If I had a nickel for every time recently that I’ve written about some significant new change bearing down on the accounting profession, I’d write a lot more about all the significant new changes bearing down on the accounting profession. And if you had a nickel for every major change bearing down on the profession, you’d have so many nickels that you probably wouldn’t have to worry about all of those changes, and all the ways they’re going to affect your firm.
Sadly, no one is handing out nickels for anything these days, so we’re both going to have to find ways to deal with all the different ways that accounting is going to be different going forward. For us, that means getting the word out through ever-more channels, from digital platforms and social media to our old-fashioned print publication. For you, it means identifying the changes that matter most to your firm, and developing processes that go beyond just weathering them, and help you actually profit and grow through them.
When we at Accounting Today do our job right, there should be a confluence of these two ways of dealing with change -- and one of the one’s we’re most excited about is our annual Growth & Profitability Summit, which is being held this year in Boca Raton, Fla., Oct. 28-30. This yearly event is pretty much a master-class in the changes that matter most to accounting firms, covering the latest technologies, cutting-edge best practices in firm and staff management, and the newest developments in tax and accounting, with sessions led by some of the foremost names in these fields, and many others.
Our agenda for 2012, which we recently finalized, pays particular attention to the astonishing proliferation of change-inducing issues facing the profession this year, starting with all the uncertainties that flourish around a presidential contest.
Consider:
• Are you constantly fielding questions from individual clients wondering how to handle the uncertainty surrounding the Tax Code in an election year? You’ll definitely want to check out our roundtable, “Pre-Election/Post-Election Predictions: Tax Under the Next Government,” with some of the nation’s foremost tax experts plotting the best tax planning strategies.
• Concerned about recruiting and training the staff you need, amid demographic changes that have left whole sections of the employee pipeline empty? You’ll want to attend Sandra Wiley’s “Hire, Retain and Be the Best Employees.”
• Are you investing serious sums of money in technology initiatives without any certainty that they’ll pay off? Jim Bourke’s “CPA Firm Technology: Best Practices for Change” offers top tips for making sure they do.
• Wondering how much you can get for your firm in a volatile market? M&A expert Joel Sinkin’s “How to Value Your Accounting Practice” can help you crunch the numbers on your own firm.
That’s just to start -- we’ve got four tracks on Practice Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Technology, and Tax, as well as invaluable keynotes, kicking off with well-known small-business columnist Gene Marks on how smart businesses are surviving the tough economy, and wrapping up with renowned industry consultant Allan Koltin on the best practices of the most successful firms in accounting. You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to network with speakers, vendors, and your peers in the profession (who often have the best advice).
No one’s handing out nickels for just talking about change these days -- the real money is in taking change and making it work for you. If that’s what you’re aiming to do, visit the
We hope to see you in October -- and in the meantime, don’t take any wooden nickels
