2023 Technology Conference

It’s an exciting time to manage a public practice accounting firm! In addition to technical knowledge in tax, auditing, and accounting, we need to understand data analytics and security options in an advisory context. Beyond that, we must manage the practice and people while profitably delivering excellent client service in a competitive environment for the owners. Further, portals, CAS stacks, PBC lists, electronic signatures, Cloud, and robotic process automation are technologies we need to understand beyond our tax, audit, practice management, document management, and workflow systems. This CPA Firm Update session independently covers significant trends and technologies for CPA firms, which will help you understand your current and future choices. With such rapid change, what will your firm do?

Major topics:

• Trends in the profession, including supplier changes
• Software products by service lines
• Innovation and automation tools
• Specific technology stacks to improve productivity and profitability

Speaker: Steve Yoss

This session is available to registrants only.

The term “automate” has been an industry buzzword for at least a decade. Yet, few organizations have embarked on successful automation journeys, leading to greater efficiencies, reduced errors, and happier team members. In this session, you will learn how to crank up your automation projects and see first-hand how easy and effective automation can be. More specifically, this session shows you exactly how you can work with tools from Zoho, Zapier, and Microsoft to enable powerful routines that will allow you and your team to get more done in less time.

Major topics:

• Where to begin your automation journey
• Which automation tools should you initially focus on
• How to automate everyday tasks in accounts payable, banking, and approval workflows
• Common automation pitfalls

Speaker: Tommy Stephens

This session is available to registrants only.

OneNote is a fantastic application included in your Microsoft 365 subscription. Yet, it is underutilized and misunderstood most of the time. If you genuinely want to change how you work, embrace OneNote. Stop using Outlook as a filing cabinet for essential emails and move them to OneNote instead. If you share a OneNote notebook with others, you can stop emailing altogether within your group and use OneNote as your collaboration and reference platform.

Major topics:

• Using OneNote as a powerful reference resource
• Learn how to move your emails into OneNote
• Share OneNote with a group of people and communicate within a notebook rather than email.

Speaker: Mac McClelland

This session is available to registrants only.

Demands for an excellent user experience are at an all-time high. But how do you solve for easy collaboration, compliance, and workflow? What features do you need to be effective? How do you integrate payments, eSignatures, and other technologies to make interaction convenient? This session will explain the necessary features, provide an overview of the best technologies for collaboration, and help you think through how to solve your business problems. You’ll learn about the options available from client portals, workflow management, payments, eSignatures, and more. Attend this session and arm yourself with the tools you need to succeed!

Major topics:

• Portals as collaboration enablement
• Learn about payment options you can integrate into your portal
• Leave with a checklist of features to consider for collaboration

Speaker: Tommy Stephens

This session is available to registrants only.

Most small and mid-sized businesses are at least considering cloud-based suites for business management, performance management, and productivity. Unfortunately, many owners and accounting professionals need to learn the difference between using cloud-native tools, employing a managed service provider, and utilizing a desktop hosting provider. This session helps participants understand the differences in the levels of service provided by these offerings and will also highlight some of the regulatory barriers which could create problems for your organization. Attend this session and learn what you need to know before saying “see ya” to your servers.

Major topics:

• The similarities and differences in desktops managed by a managed service provider, a desktop/application hosting company, and a browser-based cloud
• Regulatory requirements like HIPPA, GLB, PCI, and more
• Practical tips for dealing with service providers

Speaker: Steve Yoss

This session is available to registrants only.

We’re all familiar with PDF documents. However, it’s safe to say that most professionals use only a tiny fraction of their features. This circumstance is unfortunate, considering all you can do with PDF documents. Therefore, isn’t it time to take another look at PDF documents and all you can do with them?
Participate in this session to learn more about PDFs and how and why they should be a cornerstone technology in most organizations. Collaboration options, long-term storage and archival, and fillable forms are just a few features you will learn about in this session. This session is for you if you’re ready to elevate your PDF productivity!

Major topics:

• Understanding the Portable Document Format
• Identifying tools you can use to work with PDFs
• Collaborating using PDFs
• Creating, distributing, and collecting fillable PDF forms
• Using PDFs to enhance security

Speaker: Mac McClelland

This session is available to registrants only.

Working with a small business, you know that keeping the company’s finances in order is critical to success. While numerous software programs and tools are available to help you do this, they vary substantially in many significant aspects. In addition to conventional options like QuickBooks and Sage 50, you can choose from Cloud-based tools such as Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online, Spire Systems, Xero, Accounting Suite, Accounting Power, and many more. In this session, we’ll look at the best accounting tools for small businesses and discuss the benefits of each one. This session covers accounting solutions that should work for startups and companies with up to $10 million in annual revenue. We also cover various add-on solutions that can enhance the overall functionality of your accounting platform. Join us to learn your options for achieving your small business management financial goals.

Major topics:

• Overview of small business accounting solutions
• Strengths and shortfalls of various accounting and add-on solutions
• Setup and configuration tips

Speaker: Tommy Stephens

This session is available to registrants only.

