News from Your Accounting Association
CPAmerica Advantage
The Lone Star State shines:
Technology and A&A head to Austin
Now that the
2015 tax season has finally
come to an end,
professional
development
has risen to the
top of everyone’s
mind.
CPAmerica
International
is prepared to
give you the best
conference season yet with 15 different events to choose
from. Trust us, we have your CPE-needs covered!
A&A and Tech meet in Texas
this June 24-26
We will highlight in this issue our Accounting &
Auditing (A&A) Conference that is taking place on June
24-26 in Austin, Texas at The Four Seasons Hotel.
Back by popular demand, Audit Watch senior consultant
Wayne Kerr will be joining us with his always superbly
reviewed Audit Update. Also featured this year will be:
keynote speaker Gale Crosley of Crosley + Company,
one of the most recommended consultants according to
Inside Public Accounting; IT expert Randy Johnston of
NMGI; Art Kuesel of Kuesel Consulting; Billy Atkinson
of Private Company Council; and Dallas Federal
Reserve AVP and Senior Economist, Roberto Coronado,
who will give an update on the U.S. economy.
This year, CPAmerica is pleased to offer two optional
pre-conference opportunities the day before the conference begins on Tuesday, June 23, with Loscalzo
Associates’ Jim Woy, and Crosley + Company’s Gale
Crosley.
Returning after outstanding 2013 and 2014 reviews, Jim
Woy will lead the Yellow Book pre-conference opportunity featuring Single Audit/OMB, NPO Environment,
and an accounting update.
Additionally, Gale Crosley is offering a Trusted Advisor
Strategy Workshop on growing client relationships and
revenue.
may 2015
Habitat for Humanity
P. 2
Member News P. 3
CPAmerica Events - Grace Horvath P. 4
“The workshop is patterned
after a highly successful technique used by IBM to protect and grow their most significant clients,” said Gale
Crosley. “It is one of the most popular workshops among
my firms.”
Gale’s pre-conference workshop involves a planning
process designed to identify opportunities within your
largest, strategic and most importantly, at-risk clients.
The objectives of the workshop are to protect current
business, strengthen your client relationships, and drive
additional potential revenue.
“Gale’s book, At the Crossroads,
was a game changer for us at
Mueller,” said Brian Sullivan,
partner at
“We loved the book and the
subsequent opportunities to
see Gale speak so much that
we asked her to present at our
partner retreat. Since then,
we have continued to seek her
guidance, which she has been
more than willing to share,
along with being generous with
her time. With Gale’s insight
and recommendations, we have
developed our growth model
here at Mueller. Our pipeline
and research call program are
based on Gale’s strategies, and
we credit them with much of
our success to date. We strongly
recommend that you attend
Gale’s workshop if you have an
interest in developing a strong
growth model.”
Late Breaking
News About
The Technology
Roundtable:
We are very excited to inform
attendees that we have a
special Tech Roundtable tour
offer!
Go behind the firewall as
Technology tours Dell.
On Tuesday, June 23rd, there
will be an all-day tour at Dell’s
Executive Briefing and Dell
Solution Centers in Austin.
This FREE once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity is limited to 14
attendees, so it’s critical you
act fast.
If you are interested in
participating, please contact
Harrison Schofill at hschofill@
cpamerica.org and lbrowne@
cpamerica.org.
Gale’s workshop is specifically designed for CPA firm
leaders who want to efficiently identify and drive opportunities across their client base. It gives the highest odds
for program success to use within your firm. The preconference is a unique opportunity that is available to
only 20 people. Don’t miss your chance, seats are filling
See Events, continued on page 2
CPAmerica teams with Habitat for Humanity to help build a better future
In April, some of the staff of CPAmerica
joined forces with Habitat for Humanity
to help build simple, decent, and affordable
housing in Gainesville, Fla.
1. All hands on deck! The CPAmerica
construction crew: (clockwise from top
left) Oscar Molina, Joyce Arthur, Nancy
Raughley, Sarah Coulson, Lauren Hand,
Grace Horvath, Kaylen Saunders, and
Lisa Browne 2. Vice President of Services,
Grace Horvath (l.) does some deck yoga
as the crew works on 3. Member Services
Manager, Kaylen Saunders, strikes a pose.
