Beyond the EDGE: Twitter Enhances CPA Conference Experience

Last week, I attended the AICPA E.D.G.E. conference in Orlando, Fla., and was excited to see some conference attendees all-a-flutter over Twitter. In fact, several speakers and attendees were chatting and getting to know each other on Twitter before the conference even started.

When I arrived in the exhibit hall, the first person I met, one of the conference speakers, said, “Hey. I recognize you from Twitter. It’s so nice to meet you in person.”  Next, I met an exhibitor who said the same thing; he had immediately recognized me from my profile picture. Since I had already had interactions with both of them online, we had an immediate rapport when meeting offline. Strengthening online relationships by connecting in person is just one of many ways using Twitter can enhance a conference experience.

In the News: Pathways Commission Releases Report on Future of Accounting Education

Both Accounting Today and Inside Higher Education covered the release of a new report from the Pathways Commission on Accounting Higher Education. The Commission, put into place in 2010 and co-sponsored the by the AICPA and the AAA, was tasked with studying the future structure of higher education related to accounting and developing recommendations to engage and maintain the strongest possible academic community in accounting. Their report summarizes two years of collective effort by more than 50 individuals representing a diverse array of stakeholders in the accounting profession.

The report presents seven main recommendations and provides ideas on implementation efforts. The recommendations range from attracting a more diverse population of students to the profession to reforming accounting education so that teaching is respected and rewarded. Additionally, the commission recommended establishing an implementation process to address their suggestions by creating a continuous, sustainable process.

In the News: Accounting Firms Regain 87% of Jobs Lost During the Recession

This week’s ‘In the News’ post comes from the AICPA and CPA/SEA Interchange conference in St. Louis. I’ve been learning a lot at the sessions and having a good time networking with my colleagues at the state societies and sharing ideas and information. There has been a lot going on in the profession recently and I’ve been trying my best to stay on top of it all. I’ve highlighted a few of the more interesting articles I’ve seen in the past week and shared them with you below. If you see something that you think was particularly important, send me an email or let me know in the comments section.

Wise Advice from the New Kid

What’s the best advice to give virtually anyone starting a new job? Corey Cines, blogger with the AICPA’s This Way to CPA website, wrote “From Backpack to Briefcase: How I handled the jump into Public Accounting,” to offer his tips for starting life as a firm newbie. It’s excellent advice for any young CPA looking to build a foundation in accounting. Not only that, Corey’s great advice also applies to anyone transitioning into a new role or a new organization.

Asking “dumb” questions, staying positive and practicing stress relief: these are just some of Corey’s gems for getting the lay of the land.

We asked several AICPA CPAs on staff what advice they wish they had gotten when they first entered the accounting workforce. Here are some tidbits:

When Opportunities Abound, Follow Your Passion

When should you make the transition from public accounting to business and industry? That’s the question Dan Griffiths tackles in his latest blog post on ThisWaytoCPA.com, the AICPA’s hub for college students, CPA candidates and newly-minted CPAs. Touching on the core skillset that public accounting provides a young professional, Griffiths makes the argument that opportunities exist in all areas of business. What’s important is that CPAs pursue the opportunities they are most passionate about.

Maximo Mukelabai’s Legacy Paves Way for Future Leaders

Last summer, the CPA profession lost a young champion, a dedicated volunteer and a tenacious leader—Maximo Mukelabai. Only 36, Maximo passed away unexpectedly, leaving behind two young daughters and a loving wife. Maximo was passionate about being a CPA. In fact, his enthusiasm for and devotion to his work, led him to become the youngest professional and first African-American to chair the NCACPA’s board of directors.

In the News: Accounting named one of the Happiest Jobs in America

We’ve got a lot of big things on the horizon at the AICPA: April Financial Literacy Month (we’ll be releasing survey results on the financial state of Americans) and in mid-May, we’ll be celebrating the 125^th Anniversary of the AICPA at our Spring Council meeting in Washington D.C.

Which is not to say that we’ve haven’t been busy lately! Just in the last week we released the results of our CGMA Global Economic Forecast and Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, president and CEO of the AICPA, testified before the House Capital Markets Subcommittee Accounting and Auditing Oversight Hearing. Melancon told members of the subcommittee that AICPA supports a strong, balanced and independent regulatory structure that protects investors but does not restrict the flow of capital.

During busy season and year-round, you can keep abreast of all the most important AICPA news by subscribing to the Media Relations RSS feed or following @AICPANews on Twitter. On to news of note from the last few days.

Use Video to Showcase Your Firm’s Personality

Lights. Camera. Snooze.

Video is a great medium for firms to educate and inform staff, clients and potential employees. But sometimes the content can be a little mundane. Why not take those formal interviews and how-to series to the next level?

Pull back the curtain and let people know what you are really like. 

Put a face to your firm. What are your employees passionate about? Is volunteerism important to you? Showcase your staff or fellow CPAs giving back to the community, like the Virginia Society of CPAs and the Illinois CPA Society did in their CPA Day of Service videos.

 

In the News: Accounting Graduates Earn 20% More than Average

The National Association of Colleges and Employers recently released the findings of their latest Job Outlook survey, which contained good news for current accounting students as well as recent accounting graduates. According to the survey, accounting majors who graduated in 2011 earned an average starting salary of $50,500, up 3.7 percent from the previous year and roughly 20 percent more than the average starting salary of all graduates. This increase isn’t an anomaly, according to Andrea Koncz of NACE, who told FINS.com that "entry-level accounting and finance jobs tend to see steady growth from year to year."

