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Agenda topics, timing and speakers subject to change.

Monday, November 13

6:30 am – 5:00 pm

Registration
 

7:15 am - 8:05 am

4 Breakfast Sessions available – 1 CPE credit each

Developing & Reporting your Cybersecurity Risk Response
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Information Technology)
Presented by Crowe Horwath
In this session, cybersecurity and attestation experts from Crowe Horwath will arm you with the information and tools needed to organize and report on the state of your cybersecurity program. Crowe will overview the top threats being faced today, as well as highlight cybersecurity frameworks being used to organize and manage the huge investments being made in cybersecurity controls. Additionally, Crowe will provide insight into the new AICPA SOC for Cybersecurity (C-SOC) reporting tool, which is now providing a path for independent reporting on the maturity of an organization’s cybersecurity efforts.

• Arshad Ahmed, Partner, IT Assurance Service & SOC Practice Leader, Crowe Horwath
• Jared Hamilton, Senior Manager, Risk Consulting Business Unit, Crowe Horwath

 

Valuation Hot Topics
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Specialized Knowledge)
Presented by Duff & Phelps
Join the Duff & Phelps team for a discussion of these topics:

• The PCAOB has issued its proposals related to an auditor’s use of specialists and the required procedures for the audit of fair value measurements.
• The valuation profession has introduced a robust professional infrastructure and instituted self-regulation, with the goal of enhancing credibility and transparency of fair value measurements.  Learn how this may impact you and your organization.
• Recent Fair Value-related developments:
  • Goodwill impairment – from the new simplified goodwill impairment test rules to take-aways from our annual goodwill impairment study.
  • Salient points from the discussions of the working group drafting an AICPA Accounting and Valuation Guide on business combinations.  
  • Our views on the post-implementation review of fair value guidance in IFRS 13.
  • International valuation standards and their potential impacts

• Myron Marcinkowski, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Duff & Phelps
• Jouky Chang, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Duff & Phelps

 

Lease Accounting Change – What You Need to Know for Your Implementation
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Accounting)
Presented by KPMG

• Marybeth Shamrock, Advisory Partner, KPMG

Best Practices: Performance Management Reporting Strategies to Improve Business Results
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Information Technology)
Presented by Workiva
Dave Pelland, Managing Director of Research at FERF, and Joseph Howell, Co-founder and Executive Vice President at Workiva, Inc., will lead a panel of reporting experts. They will discuss key findings from FERF and NACD research on how companies are successfully using performance management strategies to:

• Increase the speed, agility, and accuracy of critical reporting processes
• Improve the organization, analysis, and utility of information from multiple sources
• Take full advantage of critical, non-financial measures
• Enhance organizational performance in a competitive market

• Joseph Howell, Co-founder and EVP, Strategic Initiatives, Workiva, Inc.
• Dave Pelland, Managing Director, Research, Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF)
• Ed Young, Director, Group World Class Finance at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

 

8:10 am – 8:20 am

Welcome & Opening Remarks
 

8:20 am – 9:10 am

The Role of the FASB in Accounting Change Disruption
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Accounting)
While it may appear the work is done after the standard is written, the reality is the FASB monitors implementation and offers support even after the effective date. Accounting change starts and ends with the FASB.

Hear from FASB Board members as they discuss current and future initiatives. In addition to discussing recently released standards, exposure drafts, and updates of Emerging Issues Task Force activities, they will discuss how the Board is providing support to preparers in an effort to ease unnecessary disruption as they adopt some of the biggest accounting standards updates in history. How has the FASB managed their own disruption to meet the needs of their constituents?

• Amie Thuener, Vice President and Chief Accountant, Alphabet

• Marsha Hunt, Board Member, Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB)
• Marc Siegel, Board Member, Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB)

 

9:10 am – 10:00 am

Robots and AI in the Financial Suite
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Accounting)
Advanced technology, data analytics, artificial intelligence and robotic process automation have been embraced throughout the organization. But can that make a difference in finance and accounting?

How are senior-level financial executives using advanced technologies on a daily basis? Attendees will discover how technologies are automating processes, eliminating human error, and expediting processes. Live demonstrations will make you wish this future of finance was a reality today.