4. (l. to r.) Lisa Browne, Oscar Molina, Sarah
Coulson, and Nancy Raughley show off
their new aprons 5. Scrape it away, ladies:
Lauren Hand (l.) and Joyce Arthur tackle
the floors 6. Events Manager Lisa Browne
was all business 7. The finished deck 8.
Publications Editor Nancy Raughley helped
keep it all together 9. Kaylen Saunders (l.)
and Oscar Molina participate in a team
building exercise
1.
2.
4.
7.
Events, continued from front page
up fast.
As always, this year’s A&A
Conference is co-located with our
Technology Roundtable, which
is packed with updates on technology, discussion on security
trends, advanced administration
techniques and trends, Cloud systems, and an in-depth review of
CPAmerica’s 2015 IT Survey.
Our special event for both conferences is as authentically Austin
as it can be. A fun-filled evening
at the Rattle Inn (a well-known
bar and live music venue located
in downtown Austin’s popular
West 6th Street District), with live
music and fantastic Austin-style
barbecue served up by awardwinning Pitmaster John Lewis of La
Barbecue.
Attendees will not only receive
a variety of networking opportunities, but they will also get to
know our sponsors in the exhibitor
hall. This year’s A&A Conference
sponsors are alliantgroup, CCH,
Confirmation.com, Intuit, and
Tri-Merit. We would like to thank
2
3.
5.
8.
6.
9.
Next Generation opens up a second track for 2015
our sponsors for all that they do to
make our conference season a success.
We hope that this conference season will impress you, as we have
worked very hard with your peers
on our member planning committees to bring you the best speakers, content, locations and special
events. We opened our registration for our A&A Conference and
Tech Roundtable in January, and,
new this year as well, opened the
remainder of our events for registration on May 1** [see page 4].
If you have any suggestions or
comments regarding our conferences or would like to serve on a
planning committee, we’d love to
hear from you. We are always looking for ways to Improve Through
Sharing.
Complete conference agendas,
speaker bios, sponsor and registration information can be found on
the events page of CPAmerica’s
members-only website, or you can
contact Lisa Browne at: lbrowne@
cpamerica.org
CPAmerica's Next Generation Conference is designed
for successful seniors through managers who have
demonstrated their solid technical abilities and that you
Next Gen is a way to support your young professionals
a foundation experience as to how public accounting
Who would I send?
This year will have two tracks. Based on your positive
feedback, Track 2 will be for returning attendees who
operations, but also re-establish connections with friends
made last year.
Track 1
improvements of their peers. Both groups will have
Allred.
For more information, contact Grace Horvath at:
[email protected]
Sharing Opportunities
Leading Partners Retreat
Chicago, Ill.
Next Generation
Chicago, Ill.
Northeast Partners
Boston, Mass.
Firm Admin. Roundtable
Chicago, Ill.
Tax Conference
Sonoma, Calif.
Midwest Partners
Chicago, Ill.
Southeast Partners
Atlanta, Ga.
CPAConnect Roundtable
San Diego, Calif.
International Group
Atlanta, Ga.
Central Mountain Partners
Albuquerque, N.M.
Marketing Roundtable
Orlando, Fla.
Tech Roundtable
Austin, Texas
A&A Conference
Austin, Texas
2015 CPAmerica Conferences and Meetings
www.cpamerica.org
CPAmerica Marketing Roundtable
June 11
Midwest Partners
August 6-7
Firm Administration Roundtable
Sept. 30-Oct. 2
Orlando, Florida
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois
Focus: Marketing
Focus: Partner-Level Member Sharing
Focus: Firm Administration
Topics will include: Digital Media:
Strategies, tactics and tools, goal setting;
Marketing Initiatives; Marketing Recruiting
Strategies; Databases/CRM Systems
A&A Conference
Topics will include: Organic Growth
Member Sharing (optional); Partner
Transition Panel; Strategy to Develop
Firm’s Future Talent From the Bottom Up;
Niche Development and various Niche
Breakouts; and Best Practices
June 24-26
Next Generation Conference
Focus: Audit
Chicago, Illinois
Austin, Texas
June 1, 2015
Topics will include: Successfully Growing
a Mature Niche; Audit Update; Audit
Accounting Update; Technology Update;
Private Company Council Update ;
Developing Future Leaders at your Firm;
and more.
