More than 200 Maryland CFOs, controllers, and CPAs in government and non-profits attended our first Professional Issues Update for 2012 in Timonium.

They had a lot to say about our economy, government and the general state of the state.

Insights on the economy and hiring outlook

On the economy, only 6 percent said the economic downturn is over, while 44 percent saw some improvement. Forty-three percent said there is still a long way to go, and 7 percent said there is “danger ahead.”

Then we referenced an Accountingweb piece on the state of finance and accounting and asked for their outlook on hiring. They responded with 67 percent planning to keep staffing levels the same, 20 percent planning to increase staffing, and 13 percent planning to decrease staff size.

There is continued concern about government deficits at both the federal and state levels, and lots of discussion about the increasing compliance burden facing businesses of all sizes. We cited the recent Small Business Administration study on compliance that shows a cost to small businesses (less than 20) of $10,500 per person, just for federal laws and regulations. And that was in 2008, before Dodd-Frank!

Information overload and keeping up with the fast pace of change was a major theme. 

Insights about the latest trends facing CFOs and the CPA profession:

• The top trends to watch for CPAs and business from CPA Horizons 2025 and our special MACPA Resource Center to help CPAs deal with them.
• The top 10 issues facing CPAs in business and industry from our CFO roundtable.

From the Twitter stream came these comments:

The five qualities of extraordinary leaders:

1. Sight: Ability to see emerging patterns and shift perspective when necessary.
2. Insight: Ability to think strategically and critically to gain insights.
3. Create: Seek high leverage opportunities that build on your strengths.
4. Communicate: Ability to make your thinking visible to others and the ability to collaborate inside and outside your organization.
5. Inspire: Ability to mobilize support and engage others involved in doing the work to join you in action.

• What got you here, won't get you there! (Referring to changing leadership and generational differences. See the MACPA's Leadership Academy whitepaper and applications for our May 7-9 Leadership Academy.)
• The #1 skill (for the future) is the ability to acquire new skills (from FastCompany Generation Flux article).
• To stay ahead, you must keep your L > C (rate of learning greater than the rate of change).

Here is our presentation.