Day 1: December 2 - Balance Sheet Management
8 CPE Credits
Balance Sheet Management: The Least Understood Risk (2 Accounting Credits)
Most companies manage their income statement, but many organizations virtually ignore the balance sheet until balance sheet problems create seemingly insurmountable problems. This session discusses how to analyze and manage your financial statements more holistically allowing you to identify and correct balance sheet issues early. The session will also examine several crucial ideas you can incorporate into your analyses to enhance performance and reduce risk. Every organization needs these skills!
Participants will learn:
- To see your organization’s balance sheet as other’s see it
- How leverage affects debt capacity and risk
The Cost of Capital: Why You Should Use It (2 Accounting Credits)
Every business needs capital, and capital has a cost. Debt and equity providers demand a return and the combination is the organization’s cost of capital. This session discusses how to calculate the cost of capital, how to use it to make superior business decisions and some common ways organizations misuse this number.
Who should understand your organization’s Cost of Capital? You do! Even if you are not yet the CFO, you need to thoroughly understand the Cost of Capital and its use. Knowing the Cost of Capital allows managers to literally “Get the biggest bang for the buck.” If you want to enhance your corporate finance skills, this session is for you.
Participants will learn:
- Why your organization’s capital costs matter
- How to calculate your organization’s cost of capital
Debt Versus Equity: Which Will Your Organization Need Next? (2 Accounting Credits)
Your organization needs capital and there are numerous financing alternatives. How do you choose whether to raise debt or equity? What are the key considerations and the advantages of each?
This session will provide real examples and detail the process to decide between debt and equity. Why would one be a better choice today and the other be a better choice tomorrow? If you want to enhance your corporate finance skills, this session is for you.
Participants will learn:
- The merits of various types of financing
- How to tell what type of financing your organization should seek next
Build Your Personal Net Worth (2 Finance Credits)
By the nature of our work and training, financial professionals are more sophisticated than the general population about their own personal finances. However, sometimes we spend so much time planning our company's future that we neglect or defer taking steps to build our own personal net worth. If you are dissatisfied with the speed that you are accumulating savings, this session will help put you on the right track. Even if you are meeting your goals, this session will provide insights and ideas that will add to and reinforce what you may already be doing.
Participants will learn:
- What millionaires do differently
- Strategies for building your portfolio
Day 2: December 3 - Honing Your Management Style
8 CPE Credits
Introvert Power: Why Quiet Leaders are So Successful (2 Management Credits)
Leaders were once chosen for their character but today we live in an age where loudmouthed extroverts seem to take center stage in everything, including business, politics and entertainment. While the talkative, charismatic leader makes the front page of business magazines, recent research shows that successful business leaders tend to be more reserved, pensive and sometimes outright shy. Learn why your desire to spend significant time inside your own head may be your greatest asset.
Participants will learn:
- How your introverted personality can be your superpower
- Why introverts make better managers
Teamwork: Create a Cohesive Team (2 Management Credits)
Why do some teams produce and win, while other teams fail? What do the leaders of great teams do that make the team a success? Whether you run the executive staff of a multinational company, a small department within a large organization or even if you are a team member in a team that needs improvement, we will share proven techniques to enhance teamwork. It is not complicated to build a team, but it is difficult.
Teamwork is the ultimate competitive advantage both because it is so powerful and rare. “If you could get all the people in the organization pulling in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time” says Patrick Lencioni, the author of the book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. This seminar contains research from this book, which most business schools use today.
Participants will learn:
- How to get your team to work together
- Why working as a team can provide a competitive advantage
Devious Ethics: Dealing with Snakes in Suits (2 Ethics Credits)
Good people believe everyone else is just like them. They cannot imagine someone could con them or their company and have no guilt or remorse about what they have done. Lack of guilt and empathy are key traits of a psychopath. Most of us envision psychopaths to be cold-blooded serial killers who are locked away in prison. However, experts estimate that 4% of corporate executives are psychopaths who may initially appear to be more normal than the rest of us. Psychopaths may present a convincing picture of virtue while helping themselves to money, status and sex while leaving a path of shattered expectations, empty wallets, and broken hearts in their wake. Learn how to recognize and deal with others who have no conscience.
Participants will learn:
- Why some executives have no empathy for others
- How to avoid working with a psychopath
Leaders Eat Last: Ethical Leaders Serve (2 Ethics Credits)
Trust is essential, because without trust, there can be no teamwork. Trust is like oxygen, when it is gone - we suffocate. This session provides a 15-step action plan to gain commitment from your team members, build trust, hold each person accountable and create results for your organization.
Participants will learn:
- Why building trust is an essential part of leadership
- Why true leaders put the needs of their team first
Day 3: December 4 - Keeping Up with Technology
8 CPE Credits
2019 CFO Technology Update (2 Technology Credits)
This session provides a comprehensive update of various technology trends and innovations impacting you, your organization and the accounting profession. Topics will include IoT (Internet of Things), artificial intelligence, data analytics, business intelligence, cloud accounting software and more.