Technology Roundtable
June 24-26
Austin, Texas
Focus: Technology
June 1, 2015
Topics will include: Tech Update;
Windows 10 Preview; Next Generation
Security Trends; Advanced Admin
Techniques and Tips; The Cloud; What’s
New in Networking?; Internet of Things;
DR in the Virtual World; Collaboration
Strategies; and the IT Survey
July 9-10
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Focus: Partner-Level Member Sharing
June 18, 2015
Topics will include: Strategic Thinking;
Firm Culture; Recruitment and Selection;
Strength; Succession; and Best Practices
Northeast Partners
July 23-24
Boston, Massachusetts
Focus: Partner-Level Member Sharing
July 2, 2015
Topics will include: Leveraging Diversity;
The Key Role of the Firm Administrator as
a People Manager; Partner Transitioning;
What Keeps You Up at Night?; Legal
Update; Tech Update; Firm Meetings-How
to be More Productive; Achieving “Best
Place to Work” Status; Millennial Panel;
and Firm Growth and Development.
August 19-21
CPAConnect Roundtable
Focus: Senior/Manager Growth
and Leadership
San Diego, California
July 29, 2015
Topics will include: Track 1: Get in the
Driver’s Seat; Making an Impact; Create
Win/Win Client Relationships; Ask a
Partner; Firm Metrics That Matter; Top 10
Core Competencies of Successful
Professionals; and Skills for Business
Development.
Network Like a Fox for CPAs; Strategic
Thinking; Proactive Career Development;
Helping Your Career by Helping Clients;
Advanced Firm Metrics; and Learning How
to Solve Problems Throughout Your
Career.
Southeast Partners
August 27-28
Atlanta, Georgia
Focus: Partner-Level Member Sharing
July 21, 2015
Central Mountain Partners
September 6, 2015
July 13, 2015
May 7, 2015
Topics will include: Servant Leadership;
Marketing vs. Business Development; How
Technology is Being Used as a Business
Niche Development; Successful Strategic
Alliances; Bring Your Own Success Story;
and Best Practices.
Leading Partners Retreat
Sept. 30-Oct. 2
Chicago, Illinois
Focus: Practice Growth and Management
September 6, 2015
October 21-23
Focus: Practice Growth and Management
September 25, 2015
Topics will include: Grow Your Firm With
The Right People; Improving Services to
ship Meeting; AICPA Update; Practice
Management Survey; and Best Practices.
Tax Conference
November 8-11
Sonoma County, California
Focus: Tax
October 7, 2015
Topics will include: Succession & Estate
Planning; SALT; Trends Shaping the
Industry; Repair Regs Implimentation;
Crowe Horwath NTO; Disguised Sales and
Other Mixing Bowl Provisions; Partnership
Exit Strategies; International Tax & Foreign
Trusts; Tax Executive Committee; Cyber
Security & Identity Theft; Legislative
Update; and more.
International Group Meeting
December 2-3
Atlanta, Georgia
Focus: Practice Growth and Management
November 6, 2015
Topics will include: International Growth,
Building an International Online Presence,
Multinational Country Updates, and
International Tax Issues.
Topics will include: Leveraging Diversity;
Superhighways to Sustainablility;
Economic Update; Member Sharing
Breakouts; Liability Panel; Achieving “Best
Place to Work” Status; Millennial Panel;
Tech Update; and Member Sharing.
Topics will include: Tour of Gray, Gray &
Gray, LLP; Surviving Succession and
Partner Retirement in Your Firm; Organic
Strategies That Build Bench Strength and
Future Partners; Social Media in the
Workplace; and Member Sharing
www.cpamerica.org
Member News
Three promotions at Mueller & Co.
Schultz joins Cendrowski as head of
valuation practice
Member firm
, with headquarters in
Bloomfield Hills, Mich., announced
that Jim Schultz, CPA,
CVA, CFF, MAFF has
joined the firm as head
of the Chicago business
valuation practice and
has over 30 years of CPA
experience.
Schultz is a CPA in
Illinois and California,
as well as a licensed
real estate broker in
JIM SCHULTZ
Illinois. He is a Certified
Valuation Analyst, certified in Financial
Forensics and a Master Analyst in
Financial Forensics. Schultz received
his bachelor's in history from Michigan
State University, and his master's in
accounting from Roosevelt University.
