Accounting Workforce Virtual Conference (AWC)
Registration is Closed
Online registration for this course is now closed. Please contact the Member Service Center at (800) 342-3197 if you wish to inquire about registering.
Overview:
Rising college costs, a decreasing college-age population, and competitive labor markets are leading to decreasing college enrollments and a significant decline in the number of accounting majors. This is causing a crisis in the number of prospects needed to fill the CPA pipeline. At the same time, the AICPA expects 75% of currently active CPAs to retire within the next 15 years, and existing staff are pushing for new benefits, flexibility, and a career growth.
Being able to appeal to incoming talent will be essential to your firm and company, as will identifying solutions in technology and other untapped areas. Join industry experts to dig into actionable items and plans you can enact to solve one of the biggest challenges in accounting today.
Highlights include:
- Recruiting and Retaining
- CPA Pipeline Trends
- Employee Benefits: Routine and Unique
- Workplace Evolution: Flex Schedules, Remote Work, and Beyond
- Compensation, Inflation, and Retention: Salaries, Benchmarks, and Creative Solutions
- Solving Workload Challenges When Hiring Isn't an Option
* Subject to change
This event qualifies for up to 8 hours of CPA Credit. CPE Credit is subject to approval by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Follow the FICPA on Twitter @ficpa and use #ficpaAWC to tweet about this conference.
Schedule:
Friday, January 27, 2023
Greetings from Chair Leadership
Time: Friday 7:50 am
The Pipeline of New CPA Professionals
Time: Friday 8:00 am Credits: 1 BE
Jennifer Cryder, CPA, CEO & Executive Director, PICPA
Shelly Weir, President & CEO, FICPA
Hear from Jennifer Cryder, CPA - CEO and Executive Director of PICPA and Shelly Weir - President and CEO of FICPA discuss the CPA profession pipeline.
Presenters:
Recruiting for Firms and Companies
Time: Friday 8:50 am Credits: 1 BE
Lisa A. Myers, CPA, CFE, MAFF, CGMA, COO, Boyer & Ritter LLC, Moderator
Kristin Seeger, CPA, DIrector, Talent Acquisition, Kreischer Miller
Ryan Lafferty, CPA, Partner, Attolon Partners
Jim McCormick, Manager, Your Part Time Controller
- Attracting prospects to your firm
- Challenges when recruiting in the profession
- Recruiting Gen Z to your firm
- Finding the right candidate for the job
Presenters:
Take a Break
Time: Friday 9:40 am
Leveraging Technology to Reduce Workload Compression
Time: Friday 9:55 am Credits: 1 BE
Mario Nowogrodzki, CPA, CITP, President & CEO, Mendelson Consulting
When talent is scarce, you need to examine opportunities to gain efficiency in your work. The implementation of cloud-based technologies such as e-filing, digital signing, and cloud accounting apps can take pressure off your team and put the focus back on value-added work. In this session:
- Learn how implementing cloud technologies can streamline processes and ease staff workload
- Gain insight into key steps along the digital transformation journey
Presenters:
Featured Session: Driving Performance with a Talent-Focused Culture
Time: Friday 10:45am Credits: 1 BE
Jeremy S. Wortman, Ph.D., Owner, HRD Initiatives LLC
- Receive an overview of talent management
- Explore the correlation between an investment in talent management activities and revenue growth
- Examine the importance of a strong employee value proposition
- Review best practices for talent development
Presenters:
Lunch Break
Time: Friday 11:35am
Employee Benefits: Routine and Unique
Time: Friday 12:25pm Credits: 1 BE
Allison De Paoli, Founder, Altique
Understand how to evolve in your offerings to attract and retain talent:
- Why the same old benefits are no longer effective
- Three keys to building a better benefits plan
- Pitfalls when choosing benefit plans
- Effective enrollment and implementation strategies
- Budgeting predictability in health care spending
Presenters:
Navigating the Workplace Evolution
Time: Friday 1:15pm Credits: 1 BE
Jody Padar, CPA, MST, CEO & Principal, New Vision CPA Group
Most people want to be fully remote and work from home every day... or at least a hybrid model where they work from home a couple of days a week. Managing this new workforce will take a different approach. Add to that an environment focused on recruiting and retention, and managing both the work and the people becomes critical. Everyone needs to feel that they are known, responded to and taken care of, even when they may have never met in person. This session will help you learn how to more effectively navigate our new work environment.
- Identify strategies for mastering communication and expectations for remote work and remote teams
- Discuss how certain technologies can help build relationships
- Make onboarding your first "win"
- Learn how to manage work and not just the time spent doing work
Presenters:
Take a break
Time: Friday 2:05pm
Navigating Compensation and Talent Shortages in 2023
Time: Friday 2:20pm Credits: 1 BE
Steve Saah, Executive Director of the Finance and Accounting Permanent Placement Practice, Robert Half
Carrie Summerlin, Chief Growth and Innovation Officer, Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Hear the latest on salary and hiring trends for CPAs, finance, and accounting professionals
- Gain insight on how to identify and hire top talent in today's market
- Explore alternative ways to fill your talent gaps
Presenters:
Retaining Your Accounting Workforce
Time: Friday 3:10pm Credits: 1 BE
Margaret Uhrich, MS, ACC, ELI-MP, Managing Director, Talent Development & Coaching, MidAtlantic Employers’ Association
Engaging and retaining employees has always been important, but now it's imperative. Using the same approach won't get you where you want or need to be. Learn why a change in mindset and a change in approach is needed, and walk away with some creative ideas for doing both.
