Constant Change: How the Rate of Change is Accelerating & What Can Be Done?

Richard A. Karwic, MBA, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

Change is inevitable and unpredictable, and change comes to our world, e.g., new revenue recognition, taxes, and lease accounting. We analyze how much change has occurred in accounting, in finance, and the world we live in. Quantitative analysis proves that the rate of change is accelerating. The future will be different, so it will pay to be prepared.

It's time to network with colleagues and visit sponsor tables.

1. Accounting Fast and Slow (A&A)

   Brian Maturi, MBA, FCA, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

   Do we really understand why we, and our companies, make the decisions? We may believe that we make decisions only after acquiring all the facts, carefully considering all the alternatives, and logically choosing the best option. However, Nobel prize-winner in Economics Daniel Kahneman and his long-time collaborator Amos Tversky have proven in numerous experiments and studies that we make most decisions by intuition and not analysis. We will examine Kahneman and Tversky’s groundbreaking work and its implications on us, our companies, and the accounting profession.

   
   

2. Emotional Intelligence: The Critical Factor in Executive Success

   Richard A. Karwic, MBA, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

   Emotional intelligence is an individual’s capacity to understand both their own and other people’s emotions, and to react to these feelings in an appropriate manner. Research proves that Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a compelling predictor of personal, professional, and social success. Every business leader can improve their emotional intelligence, including you. Many businesses utilize EI for promotions and in hiring. This session will discuss the twelve keys to EI and proven tactics to help every aspiring leader “work smart.”

   
   

It's time to network with colleagues and visit sponsor tables.

1. Fixing Your Chart of Accounts (A&A)

   Brian Maturi, MBA, FCA, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

   A well-organized chart of accounts supports robust responsibility reporting, makes it easy to answer, “what if?” questions and helps eliminate data entry errors. However, many organizations cling to the primitive practices of a half-century ago that impose barriers to developing budgets, holding people accountable, gathering useful data and keeping errors from creeping into financial statements.

   Best practices today look little like the examples you may have seen in business school. If you sense that your general ledger could do far more, this session will show you how to fix your problems.

   
   

2. KPI Dashboards – The New Financial Reporting Model

   Robert Berry, CPA, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

   CEOs, entrepreneurs, and management professionals are all clamoring for real time financial dashboards. KPI (Key Performance Indicator) dashboards is that application. One of the primary drivers of this dynamic financial reporting model is cloud-based accounting systems. This course will introduce you to numerous platforms for developing KPI dashboards: cloud accounting systems, Microsoft Excel, and niche applications. We will show you how to embrace this model for your organization or your client.

   
   

It's time to have lunch with colleagues and visit sponsor tables. Lunch is provided.

1. Becoming a Great Predictor: Create Better Forecasts (A&A)

   Richard A. Karwic, MBA, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

   Imagine being able to see into the future with confidence. The ability to be a great forecaster is not innate but learned. By examining great forecasters, we can learn to improve our ability to predict the future. We will examine best practices and current research to improve our ability to predict events that will affect our business.

   
   

2. Business Ethics Don’t Exist: The Only Ethics Rule You Need to Know (Ethics)

   Robert Berry, CPA, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

   Most ethics courses focus on unethical individuals and their terrible misdeeds. We don’t need another course on lessons from Enron or individuals committing fraud. Most unethical failures result from unethical individuals. Instead, this session will focus on how good people can do better, why there is no such thing as business ethics and why we only need one rule to lead ethical lives.

   
   

It's time to network with colleagues and visit sponsor tables.

Measure What Matters – Panel Discussion (A&A)

Robert Berry, CPA, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

Richard A. Karwic, MBA, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

Brian Maturi, MBA, FCA, The Knowledge Institute, LLC

With all the data available today in our organization, industry, economy, and globally, how do we identify what to measure and how? Each organization has their own needs. Often, we focus on the same old metrics. Metrics from other industries may be applicable to your industry that we never thought of. Metrics are not only for managers; they are for employees at all levels. Effective dashboards help achieve organizational goals and objectives. We have too much data and this seminar will show you how to turn data into useful information.