Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Optional Pre-conference Workshops
All workshops run concurrently from 1:15 - 5 p.m.
PC1 - Outsourcing as a Competitive Advantage: Case Studies From the "Real" World
Chris Frederiksen, Fredericksen & Co. and 2020 Group USA
Initially dismissed as unpatriotic and a huge security risk, outsourcing has become the only answer to the ongoing talent crisis. It started as a means of handling excess work during tax season; today it is an essential strategy of forward-looking firms. Many firms now outsource a substantial amount of their tax returns, ongoing bookkeeping and accounting projects and yes, audit work. This has allowed firms to focus on developing their core competencies and carve out a significant competitive advantage. This session provides a closer look at how firms of all sizes are successfully integrating outsourcing into their practices and presents ideas on how to make the transition to outsourcing a positive experience for your firm, your staff and your clients.
PC2 - Building a Successful Wealth Management Practice
Thursday, January 8
7 – 8 a.m.
Continental Breakfast & Expo
The Management Summit Expo is an outstanding place to preview products and services from some of the country's best suppliers to the accounting industry. The Expo will be open through out the conference so you will have time to find those great products to help your firm succeed. There will be many door prizes awarded so be sure to visit all of our wonderful sponsors.
8 – 9:45 a.m. Leading Across Generations Without Losing Your Mind
Haydn Shaw, Franklin Covey
The future is here. Two decades ago, The book Workforce 2000 predicted today’s managers would be juggling four generations of employees. Without question, Builders, Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials vote differently, work differently, buy differently, and want to be rewarded differently. So what are the differences between age groups and what issues do the differences create? This intriguing session will shed some light on how to effectively recognize generational differences you're dealing with day-to-day. Learn how to use communication and motivation techniques to improve understanding and clarify expectations among generations in your firm.
9:45 - 10:15 a.m. Refreshment Break and Expo
10:15 - 11:45 a.m. Fireside Chat
Tracy Gallagher, Tofias PC
Jim Metzler, AICPA
Moderated by Bill Carlino, Accounting Today
Come listen to Tracy Gallagher, Managing Partner of Tofias PC, and Jim Metzler, AICPA-Vice President; share their insights into the future of the accounting profession. This insightful session will be moderated by Bill Carlino, Editor-In-Chief of Accounting Today. Tracy and Jim will share their valuable perspective on the future of the accounting industry and will field questions from the audience, so be prepared to pick their brains.
11:45 a.m. - 12:50 p.m. Lunch and Expo
12:50 - 1:50 p.m. EQ: Discover the (Not-So) Secret Weapon to CPA Firm Success
Mary Werner, Werner Coaching & Consulting, Inc.
What is Emotional Intelligence (EQ)? This enlightening session teaches the fundamental concepts of emotional intelligence and its importance to CPA firm leaders. Learn the business case for developing EQ and its impact on your firm's bottom line. The session includes activities which enable each participant to assess his/her EQ strengths and developmental needs on the job. You will leave with an understanding of the six leadership styles, their impact on organizational climate and the required EQ skills to bring more success and retention to your firm.
1:50 - 2 p.m. Refreshment Break & Expo
2 - 2:15 p.m. 2020 Group Conference Open
Chris Frederiksen, 2020 GROUP USA
2.15 - 3.00 p.m. A Disciplined Approach to Practice Development
Jeff Pawlow, The Growth Partnership
The objective of disciplined marketing is to build the quality of your entire client base. This is a multi-step process that begins with getting rid of dead weight clients and ends with the implementation of a well thought out client acquisition and relationship management strategy. Whether you’re developing a specific niche or raising the bar, this lively session will give you specific actions and initiatives to dramatically improve the quality of your client base.
3.00 - 4.15 p.m. 2020 Unleashed
The Directors of the 2020 Group will host an interactive session featuring 2020 members who’ve accomplished extraordinary results in various aspects of their practices. The session is designed not only to inspire you but to give you practical ideas as to how you can better serve your clients. Highlights include “Becoming an Employer of Choice,” “Building a Family Office Practice,” “The non-CPA Managing Partner,” “Zero In-house Tax Returns,” “Solving Tax Problems for Profit,” and “I Just Sold My Practice.”
4.15 - 5.00 p.m. Managing the 21st Century Practice
Ian Fletcher, 2020 Group
The practice management paradigm has sifted significantly in recent years. Firms who remain the traditional firm will be left behind. This session is designed to introduce you to innovative practice management techniques that will help keep your firm ahead of the curve.