• Frank Brod, Corporate VP, Finance and Administration, and Chief Accounting Officer, Microsoft Corporation

• Ronald Edmonds, Controller and Vice President of Controllers and Tax, Dow Chemical Company
• Fran Exley, Partner, EY 
• Keith Goodwin, Vice President, Finance and Q2C Transformation, IBM Corporation
• Alice Jolla, Assistant Corporate Controller, Microsoft Corporation

 

10:00 am - 10:30 am

Networking Break in Exhibit Hall
Sponsored by

10:30 am – 11:00 am

FX – Do You Really Understand the Impact on Your Organization?
(0.5 CPE credit | Field of Study – Accounting)
All multinationals are affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. How many, though, truly understand the challenges involved to identify, measure and manage these impacts?

Current foreign currency disclosures are often insufficient and many organizations, investors, and analysts are challenged when it comes to analyzing the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.

In this session, we will seek to demystify the underlying causes off foreign currency volatility in today’s markets while uncovering best practices in communicating and disclosing the true underlying impacts and risks. We’ll also discuss what can or should be done to manage and communicate those risks.

• Rob Royall, Partner, Financial Accounting Advisory Services, EY
• Jon Tkach, Director, Barclays

 

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Fire Side Chat with Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Specialized Knowledge)
Led by the accelerating pace of technology, new market entrants, and the growing shift to a consumer focused marketplace - the health care industry is undergoing transformation. Bertolini will explain how his company is transforming to meet the evolving needs of health care consumers.
Moderator:

• Heather Dixon, VP, Assistant Controller, Aetna

• Mark Bertolini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Aetna

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Networking Luncheon in Exhibit Hall
Sponsored by

1:10 pm - 2:00 pm

Fire Side Chat with Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Specialized Knowledge)
A cornerstone to Johnson & Johnson’s mission is to embrace innovation by bringing ideas, products, and services to life. With $72,531 million in annual revenue and over 130,000 employees worldwide, J&J must not only react to disruption, but become a disruptor across all industries. Gorsky will share his 30 years of industry experience and explain how J&J has remained one of only a handful of companies that have flourished through more than a century of change.

• Alex Gorsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson & Johnson

• Andrej Suskavcevic, President and Chief Executive Officer, Financial Executives International (FEI)

 

2:00 pm – 2:50 pm

Matching Internal Controls to Real Life Change 
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Accounting)
Preparers have not successfully enacted any change until they have also implemented effective internal controls. This session will discuss the role of internal controls amid change and explore how preparers are managing the implementation of effective controls over new standards. We’ll also hear from the PCAOB on their latest activities, and addressing how ICFR is changing as companies and auditors move towards greater automation and dependence on digital data.

• Ronald Edmonds, Controller and Vice President of Controllers and Tax, Dow Chemical Company

• Matthew Doyle, Chief Auditor, KPMG
• Jeanette Franzel, Board Member, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
• Catherine Ide, Senior Director of Professional Practice, Center for Audit Quality
• Marc Panucci, Deputy Chief Accountant, Office of the Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

 

2:50 pm - 3:20 pm

Networking Break in Exhibit Hall
 

3:20 pm – 4:10 pm

Disrupting Audit: A Battle for Relevance 
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Auditing)
The demands on auditors are continuing to increase as firms work to respond to their own constantly changing environment, which includes increased regulatory oversight and an evolving client base. How do the audit firms continue to stay relevant and innovate to meet the needs of their clients?

Hear directly from audit firms as they share what they are doing to maintain relevance, as well as what a future auditor looks like and explore:

• How the firms continue to train and develop their staff to keep pace with innovations in the audit.
• How big data and data analytics will change the way auditors conduct an audit and evaluate effectiveness.
• What role automation, robotics, blockchain and other technologies will play in the future.
• What investments the firms are making and where they see the greatest value in helping meet the needs of clients.
• How auditors are responding to changes in regulation including PCAO B oversight of the profession.
• Where audit firms see their biggest risks and uncertainties.
• What role auditors play in cybersecurity, sustainability and other non-financial assurance areas.
   

