In a fast-changing world, do you ever know where you want to go but don’t know how to get there? Driverless cars may be on the horizon (or down the street) but driverless professional development – not so much.
CPAs in audit, business and industry are running to keep pace with an unprecedented level of change and potential disruption. Financial reporting and auditing, powered by paradigm shifts in use of the cloud, artificial intelligence and machine learning, operate differently than five years ago, let alone pre-Y2K.
Xero’s Keri Gohman recently wrote in CPAs need to account for machine learning, “Accounting has drawn some of the direst warnings about automation disrupting the industry. Bookkeepers are no longer doing their work with books as their name suggests. But will evil robot overlords ever replace your human CPA?” She concludes, “As computer systems become more advanced, jobs won’t die — they’ll evolve. Those who embrace and exploit automation will survive and prosper.”
Or – as the MACPA’s Bill Sheridan has said, “The status quo is toast,” and “Welcome to a world of constant disruption.”
Sign-posts to help you become future-ready
Tom Hood, CEO of the MACPA and the Business Learning Institute, frequently advocates for, and educates members of the CPA profession. In his post, How to win the race with the machines, he notes that an anticipatory mindset, fueled with the right tools, can help us use the machines to our advantage – indeed, advancing the profession.
Each year, Hood leads a series of Town Halls (twice a year, actually, in the fall and spring) in which he travels throughout the state, providing key updates to the MACPA’s more than 9,000 members on the latest developments impacting CPAs in audit, business and industry, including emerging practice issues, current advocacy initiatives at the state and national level, MACPA membership and program developments, and other learnings from his outreach with members and industry experts.
There are multiple opportunities to attend a Town Hall/PIU, in-person or online. The program is complimentary for MACPA members, and $250 for non-members. Here’s the schedule for the Fall 2017 series of Town Halls / Professional Issues Updates:
Sept. 12 Towson (simulcast also available)
Oct. 9 Rockville (simulcast also available)
