good is making more (or less) money if you’re miserable and overworked doing it? So before you look at how much more (or less) you’ll end up making than your cohorts in audit and tax, it’s appropriate to look at how much having a life is worth to you. So keep that in perspective while you are trying to figure out just how much you can make and when.

While you’re waiting around for useful comments from the GC miscreants, we were able to dig up a useful discussion on the Wall Street Oasis forum that will give you some actual numbers (though the validity of those numbers is apparently up for debate). That’s a starting point, and puts you at 65K out the gate, average. Since we’re getting that information from the Internet, let’s be conservative and say 60. This doesn’t help much as you already knew as much.

You might want to check out this GC thread (granted it’s two years old) and see if you get any better numbers there. With 311 comments, chances are you’ll get your answer, or at least a reasonable ballpark to aim for.

Cue to comments from the advisory bad asses out there who have been dying to see a column all about them. Now’s your time – especially those loyal soldiers who have put in a few years – to shine. Or blow smoke up each other’s asses to see who spins the most unbelievable compensation tale. I’m cool with either but please, help your soon-to-be advisory brother.

You Might Actually Want to Attend the AICPA’s E.D.G.E. Conference

E.D.G.E. stands for Evolve, Distinguish, Grow and Emerge – four key elements to ascend into your career as a CPA – and is a brand new, three day conference to give emerging CPAs an edge on their career development. Topics include refining your leadership skills, positioning your personal brand to get the results you want, and making the transition to a managerial role. Attendees will receive updates on tax, accounting & auditing, as well as financial/estate planning, and will have the chance to network with leaders in the profession as well as their peers.

From the AICPA:

The next generation of CPA leaders have the opportunity to refine and enhance their skills at the debut E.D.G.E. Conference, scheduled for Aug. 10-12 in New Orleans.

The three day event is the first AICPA conference geared towards emerging CPA leaders and is targeted at practitioners in public accounting and business and industry with 5-15 years accounting experience. Attendees will learn the strategies they need to distinguish themselves as leaders, how to grow their personal brand and will ultimately emerge with a leadership skill set to help further their career and steer the future direction of the profession.

“During the early stages of their careers, CPAs are often so consumed with the technical aspects of their jobs that they don’t receive training for the skills they need to get to the next levels,” said Allison Harrell, conference chair and senior audit manager, Thomas Howell Ferguson, P.A. “The E.D.G.E. Conference is structured to combine forward looking technical sessions with presentations that develop the soft skills that emerging leaders need if they want to take the next step in their career.”

With an agenda which boasts a wide range of topics covering six different focuses, attendees will receive a comprehensive educational experience tailored to their needs. In addition to technical sessions on tax, audit and accounting, attendees will get practical information on career advancement and training on how to refine their interpersonal and communication skills.

“This conference is a great opportunity for any CPA who wants to take the next step in their career but isn’t quite sure exactly how to go about it,” said Paul V. Stahlin, CPA, AICPA chairman. “I’m looking forward to meeting the next generation of CPA leaders and sharing my thoughts on the issues that are shaping the direction of the profession.”

The conference offers attendees an opportunity to learn from experts in the accounting profession and features over 30 sessions to choose from, including presentations from:
Ernie Almonte, CPA.CITP, CFF, partner, DiSanto, Priest & Co.
Tom Hood, CPA.CITP, CEO Maryland Association of CPAs
Brian Kush, CPA, CLC, president of Moxie Partners
Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, founder of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC
Paul V. Stahlin, CPA, AICPA chairman

The E.D.G.E. Conference will be held from August 10-12 at the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans. The cost is $620 for AICPA members, $920 for non-members, which is the early-bird price, expiring on June 26th .

Here’s video of Donny Shimamoto (who we were honored to meet last month at Spring Council) talking about why the E.D.G.E conference is a great idea for everyone from senior partners to new hires. Find out more from the AICPA.