Moderator:

• Sarah Ovuka, Professional Accounting Fellow, Financial Executives International

• Michael Baccala, Principal, PwC
• Roger O’Donnell, Partner, Audit, KPMG
• Jon Raphael, Chief Innovation Officer, Deloitte & Touche LLP
• Hermann Sidhu, Partner, Global Assurance, EY

 

4:10 pm – 5:00 pm

The Controllers' Roundtable
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Accounting)
The role of the controller is changing. In the past, the controller generally worked independently of the CFO. Now the two are often seen side by side, managing the strategic and operational initiatives of companies. Controllers cannot afford to only do what is expected of them, they must constantly be doing more.

This panel of controllers will discuss how they have managed the dramatic changes in their roles over the past few years, while still fulfilling their specific obligations as controller. We will discuss how controllers’ strategic priorities today compare to that of five years ago, how their skillsets have changed and continue to change, and what the trickledown effect of all of this means for preparers.

• Erik Bradbury, Partner, Financial Accounting Advisory Services, EY

• Catherine Hoovel, Corporate Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, McDonald’s Corporation
• Rich Levy, Executive Vice President and Controller, Wells Fargo
• Thomas Roos, SVP and Chief Accounting Officer,  UnitedHealth Group

 

5:00 pm - 6:15 pm

Evening Networking Reception in Exhibit Hall
Sponsored by

 

Tuesday, November 14

6:30 am – 2:00 pm

Registration

7:15 am - 8:10 am 

4 Breakfast Sessions available – 1 CPE credit each

Appetite for Innovation: What’s on the Audit “Menu” for Private Companies
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Auditing)
Presented by Deloitte 
Innovation is the future, and for many private companies, the future is now. Join this session to learn how innovation is rapidly changing the audit profession, and what this transformation can mean for private companies. Participate in discussion with your peers around the impact of audit innovation and how it can change the way private companies view the future. Engage in this thought provoking discussion, fulfilling your appetite for growth and transformation.

• Mark Davis, National Managing Partner, Deloitte Private Enterprises
• Joe Maneri, Senior Manager, Deloitte & Touche LLP

 

The Transformative Age of Finance. Are you ready to Take the Leap?
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Finance)
Presented by EY

New technology and behavioural shifts are transforming the way we do business, and responding to the disruption they cause has become one of the biggest strategic imperatives facing executives today. In a world where everything is changing, organizations may find that their biggest risk is standing still.

Future-focused finance leaders see the change as an opportunity that can propel finance into the transformative age. Analytics, cloud and robotic process technologies can enable the finance function to add more value to the business by providing insight to the future, at speeds much faster than today. 

Finance can become the trust-giver to a wider group of stakeholders around non-financial information, much in the same way as Finance provides trust and confidence for investors around financial data. Insights can be delivered in real-time, at a greatly reduced cost with higher levels of automation. The size and shape of finance likely will change, as well as its role in the business and the value it provides. 

In this session, our panel will share their perspectives on how the finance function can play a more strategic and transformative role. They will examine what it means for finance to take a leap forward by addressing several critical questions:

• Do you have a compelling vision for your finance organization that addresses the needs of all your stakeholders?
• Are you prepared for changes in what you need to report and how often?
• How can your finance function embrace innovation and technology more strategically?
• What does the changing role mean for people within the finance function? What new skills are needed?
• How do you maintain control in an increasingly automated environment?

• Myles Corson, Americas Markets Leader, Financial Accounting Advisory Services, EY
• Colleen Darragh, VP and Controller, United States Steel Corporation
• Tony Klimas, Partner, EY

 

Be a Hero: Drive Up Free Cash Flow as Well as Reporting Accuracy and Efficiency
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Finance)
Presented by Greenlight Technologies

With the increasing pressure to better manage working capital with improved reporting and forecast accuracy, finance executives are quickly researching and adopting technologies to support their understanding of the key business drivers that impact cash. Their in-depth analysis and timely insights give the organization a unique perspective on how to make meaningful improvements. This breakfast session will discuss real-life business examples of ways companies are leveraging new technologies and financial related analytics to:

• increase visibility, quality and speed of information
• ensure accurate reporting and forecasting on cash flow and other measurements 
• improve monitoring of end-to-end processes to make sustainable improvement
• contribute to the ongoing internal initiatives for automation of the Finance function