JamisonMoneyFarmer PC opens
downtown Birmingham office
Member firm
PC, with headquarters in Tuscaloosa,
Ala., has leased office space in the Wells
Fargo Tower, located at 420 20th Street
North, Suite 2250, in the central business
district downtown, which will serve
as the accounting firm's new office in
Birmingham. JMF is Alabama's seventh
largest CPA firm with three offices in
Alabama.
Catanese Group hosts local college
juniors for third annual Leadership Day
Member firm
, with
headquarters in Johnstown, Pa., hosted
nine local college juniors at their third
annual “Leadership Day” event.
Accounting students from three area
colleges and universities were chosen
based on their leadership skills and
academic performance. Accounting
faculty from the University of Pittsburgh
at Johnstown, Mount Aloysius College,
and Saint Francis University were
given specific criteria and made
their selections from their respective
accounting students.
Catanese partners and staff spoke about
their disciplines and roles within the
firm and on the benefits of working for a
regional accounting firm.
Take me to your leader. (above) The nine
Leadership Day participants
Elgin, Ill.-based firm
MHC&C take time during tax season
to bowl for kids
West Des Moines, Iowa-based firm
participated in the 2015 Big Brothers Big
Sisters Bowl for Kids’ Sake event. This
year, MHC&S partnered with VisionPoint
Advisory Group to contribute $2,960,
helping Big Brothers Big Sisters achieve
their mission of providing children facing
adversity with strong and enduring,
professionally supported one-to-one
relationships that change their lives for
the better.
Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. reports
new hires and promotions
,
with headquarters in Holyoke, Mass,
announced the promotions of Melyssa
Brown, CPA, MBA, and Jennifer Roy,
CPA, JD, to senior manager positions.
Brown received her bachelor's in
accountancy from Elms College and her
master's in accounting from the Isenberg
School of Management at University of
Massachusetts, Amherst. Roy received
her bachelor's in business administration
from the Massachusetts College of
Liberal Arts and a juris doctor from
Western New England College School of
Law. Tom Dowling, CPA, MST, has been
promoted to the position of audit and
accounting manager. Dowling graduated
with a bachelor in accountancy from
Bentley University and continued at
Bentley to earn his master’s in taxation.
Matthew Nash and Sarah Kosinski
were both promoted to senior associate
positions. Nash received his bachelor of
business administration, with a focus
on accounting, from Nichols College.
Kosinski received her bachelor of
business administration from American
International College and her master
of business administration from Elms
College. John Veit has been promoted
to the position of senior marketing
associate. Veit received his bachelor
of business administration with a
concentration in marketing from the
Isenberg School of Management at the
University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
The firm also announced the hiring of
three new associates — Kayla Helitzer,
MSA, Joseph Vreedenburgh, MSA, and
Brandon Mitchell, MSA, CPA.
LLP announced the
following promotions:
Amy Chamoun, CPA,
MST was promoted to
tax director. Chamoun
received a bachelor's
(summa cum laude)
in
accountancy from
AMY CHAMOUN
Northern Illinois
University, and her
master's in taxation
from Northern
Illinois University.
Sheri Taylor, CPA
was promoted to
audit director. Tayler
received a bachelor's
in accounting
from Illinois State
SHERI TAYLOR
University.
Drent Shields, CPA, MBA, was promoted
to audit director.
Shields received his
bachelor's in finance
and management
information systems
from Colorado
State University,
and his master's in
finance from DePaul
University.
DRENT SHIELDS
SF & Company featured on WGAL
TV’s “8 On Your Side”
, with offices in York, Pa.,
Harrisburg, Pa., and State College, Pa.,
volunteered for the tax phone bank
featured on WGAL TV’s “8 On Your
Side.” Claire S. Weaver, CPA, CSEP, AEP,
shareholder, and Christopher C. Humes,
CPA, senior tax manager, served on the
news segment, where they answered
tax questions called in by viewers of the
station. As members of the Pennsylvania
Institute of Certified Public Accountants
(PICPA), they and 10 other tax experts
took hundreds of calls to address the
public’s tax-time concerns.
