The event may be have been billed as The Forum for Women in Accounting, but the issues and topics discussed at the three-day confab here were decidedly not just for one gender. That was the overriding sentiment during the course of the conference, and one that resonated with the majority of the 250 attendees, which even included a handful of men.

“Staffing shortages drove women’s issues into a business-case scenario,” explained Gale Crosley, CPA, founder of Atlanta-based consultancy Crosley + Co. and one of the founders of the conference. “This is a joint gender issue. It was important to make it a joint gender conference. We’ve got a great foundation; now it’s a matter of how we take it to the next level.”

During the meeting, conference-goers attended sessions that included tips on how to build firm niches, career management, mentoring from a woman’s perspective, work/life balance, part-time partners and building effective women’s leadership programs.

Crosley developed the conference with The Advisory Board. This was the second year of the Women’s Forum.

Acknowledging the growing number of women graduating with accounting degrees and entering the profession, Crosley said that originally the goal of the conference was to get as many role models on stage as possible so women could see and be inspired to reach their own professional goals. Forum organizers also wanted to focus on the skill sets of leadership and business development — areas that are most important to women. Now, she said, the goal is to keep it fresh and relevant so that attendees keep coming back.

“I think that, if you look at the demographics of the industry, women will be in much greater and much more important leadership positions going forward,” said Gary Shamis, CPA and managing partner of SS&G Financial Services in Cleveland, and a member of the Advisory Board. “This is a way to help them get ahead more effectively. The top 125 firms, they get it. Those who don’t like it still get it.”

In addition to the various keynotes, a series of concurrent sessions were held that were broken down into partner, manager and firm-culture tracks. The smaller breakout groups allowed women to share their stories and experiences in discussion groups.

As one female participant observed, “Women tend to talk more openly when their male counterparts aren’t around.”

Still, many women could be heard saying over meals or at the cocktail reception, “I wish the men in my firm were here,” or “I’m really glad my firm pushed me to come to this.”

Gary Boomer, CPA, CITP and chief executive of Boomer Consulting, in Manhattan, Kan., who also is a member of the Advisory Board and a columnist for Accounting Today, said that he wondered why there weren’t more people in attendance.

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