Chair's Letter: Resources for a Successful Future

What’s your dream, your long-term professional goal, your plan for the future of your career? I ask because whatever your answer, I’m pretty sure the AICPA has resources that can help you meet that goal. I’ll tell you about my own experience.

After spending many years at a large national accounting firm, I joined with two other partners nine years ago to follow my dream and launch my own firm. Today, we have three offices and 100 people. How were we able to grow so quickly into the kind of firm we dreamed of being? I have to give some of the credit to the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section. PCPS serves in a combination of roles, providing tools, publications and resources created especially for small and medium-sized firms. It also acts as an advocate on behalf of our interests, speaking out on issues that affect us and our clients.

HOTI: Carrier IQ; 12 Days of Christmas Gets Expensive

We asked our bloggers to tell us what they found interesting on the Internet this week. What would you add to this list?

Heidi Brundage, CPA - I found the Gen X & Gen Y Insurance Resource Center to be fascinating! Long-term disability has always been such a mystery to me because I’d never imagine myself becoming disabled. This website breaks down the issues, questions and solutions into organized and understandable chunks and they relate directly to me! I’m really impressed (and enlightened).

Jina Etienne, CPA - I re-tweeted this post from the Colorado Society of CPAs, it generated a lot of interest and comments. “So... what's so great about being a CPA? 5 reasons here.” I even got a response from a former client whom I had recommended get her CPA. She’s finishing up school now and will take the CPA Exam next winter!

Technology is Now Part of the CPA Base

I recently had the privilege to serve on the CPA Horizons 2025 Advisory Panel.  As part of the panel we were asked to review and comment on the research conducted to update the CPA Vision Project, completed in the late 1990s, to position the CPA profession for success through 2025. One of the key findings was that technology is no longer a CPA Core Competency.  Your reaction may be like mine, “WHAT??!!?”  However, as I read on, it became very clear that technology is no longer a Core Competency (a differentiator) for CPAs.  Rather it is a part of our base--it is a tool that we must leverage as part of the way that we work on a day-to-day basis—and no longer something separate that was only the domain of a specialist. 

Social Media and Job Seekers

Dear Smarty Pants, Braggarts and Potty-Mouths… A word to the wise: you never know who is listening.

I am often taken aback by the things I see people posting on social media. I understand the need to vent or an attempt to be funny, but what you put out there in the public domain could be costing you your career. In a recent survey, 95% of employers said they use social media to screen potential employees. Yes, 95%! Yikes. From inappropriate photos and comments about previous employers to proof an applicant was less than truthful about qualifications… employers are getting an eye full!

Reflections on the AICPA’s Leadership Academy

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the AICPA’s Leadership Academy—as a member of its third class—in Durham, NC. I was among 33 participants under the age of 36. The Academy started off like many seminars do in this mobile age, with participants glued to our smartphones and somewhat disconnected from our surroundings. But that disconnection would be short-lived.

The mood transitioned quickly to one of collaboration and engagement as the instructors—Gretchen Pisano, president Sounding Board Ink, LLC, Tom Hood, CPA, executive director and CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and Jeannie Patton, AICPA vice president - students, academics & membership—began the Insight to Action process. We broke up into three groups to tackle three challenging real-life scenarios in business, non-profit and personal relationships. These tasks forced us to focus on the strengths of our characters, utilizing the i2A Strength Based Leadership program that we had been introduced to during our preconference workshops. The program coaches participants for leadership, teaching them self-awareness techniques, how to work from a source of natural strength and how to inspire their team to do the same.

3 Tips on Effective Writing

Edward Everett could have been famous.

He gave the official address back in 1863 at the dedication of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  It was 13,000+ words and lasted more than two hours.  

By contrast, Abraham Lincoln’s speech was about 200 words and lasted 2 minutes.

Which did history remember?

I used this example during a presentation last week on effective written communication at the E.D.G.E. conference in New Orleans. Too often in business we end up communicating like Everett. Here are three tips — I call them the 3Cs of communication — to make us more like Lincoln.

In the News: Debt-Ceiling, College Tuition, EDGE

This week’s post comes from Palm Beach, Florida, where I’ve been attending  the AICPA & CPA/SEA Interchange 2011 conference the past few days. It’s been a great experience learning about the issues impacting the profession, including informative forward-looking presentations from Barry Melancon, CPA, president and CEO of the AICPA and Paul Stahlin, CPA, AICPA chairman. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to meet so many of my colleagues from the state CPA societies around the country and learn about the projects they’ve been working on.

Now, on to the news.

In the News: PCGAAP, Protecting Elderly Clients

Paul Stahlin, CPA, AICPA chairman, wrote an editorial titled ‘One-Size GAAP’ Does Not Fit All for The CPA Journal, a New York State Society of CPAs publication, on the need for differences in accounting standards for privately-held companies. Stahlin highlights the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Private Company Financial Reporting, including the creation of a separate board with standards-setting authority under the Financial Accounting Foundation’s oversight and changes and modifications to existing U.S. GAAP, where appropriate, for private companies.