Rebekah Brown, CPA, Director of Development, MACPA

Dr. Jan Williams, Ph.D., CPA, Associate Professor of Accounting, University of Baltimore

This session will include an update of issues facing the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy and accounting profession.

Dr. Vernon Richardson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Accounting, University of Arkansas

Data Analytics is changing the accounting profession, and in turn, revolutionizing accounting curriculums. We’ll offer insights as to how to teach data analytics skills and software skills to enhance our student’s critical thinking. We’ll discuss CPAEvolution and how students can prepare for it in each of their core accounting courses.

Liz Barentzen, Vice President, Operations and Talent Initiatives, Center for Audit Quality

This session will center on understanding high school and college students’ motivations and priorities in choosing career paths can inform colleges, universities, and the accounting profession on how to best build awareness about and effectively message the benefits of selecting accounting as a major. Liz Barentzen, CAQ’s VP, Operations and Talent Initiatives, will discuss the results of the CAQ’s recent market research findings aimed at better understanding the student mindset, motivations and priorities when making decisions about their careers. The CAQ is utilizing this research- which includes qualitative focus group data and quantitative survey data of almost 4,000 high school, community and four-year college students- in developing a targeted brand awareness campaign to reach underrepresented high school and college students, with the intent to increase the pipeline overall. In addition, this session will focus as to how academia and the profession might also use these findings in reaching and engaging with students about the potential of a career in accounting, with the overreaching goal in making this profession a more inclusive one.

Dr. Charles Russo, Ph.D., CPA, CMA, CVA, Associate Professor of Accounting and Director of the M.S. in Accounting and Business Advisory Services, Towson University

Beverly Janson Ho, CPA, Managing Director, Deloitte Tax LLP

Bill Fisher, CPA, Managing Director/ESG Credits & Incentives Leader, Deloitte Tax LLP

Learning objectives:
1. ESG overview and why now?
2. Identify ESG-related matters that may impact the financial statements, including disclosures, and identify factors to consider when evaluating whether such matters are appropriately reflected and disclosed in the financial statements.
3. Recall how ESG-related matters may impact risk assessment performed as part of the financial statement audit.
4. Identify how the role as the auditor can enhance the reliability of ESG information through the performance of ESG-related assurance services, along with an introduction to the related assurance methodology.
5. Tax considerations around ESG

James Lager, Chief Ethics Adviser, US Government Accountability Office

The session will challenge the traditional approach to ethics, urging student awareness of behavioral ethics so they can identify psychological and systems pressures on objectivity and independence. Several proven techniques to ameliorate some biases are presented for consideration.