5.00 - 6.30 p.m. Hosted Reception
7.00 - 10.00 p.m. 2020 Group Gala Dinner
Friday, January 9
6:45 - 8:15 a.m. Continental Breakfast and Expo
8:30 - 9:50 a.m. Concurrent Breakout Sessions
(Please choose one.)
Strategic Planning: Hope is Not a Strategy
Charles Hylan, The Growth Partnership
Are you tired of arriving at this year's partner retreat only to find that nothing was accomplished from what you came up with the previous year? Unfortunately, most accounting firms are plagued with "FTE" - Failure To Execute. Sure, we're great on the technical side of the house and in serving clients, but we never seem to find the time to focus "on" our business as opposed to simply working "in" it. Participants in this session will explore the 4 Disciplines of Execution and learn how to effectively prioritize, execute and measure their strategic vision.
The Ultimate Question: Winning the Customer Loyalty Game
Jeff Pawlow, The Growth Partnership
If your firm is looking to achieve sustainable, profitable growth, a sure foundation for success is making the commitment to drive key client loyalty within your firm. Participants in this session will come away with the ability to calculate their firm's Net Promoter Score (NPS) and understand the importance of the "ultimate question". Case studies from within the profession will be showcased during the presentation along with an innovative system to measure NPS within your firm on a real-time basis.
Partner Compensation
Marc Rosenberg
Partner compensation is the all-time most popular topic at MAP conferences. Why? First, it is the most sensitive area of CPA firm practice management, so, it's always "hot." Second, the field of partner compensation has changed significantly during the past few years and will continue to change. Partners are constantly looking for new ideas as they continue their life-long search for the "Holy Grail" of partner compensation practices.
This session addresses the 11 basic compensation systems, the "best" practices of partner compensation, how partner compensation systems are changing and why and how certain aspects of partner performance correlate with increased compensation.
Technology Update: Unleashing Your Firm’s Your Digital Edge
Roman Kepczyk, InfoTech Partners North America, Inc.
Learn about today's CPA Firm digital best practices on the leading, but stable edge of technology, as well as be exposed to the latest technologies that are exploding into the marketplace. We've brought back Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP, Management Summits' Dean of Technology, to share with you what to buy and what you should stay away from to maximize your firm's utilization of technology within each of the production areas of your practice. Hang on tight for an exhilarating ride on how technology will provide your firm a Digital Edge.
Succession Planning: Passing the Torch and Living to Tell About It
Rita Keller, Keller Advisors, LLC
Use your Olympic Strategy to create a succession plan that clearly sets out the factors to be taken into account and the process to be followed in relation to retaining or replacing partners and members of your firm. A careful and considered plan of action ensures the least possible disruption to the person’s responsibilities and therefore the organization’s effectiveness.
Accounting 3.0: Building the Firm of the Future
Chris Frederiksen, Frederiksen & Co and 2020 Group USA
Firms need to make changes today to remain relevant in the future. Achieve growth and success first by identifying your perfect client base. Then offer your clients the right products and services, which include Wealth Management and Business Advisory. You will also want to dramatically improve your firm’s efficiency through a proper document management system, workflow, portals and appropriate security measures such as offsite hosting. Outsourcing may be a viable option for your firm if you cannot find and keep the right staff.
9:50 - 10 a.m. Break
10 - 11:30 a.m. Leading and Advising in Turbulent Times
We're going to extrapolate the current state of the U.S. economy and what is likely in store us given the current global demographics and circumstances. Examine what you and your CPA firm need to know in order to position the firm competitively within the emerging macro-economic landscape.
11:30 – 11:45 a.m. Announcement
11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch & Expo
1 – 2:15 p.m. Developing Your Practice Through Niches
Gale Crosley, Crosely + Company
Launching new services and developing additional industry specialization while keeping mature services fresh, has never been more important to CPAs than in today's rapidly changing environment. But there are many challenges you must be prepared to tackle. How can mature offerings contribute maximum margin? How do you get your first clients for new offerings? This discussion centers on being successful with both new and mature offerings.
2:15 - 2:40 p.m. Everest Award and Closing Comments
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. International Update - A focus on the Far East and Europe
2020 Members from China and the Far East will share their insights into how to take advantage of these burgeoning markets. And some of our 2020 European members will provide an update on trading conditions in the UK and Continental Europe.
4:00 - 4:45 p.m. 2020 International Partners Meeting
2020 International membership continues to grow and this session will update you on what we’re doing to strengthen our group. You’ll be asked for your ideas on what you’d like to see and you’ll hear from members who have benefitted from 2020 International membership.
4:45 - 5:00 p.m. Conference Close