• Mark Kissman, Chief Financial Officer, Greenlight Technologies

Acquisition Planning and Accounting Best Practices
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Specialized Knowledge)
Presented by SmartPros, A Kaplan Company
This session is designed to provide an overview of the merger and acquisition planning process and highlight some best practices. It will provide a summary of the steps involved in completing due diligence, executing the deal, and integrating the acquired components, and it will outline the acquisition accounting models. The session will highlight some common pitfalls that can cause complications with the execution of a deal and difficulties in the acquisition accounting process, and it will discuss best planning practices designed to circumvent these difficulties resulting in a smoother acquisition process and more reliable acquisition accounting records.

• Amanda Shepherd, Product Director, Loscalzo Institute, A Kaplan Company

 

8:10 am - 8:15 am

Opening Remarks
 

8:15 am – 8:35 am

The Chief Accountant Speaks: Wesley Bricker, Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
(0.5 CPE credit | Field of Study – Accounting)
 

8:35 am – 9:25 am

Regulating Disruptions: Discussion with the Deputies 
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Accounting)
In this session, we will hear from SEC Deputy Chief Accountants on current financial reporting issues including a focus on key accounting changes and their own perspectives on the state of adoption of the new standards.

• Daniel Murdock, Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller, Comcast Corporation

• Marc Panucci, Deputy Chief Accountant, Office of the Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• Sagar Teotia, Deputy Chief Accountant, Office of the Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

 

9:25 am – 10:15 am

Financial Reporting Priorities from the Security Exchange Commission’s CorpFin Team 
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Accounting)
In support of the SEC’s mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets and facilitate capital formation, the Division of Corporation Finance seeks to ensure that investors are provided with material information in order to make informed investment decisions on an ongoing basis.

Quarter after quarter, the Division of Corporation Finance monitors the filings of public companies and provides comment letters responses. In this panel, you will hear directly from the Division on the most recent trends including segment reporting, disclosures for the adoption of new standards (SAB 74s), non-GAAP financial reporting, as well as best practices and current initiatives of the Division and expectations for future rule changes.

• Sam Eldessouky, SVP, Controller and CAO, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International

• Mark Kronforst, Chief Accountant, Division of Corporate Finance, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• Kyle Moffatt, Associate Director - Disclosure Standards Office, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

 

10:15 am – 10:45 am

Networking Break in the Exhibit Hall
 

10:45 am – 11:35 am

Disrupting Accounting Practice: Lessons Learned from the Leases Standard
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Accounting)
Accounting change isn’t just for spreadsheets anymore – adoption requires investment, controls and process change. With the proliferation of new standards, how are organizations dealing with these overarching changes on top of all the other new standards? This session will focus on lessons learned from ASC 842 implementation. We will hear from preparers who have taken substantive steps to implement the new lease accounting standard:

• Implementation Team Setup - Who from various parts of the organization should be included in your internal adoption team
• Technology Challenge - How to go about selecting a vendor, what questions should we be asking
• Key Accounting Policy Decisions - What key accounting policy decisions to make including, transition and practical expedients
• Technical Accounting Challenges - Top technical accounting issues faced, when to involve auditors, unintended/unexpected technical issues
• Communication and Disclosure - How to communicate changes, SAB 74 disclosures and other communication challenges.

• Daryl Buck, National Managing Partner, Accounting Advisory Services, Grant Thornton LLP

• Sandra Melocik, Senior Accounting Policy Advisor, Exxon Mobil
• Gregg Nelson, Vice President and Chief Accountant, IBM Corporation

 

11:35 am – 12:25 am

Disrupting Careers: The Next Generation Accountant 
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Specialized Knowledge)
The role of the accountant is changing, but are corporate training programs and universities keeping up? Understanding the debits and the credits only brushes the surface of what today’s accountant needs to know. This session will explore the ways the role of the accountant is changing, the new skill set thatis required of accountants, and how accountants will be trained differently to keep pace. The key to understanding this change is to know how it is affecting both internal development of talent and skill development, and external sourcing of talent. This session will explore questions such as:

• How are our universities transforming to keep up?
• What qualities are critical for CAOs and CFOs, and how has that changed?
• Where is the talent coming from?
• What are recruiters hearing on their end?
• What is the new relationship accounting needs to have with finance? Accounting and data analytics?
• Why do audit firms continue to get first dibs on talent?