Participants will learn:
- How technology trends could impact your organization
- Why your company might consider cloud accounting software
Blockchain Technology – What Every CFO Should Know (2 Computer Software Credits)
One of the most talked about new technologies that has the potential to significantly disrupt the accounting industry is Blockchain. It is getting a lot of attention from many of the thought leaders in the IT industry. This session will provide you with a practical and easy to understand explanation of Blockchain and the potential applications for it in accounting and finance.
Participants will learn:
- What Blockchain technology does
- Why your company may be implementing blockchain technology in the future
Leverage Big Data and Data Analytics to Make Better Decisions (2 Technology Credits)
Two of the hottest topics in business today are big data and data analysis. For CPAs, the ability to unleash the power of big data and data analytics provides an unprecedented opportunity to enhance their market value. Data analytics tools are getting easier to use and more powerful. CPAs are in a prime position to be the go-to professionals to help businesses use data analytics to make better business decisions. This course provides a primer on what it is all about and how to leverage it.
Participants will learn:
- How big data can provide powerful information.
- Data analytics tools to consider
MS Office 365 - Applications Lightning Round (2 Computer Software Credits)
At last count, there were over 20 unique applications available in the Office 365 bundle. These range from the traditional Office desktop applications such as Excel, PowerPoint, Word, etc., to a whole new generation of cloud-based applications such as OneDrive, SharePoint, Yammer, Delve and more. These newer cloud-based applications will help you transform to a digital business model. This session will provide a high-level review of all the core Office 365 cloud applications, so you can assess the strategic potential for your organization.
Participants will learn:
- Learn about tools that will help transform your business
- Understand how Office 365 works in the cloud.
Day 4: December 5 - Budgets and Projections
8 CPE Credits
Making Predictions (2 Accounting Credits)
We all make predictions in our personal and professional lives. We base our decisions to marry, buy a house, launch a new product or hire staff on expectations about the future. In the past few years, research into improving predictions has advanced. We will look at this research and current best practices in forecasting to help us prepare better budgets and projections.
Participants will learn:
- Why we may make wrong assumptions
- How research about decision making can help us create better budgets
Becoming a Great Predictor (2 Accounting Credits)
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.
Participants will learn:
- Lessons from great forecasters
- How you can improve your projections
Creating Great Projections and Budgets (2 Accounting Credits)
Like going to the dentist or running on a treadmill, we know our organization’s budgeting process is good for us even though most of us dread the process. However, if we truly understand why budgeting is so important, it becomes both easier and less terrifying. This session will examine budgeting pitfalls, ways to avoid budget traps look at ways to improve the budgeting process through better measurement and reporting.
Participants will learn:
- Ideas that can improve your budgeting process
- How to avoid common budgeting traps
Why Black Swan Risks Matter (2 Accounting Credits)
Did you ever hear the phrase, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you”? Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in his book The Black Swan, postulates that it is exactly what we don’t know that can hurt us the most. The risks we need to be most concerned about are the risks we cannot identify or predict. Taleb calls these risks “Black Swans”. This session will discuss some historical black swan events and, more importantly, discuss how financial professionals and their organizations can prepare for a future we cannot even envision.
Participants will learn:
- Why “black swan” risks can catch you by surprise
- How to prepare for risks you cannot predict
Day 5: December 6 - Working with or Serving on a Board
8 CPE Credits
Ethics for Directors: Responsibilities to Your Stakeholders (2 Ethics Credits)
Why are board members responsible for ethics? Why do Boards sometimes fail ethically? This session will discuss these ethical issues and more from the perspective of those working with or serving on a board.
Participants will learn:
- Why board members are responsible for ethics
- Why Boards sometimes fail ethically
Protect Yourself: Legal Responsibilities of Directors (2 Ethics Credits)
The 21st century’s first years have seen unprecedented changes in the roles and demands on our corporate and nonprofit directors. Board members now cope with ever-fuller agendas, greater potential liability, and increasing demands by shareholders, regulators, activists and the government. How should directors respond to these new challenges, and how can they protect themselves in a progressively litigious environment? This session discusses directors’ legal responsibilities, with particular emphasis on audit committee and the audit committee financial expert responsibilities.
Participants will learn:
- Directors’ legal responsibilities
- How directors can protect themselves in a litigious environment
The Role of the Board: Understand How Boards Function (2 Management Credits)
A Board is an integral part of an organization. It provides guidance, insight, and oversight to ensure the organization is meeting the vision and stated goals. In this session we will discuss the responsibilities of the board and how you can be an effective member.
Participants will learn:
- Nature of board members’ responsibilities
- How you can be an effective board member
Working with Your Board and Audit Committee: The CFO’s Perspective (2 Management Credits)
Every CFO should have a close working relationship with their Board and audit committee. You and your board can make each other more informed and effective if you develop a strong working relationship. This session discusses what Boards expect of the CFO and how you can work more effectively with them.
Participants will learn:
- What Boards expect of the CFO and management team
- How the CFO and management team can work with the board