Your home is now the digital center of your world, and even if you go to an office every day, you have more options to help you manage everything from shopping lists to email accounts. Unfortunately, many new devices your family connects to your WiFi can create security risks and may make remote work and school less secure. For example, tracking devices and services can help parents monitor children and seniors, but outsiders can use the same tools to stalk their loved ones digitally. This session will help you learn about devices, services, and app suites for families, share files, organize photos, manage passwords, and keep your home secure. Attend this breakout and learn about innovative new tools to help you stay safe and make the most of your time away from the office.

Major topics:

• Configuring your router and network to make it more secure
• Review online services to help your family share information and stay in touch
• Take advantage of the latest home gadgets and devices from CES 2023 and understand what technologies are “ready for prime time” and which ones you should skip

Speaker: Steve Yoss

This session is available to registrants only.

Using Outlook for email management is routine for most business professionals these days. But unfortunately, using this tool for so long may cause some to perpetuate bad practices and habits when working in Outlook and exploring new options Outlook offers. In this session, you will discover ten valuable tips to take you to the next level of your email and work management.

Major topics:

• Action your email with more than just a flag
• Working more efficiently by structuring your screen better, creating shortcut buttons, using Categories, creating Search folders, and using boards
• Store emails in better places so you can reference them faster
• Stop typing and use templates instead

Speaker: Mac McClelland

This session is available to registrants only.

Many businesses are being held back by legacy solutions. The old way of doing things doesn’t work anymore. Instead, Software as a Service (SaaS) has transformed many mid-market companies. In this new world of cloud-based, workflow-enabled, data-centric, and connected solutions, you can solve existing and future business problems in new ways without being bogged down by paper-centric environments. This session covers integrated and ERP solutions that should work for businesses in the $10 Million to $1 Billion range. If your existing system has been in place for seven or more years, it is time to consider upgrading or replacing it. Leverage your instructor’s knowledge of the market to minimize your risk.

Major topics:

• Overview of mid-market solutions
• Probable third-party solutions required
• Accounting solutions for specific industries
• Specific strategies to use in selecting a system
• Guidance on preparatory steps and conversions

Speaker: Steve Yoss

This session is available to registrants only.

All business professionals need access to the necessary technology to help them perform their jobs efficiently and effectively. Yet, no one should overpay for their tech stack. Unfortunately, though, many are overpaying and have yet to realize it. In this session, you will learn valuable tips to help you simplify and economize your technology stack. Participate in this session to avoid the risk of overpaying for your tech tools.

Major topics:

• Taking an inventory of installed applications and tools
• Identifying the tech tools you need and those you don’t
• Canceling unnecessary licenses and subscription services

Speaker: Tommy Stephens

This session is available to registrants only.

The mad scramble to remote work and utilize apps like Teams has been trying for most organizations over the past couple of years. With a rush to install and no time to plan, most team members did their best, prioritizing remote meetings as the primary concern. Therefore, as a result, Teams is vastly misunderstood and underutilized in most organizations. Join us in this session to go beyond the remote meetings aspect of Teams and to learn how to optimize efficiency, communication, and workflow with Teams.

Major topics:

• Learn how to set up Teams for successful collaboration
• Create a filing system that does not include endless sub-folders
• Manage staff delegation and follow-ups with ease
• Define what Lists need to be available to your Team
• Discover how to create automatic Flows that can notify others of update
• Utilize survey Forms or questionnaires from within Teams

Speaker: Mac McClelland

This session is available to registrants only.

The adage, “what gets measured, gets managed,” has never been more true than it is today. Organizations of all kinds and sizes are creating systems and processes to categorize, track, and report on many of their operations by creating reports featuring key performance indicators (KPIs). This session will teach you about many different kinds of KPIs. Further, you will learn how to find data and use tools like Microsoft Excel and Power BI to measure performance. You will also identify the benefits and drawbacks of using KPIs in management philosophies like holacracy to make it easier for employees to know in real time where they stand.

Major topics:

• Types of KPIs
• How to look for data in your existing systems
• The basics of data prep tools
• Tools for tracking and reporting on KPIs

Speaker: Steve Yoss

This session is available to registrants only.

Although Windows incorporates the OneDrive app, you may not have configured it correctly for your specific needs. Using the OneDrive app and the related Cloud storage service to their fullest potential means you can access your files when and where you need them. Further, sharing your files and collaborating with others is easy when using OneDrive correctly. In this session, you will learn best practices for taking full advantage of OneDrive.

Major topics:

• Navigating to OneDrive on the web
• Synchronizing your files to your desktop pc
• Working with shared files
• Managing different versions of files
• Understanding how OneDrive works with OneNote, Teams, and SharePoint

Speaker: Mac McClelland

This session is available to registrants only.

Protecting yourself from ransomware requires more than just anti-virus software. Additional technology protections are necessary. Further, business continuity, legal and regulatory, and cybersecurity insurance considerations should all be a part of your risk abatement strategy. Attend this session to determine if your current level of ransomware protection reduces your risk to an acceptable and identify ways to ensure that you are protected.

Major topics:

• Understanding how ransomware can cripple a business
• Trends in ransomware attacks
• Best practices for minimizing ransomware risk

Speaker: Tommy Stephens

This session is available to registrants only.