Future-Proof

Talking about Client Advisory Services, widely known as "CAS", this week; specifically spend management. Spend management goes beyond expense management in that all company funds are brought together in one centralized location so finance leaders have full visibility to set, track, and control spend before it occurs. These spend management capabilities provide a better understanding about spending...

Today's show we talk about remote work, hybrid work, talent shortage, and everything in between. Since COVID, many futurists felt remote work was here to stay as "the new normal" and many employees felt a certain power in being able to request working from home. However, there were some large organizations that began to require employees come back to the office full time even though studies showed...

In this episode, I get a chance to talk with Christine Aspell, the newly appointed chair of MACPA's Board of Directors. MACPA has a long history of pulling in leaders with some of the best diversity of thought in their profession. We lean on these leaders not only to help MACPA serve members but also help our profession flourish as a whole. Christine is Managing Partner and Audit Partner at KPMG's...

This week I speak with my friend, Joey Havens, Partner for Strategic Growth and previously Executive Partner at HORNE LLP. Joey runs an executive blog, Be Better, filled with advice about being a better leader, better person, be future-ready, and how to flourish in a changing world. Recently, he became a best selling author with his book, "Leading with Significance: How to Create a Magnetic, Peopl...

We're talking about advisory today, something on everyone's mind; how do we incorporate more value added advisory services? What types of advisory services should we offer? What technology do we need? How do we price these services? How do we staff them? The profession has been laser focused on CAS for awhile and still, there are so many questions to answer. When it comes to CAS, top-performing fi...

This week we're talking about the pipeline: the talent crisis that's on everyone's radar in our profession. The most recent AICPA trends report found that accountants are leaving their jobs in unprecedented numbers and fewer students are opting to go into accounting. Now that we've recognized this problem, a number of solutions have been presented such as adjusting certain requirements and regulat...

I want to talk about engagement this week - according to a 2023 Gallup report, fewer than 1/3 of employees are engaged in their work. Study after study shows that employee engagement is directly linked to business performance. The secret sauce for engagement is part strength and part passion; things that we enjoy doing not just what we're good at. In this episode, I speak to Marcus Buckingham abou...

In this episode I speak with Christina Ho, a board member of the PCAOB, about the two most significant audit quality challenges we face today, in her opinion: technology and talent. "Talent is the cornerstone to audit quality. Without well trained talent, there is no audit quality." - Christina Ho Resources: Christina Ho LinkedIn Profile Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) - Christin...

A good conversation with a good friend; this week I speak with Tom Hood, CPA, CGMA, CITP, founding CEO of BLI, Executive Vice President of Business Engagement & Growth for AICPA-CIMA. We talked about the trends that are impacting finance professionals, the opportunities that exist in this post pandemic world, and ideas emerging from the Future of Finance Leadership Advisory Group - a group of...

" We’re really seeing this evolution of CAS that’s happening here, 12-15 years after we started talking about this as a separate service line that was gaining traction " - talking about what's new on the CAS front with Amy Bridges, Professional Development Manager at CPA.com, and Beth Allen, Partner and Head of Client Accounting Services at GreerWalker LLP. Client Accounting Services (CAS) is an a...

Today we discuss what the younger generation is looking for in their work and career: a sense of purpose. I speak with Ingrid Edstrom and Mathew Heggem, founders of the Alchemy of Accounting Network (AAN), about how we should change - given the social and environmental issues that confront us today - how can our profession have the greatest, possible positive impact on the world around us. Join th...

This week I revisit a conversation I had last year with Alex Baulf, Senior Director, Global Indirect Tax at Avalara, to discuss the E-Invoice Exchange Market Pilot - who's involved, what comes next, and what CPAs need to know. Tax authorities want more now, they want to look not at a sample of data, but they want to look at every single transaction and they don’t want to wait until 6 months, a yea...

“You work all your life to build up a practice, you want to make sure you’re addressing exposure needs" - Stan Sterna

“We need the different thoughts, the different mindsets the different perspectives - we need you" - Jessica McClain, CPA/CITP, CISA, PMP, CGFM

" ...Really came to know and understand and appreciate just how uniquely situated the Maryland Comptroller's office is to make a difference on economic matters, to build financially resilient communities, to make Maryland a great place to do business..." - Brooke Lierman, Comptroller of Maryland Resources: https://brookelierman.com/

In this episode we're talking about ethics in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Rumblings about the future of AI have been surfacing as well as questions about whether human biases are affecting the decisions AIs are making. Those questions are finding their way into our profession. A recent Accounting Today article reports a growing number of accounting service solutions are using AI for a wide range...

This episode, we're talking about saving for retirement, specifically how we can help our employees save more money for retirement. The general story we keep hearing is, as Americans, we aren't saving enough. The economy is playing a role, with 54% of Americans either reducing the amount they are saving or stopping all savings due to inflation, based on a survey by Allianz. The survey also showed...

Culture - one of those slightly misunderstood topics. A lot of ideas about culture are different from person to person. My goal with speaking to Stacey Rodgers, Executive Director of People & Culture at Cohen & Co., is to get a little closer to a mutual understanding of how to define "culture" in an organization. In my personal view, culture within an organization is based on a shared set...

Today, we dive into ESG: Environmental, Social & Governance. Investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as they investigate which public companies they will invest in and regulators are increasingly requiring that companies include these types of factors in their financial statements. There are plenty opportunities for accounting and finance professionals in this new area....

Are you physically, mentally, physically well? That seems to be the key question these days. There's more of a focus on individual wellness in the workplace today, especially in the wake of the COVID pandemic. People who are happy and well are more productive than those who are unwell. It all boils down to the fact that we've only got one body, one mind, one life to live, so we better make it coun...

Talking all things metaverse with Glenn Friedman, CEO of Prager Metis, a global CPA firm that made headlines this year as one of the first accounting firms to set up shop in the metaverse. The metaverse is loosely defined as a new iteration of the internet - a virtual world running in parallel to the real, physical world. You can create a virtual avatar of yourself and interact with other avatars...

Anoop Mehta, long time CPA, MACPA member, and just the second Marylander to chair the AICPA, is one of the sharpest, smartest people I know. He is a proponent of greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the accounting and finance world. As an Indian-American who immigrated to the United States with his parents at just 12 years old, Anoop followed a path to a more diverse, inclusive profession....

When I initially sat down with Michelle Golden River, Growth & Profitability Strategist and Founder of Fore, LLC, we planned to discuss advanced pricing and where the profession stands today. We began by talking about how CPA firms can switch from a time based billing model to pricing work in advance. However, the discussion evolved into a conversation about relationships. Advanced pricing com...

Time to dive into the “purpose” conversation. That’s the idea that we, as leaders, have an obligation, a responsibility, to help our employees find the purpose behind their jobs — the “why” behind their work. My guest on the podcast this week is Dr. Alan Patterson. He’s a Business Learning Institute thought leader who has guided hundreds of clients in professional and leadership development,...

Whether you like the phrase or not, “The Great Resignation” is real. People are leaving work in droves. That’s presenting challenges for employers. How do we find the right people? How do we keep them? How do we understand what they want? Gabrielle Bosche is a bestselling author, two-time TEDx speaker, and is frequently called upon to speak and consult on millennial motivation and engagements for...