• Sharon Virag, VP, Assistant Controller, Aetna

• Michael Fenlon, Chief People Officer, PwC
• Stephen Rivera, Vice President, Global Technical Accounting Advisory Services and Policy,  Johnson & Johnson
• Joel von Ranson, Partner, Spencer Stuart
• Jeff Wilks, Ph.D., EY Professor and Director, Brigham Young University’s School of Accountancy

 

12:25 pm – 1:25 pm

Networking Luncheon in Exhibit Hall
 

1:25 pm – 2:15 pm

The Disruptors Panel: How Organizational Leaders Can Survive
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Specialized Knowledge)
From the emergence of streaming video to self-driving cars, new technologies and business models are disrupting how we do business today and changing the way we think about our existing practices and customer interactions. Corporations are digging deep to invest in emerging companies just to have a ‘piece of the pie’ and stay ahead of the innovation curve.

In this session we’ll learn from business development executives in various industries to understand what emerging trends are going to affect the way we do business moving forward and what lessons can be learned. We’ll also explore the impact this might have on the finance organization and how companies can be prepared and adapt their finance organizations for the disruptive changes.

• Jim Campbell, VP, Corporate Controller, Google

• Daniel Doctoroff, CEO, Sidewalk Labs
• Yasmin Green, Head of Research and Development, Jigsaw
• Bruce Haymes, Managing Director, Nielson Ventures
• Meredith McCormick, SVP, Digital Cross Platform & Operations Executive, Bank of America

 

2:15 pm – 3:05 pm

The Financial Reporting Triad: Effective Communication Among Management, Auditors and Audit Committees
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Finance)
Quality financial reporting is the result of effective coordination and communication between and among management, the auditors and the audit committee. Each party plays a crucial role in ensuring that companies produce accurate and reliable financial information for the investing public, and other users of financial statements.

During this session, learn from leaders in each of the critical areas of the financial reporting and oversight process. Hear directly from leading experts in management, internal and external audit, and the audit committee as they share best practices.

Key topics of interest to discuss:

• Key areas of concern and focus—what can go wrong and how to work through issues together
• Managing the changes of major new accounting standards
• Working effectively with auditors and when to “bring them into the conversation”
• Internal controls – how to work together to maintain a strong internal control environment
• Risk oversight – how to develop a risk-aware culture and manage approach, and communicate about risks effectively
• Evolving technology and how it affects financial systems and auditing
• Changes to the auditor reporting model and how communication will be affected by this major change in audit practice moving forward
• Required communications - Is the existing reporting framework sufficient? Are there areas of required communication that should be enhanced, required communications that should be eliminated or that get in the way of more important areas of focus?

• Leslie Seidman, Executive Director, Center for Excellence in Financial Reporting, Lubin School of Business at Pace University

• Joan Amble, President, JCA Consulting, LLC
• Michelle DeBella, Global Head of Internal Audit, Uber
• John Rhodes, Partner, Deloitte
• Linda Zukaukas, EVP, Corporate Controller, American Express

 

3:05 pm – 3:20 pm

Stretch Break
 

3:20 pm – 4:10 pm

Everything You Want to Know About Corporate Tax Reform But Were Afraid to Ask 
(1 CPE credit | Field of Study – Tax)
The recent discussion between the U.S. administration and key members of Congress of fundamental tax reform has highlighted potential changes to tax law that may have implications for the financial accounting for income taxes. In this session we’ll explore where tax reform is headed and discuss key questions:

• When can we expect something tangible from Congress and where are we now?
• What are the next steps and timing from the Hill?
• What opportunities do corporations have to prepare for what could come?
• What are the impacts of some of the sweeping fundamental changes that are being discussed?

 Moderator:

• Erik Corwin, Principle, KPMG

• Patrick Brown, VP of Tax, GE Power & Water
• Joe Gagliano, SVP of Global Tax, American Express

4:10 pm

Closing Remarks and Adjournment