- Retaining employees in an in-person, hybrid, and virtual world
- How mindset shifts can benefit employee retention
- Structuring work and engaging employees to retain talent
Presenters:
I want to claim Florida Bar CLE credit for an additional fee of $50
Time: Friday 4:00pm
Objectives:
The FICPA in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs bring to you the best and the brightest discussion leaders together to equip you with the knowledge you need to know to elevate you and your organization to recruit, retain, rethink your workforce.Presenters:
-
Mario Ruben Nowogrodzki, CPA, CITP
Mario Nowogrodzki is an information systems consultant and instructor. He is the founder and CEO of Mendelson Consulting, which specializes in software solutions to optimize business operations and maximize financial results.Mario is a frequent author and instructor of accounting technology topics and a contributing author and speaker for Intuit, The Woodard Group, and other national ...
Read more about Mario Ruben Nowogrodzki here -
Jody Padar, CPA, MST
Jody Padar is CEO and Principal of the New Vision CPA Group, a public accounting firm based in the Chicago area. Jody joined her father’s firm a decade ago, bringing her expertise in the areas of taxation, QuickBooks, and small business accounting. As one of the profession’s emerging thought leaders, Jody has transitioned New Vision to New Firm status—adopting advanced technologies and best...
Read more about Jody Padar here -
Shelly Weir
Shelly Weir is President & Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Institute of CPAs (FICPA), the statewide professional association for Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in Florida. In this role, Weir serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the FICPA and FICPA Scholarship Foundation and works in partnership with the FICPA Council to develop and execute the Institute's strategic vision. Weir leads a...
Read more about Shelly Weir here -
Jeremy Wortman
With a strong passion for and a commitment to the positive development of individuals and organizations, Jeremy Wortman is the Owner of HRD Initiatives, which specializes in leadership development, organizational development and talent management solutions. In this capacity, he works with client partners’ executive teams in determining talent management strategies, building organizational culture...
Read more about Jeremy Wortman here -
Carrie Summerlin
Read more about Carrie Summerlin here -
Jennifer Cryder, CPA, MBA
Jennifer is chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), a professional association of more than 20,000 CPAs in Pennsylvania. The PICPA is a premier statewide resource for top-class continuing professional education programs, professional networking, business-friendly advocacy, thought leadership, and a full range of services for accounting...
Read more about Jennifer Cryder here -
Lisa A. Myers, CPA, CFE, MAFF, CGMA
Lisa is Chair of the Advisory Services group and serves as the firm's Chief Operating Officer. Her expertise in providing financial reporting, control, risk, and process improvement has benefited public and private sector entities for more than three decades. Lisa also has extensive experience in providing fraud and forensic accounting services. She has served as the lead investigator on white...
Read more about Lisa A. Myers here -
Kristin Seeger, CPA
Kristin is responsible for ensuring that Kreischer Miller is well positioned as the employer of choice in the Philadelphia area. She offers an invaluable blend of recruiting and public accounting experience, combined with a natural ability to bring people together. Her primary focus is developing relationships with experienced audit and tax professionals for potential positions within the firm...
Read more about Kristin Seeger here -
Ryan Lafferty, CPA
Ryan Lafferty, CPA is a partner with Attolon Partners LLC, a Philadelphia-based executive search firm focused on placing senior level executives in corporate accounting, finance, human resources and IT. Ryan is also coming off a two-year term as a member of PICPA's Board of Directors and as chair of PICPA's Pennsylvania CPA Journal editorial board. He's also chaired the PICPA's Greater...
Read more about Ryan Lafferty here -
Allison DePaoli
Allison works with employers who know they have a healthcare problem. As the daughter and granddaughter of entrepreneurs, Allison had a front-row seat on what it takes to run a business and manage risk. She routinely advises employers on how to control their healthcare budgets and turn their benefit plans into recruiting and retention magnets. She is also a sought-after speaker and podcast...
Read more about Allison DePaoli here -
Jim McCormick
My work ethic, communication skills, adaptability, and accounting knowledge have carried me through a progressive accounting career. My primary focus has been working with the general ledger, providing efficiencies in accounting processes, improving financial reporting, and presenting financial information and analysis to leadership. I have worked in multiple industries including, financial...
Read more about Jim McCormick here -
Steve Saah
Steve Saah is executive director at Robert Half, the world's first and largest specialized talent solutions service, which has 300 worldwide locations. Based in Washington, D.C., he currently leads U.S. operations for the company's finance and accounting permanent placement practice and has been with the company since 1998, where he was a recruiting manager. Previously, he was an internal auditor...
Read more about Steve Saah here -
Margaret Urich, MS, ACC, ELI-MP
Margaret has over 25 years of leadership and entrepreneurial expertise gained in the healthcare, construction, pharmaceutical, and technology industries along with an extensive background in training and development. Margaret founded and grew a commercial contracting firm to $8MM which in 2002 was ranked in the top 10 Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies by the Philadelphia Business Journal...
Read more about Margaret Urich here