Jeff Hodgen, CPA on earns certified
valuation analyst designation
, with
headquarters in Grand Island, Neb.,
announced that Jeff Hodgen, CPA
of Hastings, Neb., has earned the
designation of Certified Valuation
Analyst (CVA) through the National
Association of Certified Valuators and
Analysts (NACVA). Requirements to earn
this designation include maintaining
current licensure as a CPA and
completing NACVA's comprehensive
training program and subsequent exam.
3
CPAmerica Events: Time Well Spent
GRACE HORVATH-VICE
PRESIDENT OF SERVICES
I love this time of year
for the same reasons
you do. Spring has
arrived, plans for
summer are already
being made and
tax season is over!
Furthermore, at last we
get to tell you about the
exciting year of events
we’ve been preparing
for you.
Each year, we wrestle between
communicating timely information
while not overloading your inbox,
especially when it comes to events that
involve blocking out time from your
firm and family, booking travel, and
even deciding between which events
to attend. We are thrilled to announce
that meeting registrations for all 2015
meetings** opened May 1, including
complete agendas to provide you as
much early information as possible to
help make planning easier.
The season kicks off in June, beginning
with the Marketing Roundtable in
tandem with AAM’s Annual Summit.
The meeting is taking place in sunny
Orlando, Florida, where CPAmerica
accounting marketers will spend the day
immersed in sharing and also hearing
from social media expert, Matt Hames.
Later in June, members will meet for
the combined A&A Conference and
Technology Roundtable in Austin,
Texas, where we’ve made outstanding
arrangements for you in the “Live Music
Capital of the World” at the Four Seasons
Hotel. In addition to the conferences,
with their thoughtfully composed mix
of technical presentations and sharing
of best practices, we are offering two
pre-conference opportunities. Jim Woy
returns to teach a full-day of Yellow
Book, while we are also trying something
new with Top 100 influencer, Gale
Crosley, leading a half-day personalized
workshop for client planning
opportunities and on becoming a trusted
advisor.
Partners in all regions will have the
opportunity to meet this summer
for regional member sharing of best
practices on everything from surviving
succession to how technology is being
used as a business development tool.
Planning committees chose well this
year, with all regional meetings enjoying
distinctive locales, from the historic
Rowes Wharf Harbor in Boston, the
landmark Union League Club in
Chicago, the popular Mandarin Oriental
in Atlanta, to the Sandia Resort in
Albuquerque.
The big news this year is that we’ve
added a second track to the Next
Generation Conference this August,
based on your overwhelmingly positive
response. The conference was designed
to help the future generation of your firm
learn how the firm works and what role
they play in the mutual success of the
firm and their career. We are inviting
Year 1 alumni back for an all-new
agenda, while first-time attendees will
benefit from a proven Year 1 agenda with
improvements suggested by their peers.
Each group gets their own full day of
learning with Sam Allred.
A panel of Millennials, selected from
applicants attending the Next Generation
Conference, will share their perspective
of the firm of today and give insight on
what they need for the future of the firm.
Partnership exit strategies, estate
planning, and foreign trusts are only
a few of the topics that members can
consider among the vines of Sonoma
County in November. Popular speakers
Sam Donaldson and Sean King will
be among a strong lineup of technical
presentations, plenty of member sharing,
and a look ahead with Loretta Doon, CEO
of CalCPA (and also one of Accounting
Today's 2015 Top 100 Most Influential
People).
Last but not least, we’ll wrap up our
event year in Atlanta with our friends
from Crowe Horwath International,
at the Fourth Annual International
Group Meeting **. Ongoing planning
of this, our fastest growing meeting,
promises continued resources and new
relationships for your global business.
With something for everyone, we look
forward to seeing you in 2015.
**The December 2015 International Group
Meeting registration will open June 1.
We’ll return to Chicago in September
for the Leading Partners Retreat and
Firm Administrators Roundtable at
the famous Drake Hotel. “Sustainability
of the Firm” is this year’s theme, as
sessions explore topics ranging from
diversity and evaluating existing firm
models to becoming a top place to work.
2015 Crowe Horwath International
Annual Meeting
104 N. Main St.
Gainesville, FL
32601
(352) 727-4070
www.cpamerica.org
Shanghai, China
October 25-28
This meeting presents the opportunity to spend time with other
international members and further develop strong relationships in the
exotic setting of Shanghai, China
Send feedback and member
[email protected]
Cross-border meetings to strengthen your
international business
OHM
4
follow us on our social media: