Shows
Future-Proof231. Risk ready: What CPAs can’t afford to ignore, with Nicole GrahamRisk is evolving quickly, and CPAs need to stay ahead. In this episode of Future Proof, we talk with Nicole Graham, risk consultant at Aon, about how firms can turn risk management into a strategic advantage.From cyber threats and regulatory changes to the everyday use of generative AI, Nicole shares real-world trends and practical tips to help firms stay protected. Learn how to spot red flags early, strengthen engagement practices, and embed a proactive risk culture across your team.Smart risk management isn’t optional, it’s essential to building a future-ready firm.Re...2025-06-2352 min
Future-Proof230. Find your purpose, change the world, with Paul DunnThis week on Future Proof, Paul Dunn, award-winning entrepreneur, global business leader, and founder of B1G1 (Business for Good), joins the conversation to explore the true purpose of the accounting profession.Paul challenges CPAs to shift from focusing on what they do to why they do it. He shares how small, purpose-driven actions can create lasting impact and how accountants can become storytellers who communicate the real value of their work. His message is clear: CPAs are heroes (they just don’t always realize it).This uplifting episode is a powerful reminder of how pu...2025-06-161h 08
Future-Proof223. The critical importance of CPA advocacy, with Maryland Sen. Brian FeldmanMaryland's General Assembly is in session, facing a significant budget deficit. In this episode, State Senator Brian Feldman, CPA, breaks down the tough decisions ahead, including the potential taxation of professional services. He emphasizes why legislative advocacy is crucial for CPAs, who can influence tax policy and business decisions. Senator Feldman also explains how Maryland’s legislative process is accessible, offering CPAs a chance to make a real impact. We also discuss how Maryland’s economic, energy, and environmental policies will shape the future, making it vital for CPAs to be involved.Resources:Brian J. Feldman, Mary...2025-01-1341 min
Future-Proof218. CPA: The C is for 'cool', with Carla McCallIn this episode, we discuss the need to change the narrative around what it truly means to be a CPA.I’m joined by Carla McCall, the 2024-25 Chair of the AICPA, to explore how the accounting profession can attract new talent by focusing on purpose and passion rather than just tasks and hours. By highlighting the “why” behind accounting—what makes it exciting, meaningful, and impactful—we can inspire the next generation to see the true value of a career in this field.Carla’s views perfectly align with the MACPA’s “Purpose of a CPA” campaign...2024-08-2927 min
Future-Proof217. Cutting ties with clients, with Robert AlbertiniThis week, we're tackling a challenging yet crucial topic: when and how to fire a client. Some clients can end up costing more in time, effort, and frustration than the value they provide. Letting them go can sometimes be the best decision for your business. However, this process is not to be taken lightly—there are numerous pitfalls to avoid and best practices to follow. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources to make it easier.Joining me this week is Robert Albertini, an account manager at Aon, which has been a longtime partner of MACPA. With over 25 ye...2024-08-0631 min
Future-Proof215. Looking back ... and ahead, with Barry MelanconThis week's episode is about TRUST. We must rely on trust as we navigate change.Our guest is Barry Melancon, who will be retiring as long-time President and CEO of AICPA as of December 31, 2024. Barry has been the "face" of the profession for decades.This transition is another example of great change in our profession. Since Barry has been leading change, and has been teaching our profession to navigate shifts, we are all better prepared even for this particular moment in our profession.Join us as we talk about the state of the...2024-07-2233 min
Future-Proof214. Kitchen-table A.I. automations, with Ashley FrancisThis week, we're diving back into the world of AI to uncover some practical ways this technology can take over tasks that are consuming too much of your time. At a recent MACPA Town Hall, 64% of accounting professionals admitted they haven't tried generative AI tools. Many might think they're not using AI at all, but the reality is they're likely interacting with it daily through virtual assistants, shopping recommendations, music playlists, facial recognition, and more.To help us embrace AI more actively, we speak with Ashley Francis, a seasoned CPA, Microsoft MVP, featured speaker, and passionate AI...2024-06-2452 min
Future-Proof213. Tech's impact on tax, with Andrew HatfieldA decade ago, there were predictions that certain accounting jobs would be replaced by automation. Now, in the age of AI, we're still here and thriving. Today's conversation focuses on how we can collaborate with technology to enhance our work and deliver greater value to clients. To delve into this topic, I spoke with Andrew Hatfield, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of SafeSend, a long-time partner of MACPA. He and his team have released a paper discussing the role of AI, the importance of strengthening tech stacks in accounting firms, the shift from e-sign to e-file, the...2024-06-1039 min
Future-Proof210. Where will the pipeline dust settle? with Lexy KesslerThis week, we're diving into a well known, critical issue gripping our profession: the shortage of CPAs. It's a widespread challenge impacting businesses, causing staffing gaps, burnout, and compromised client service. The scarcity of expertise has escalated workloads, hindered recruitment and retention, and even led some firms to decline work due to insufficient manpower. To combat this, many organizations are resorting to measures like increasing compensation and offering more flexible work arrangements. The profession is undergoing a transformation to adapt and survive.The ramifications extend beyond the accounting realm, influencing how businesses operate at large. Solutions are...2024-04-2229 min
Future-Proof206. Not another leadership book, with Emmanuel GobillotIn this episode, we welcome another longtime friend of MACPA, leadership expert and author of the new book, "This is NOT a Leadership Book: 20 Rules for Success", Emmanuel Gobillot. Emmanuel has been my go to source for all things leadership for many years. I speak to him about leadership as it relates to recruitment and retention, which is top of mind for everyone these days. Where do we find new CPAs? How can we get students interested in accounting again? It's important for leaders to express why our profession is important and why our work matters...2024-02-2648 min
Future-Proof204. Out-of-the-gate A.I. strategies, with Don TomoffIt's great time to talk about A.I. - the 1 year anniversary of ChatGPT just passed which set this whole artificial intelligence ride in motion. While A.I. has been around since the 1950s, it's exponential growth is really marked this past year both with the release of ChatGPT and Google's announcement of their own A.I. model, Gemini. Not long after, lawmakers in the European Union approved the A.I. Act which sets a new global benchmark for countries seeking to harness the benefits of A.I. while trying to protect against it's possible risks such as automating...2024-02-0151 min
Future-Proof203. Investor-friendly audits? with Jack CiesielskiThis week, we have a longtime friend on the show, Jack Ciesielski, CFA, CPA, MACPA member and owner of investment research firm R.G. Associates. Jack was recently quoted in a Wall Street Journal article about former inspectors who are calling for updates in the U.S. public-company auditing process. There are claims that while inspections are a useful tool to detect potential deficiencies in public companies, the reports are limited in scope, lacking details, and not released in a timely process. I speak to Jack about the PCAOB's investor advisory group - what it is and what it...2023-12-0534 min
Future-Proof197. Inspiring next-gen CPAs, with Christine AspellIn this episode, I get a chance to talk with Christine Aspell, the newly appointed chair of MACPA's Board of Directors. MACPA has a long history of pulling in leaders with some of the best diversity of thought in their profession. We lean on these leaders not only to help MACPA serve members but also help our profession flourish as a whole. Christine is Managing Partner and Audit Partner at KPMG's Baltimore office, with 25+ years of experience providing assurance services to clients. She is passionate about the future of this profession, particularly when it comes to diversity...2023-07-2643 min
Future-Proof184. Ethics in A.I., with Enrico PalmerinoIn this episode we're talking about ethics in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Rumblings about the future of AI have been surfacing as well as questions about whether human biases are affecting the decisions AIs are making. Those questions are finding their way into our profession. A recent Accounting Today article reports a growing number of accounting service solutions are using AI for a wide range of applications. The accounting profession has spent $1.5 billion on this type of software in 2021 and is projected to spend $53 billion by 2030, according to a report from Acumen Research & Consulting. The Accounting Today article...2023-01-0234 min
Future-Proof178. Anoop Mehta: A blueprint for growthAnoop Mehta, long time CPA, MACPA member, and just the second Marylander to chair the AICPA, is one of the sharpest, smartest people I know. He is a proponent of greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the accounting and finance world. As an Indian-American who immigrated to the United States with his parents at just 12 years old, Anoop followed a path to a more diverse, inclusive profession. Not only has he followed this path, but he is helping to pave it as we speak. Listen to hear his unique, inspiring, story and the ways in which he's helping make...2022-09-0528 min
Future-ProofRiding out the Great Resignation, with Gabrielle BoscheWhether you like the phrase or not, “The Great Resignation” is real. People are leaving work in droves. That’s presenting challenges for employers. How do we find the right people? How do we keep them? How do we understand what they want?Gabrielle Bosche is a bestselling author, two-time TEDx speaker, and is frequently called upon to speak and consult on millennial motivation and engagements for Fortune 500 Companies, presidential campaigns, and government agencies. She’s also going to be the keynote speaker at the MACPA’s 2022 Business and Industry Conference.She says understanding what employees...2022-04-2532 minFuture-ProofCybersecurity is everyone’s business, with Clar RossoCybersecurity is more important than ever before. This is not just something that business leaders have to worry about. Everyone, from the top to the bottom of your organization, is responsible for cybersecurity.Clar Rosso is the CEO of (ISC)^2, or ISC squared, as it’s written. They bill themselves as the world’s leading cybersecurity professional organization. They have more than 160,000 certified members throughout the world, and they’re committed to helping their members learn, grow, and thrive so they can help keep all of us a little safer. Before joining (ISC)2, she worked in communications for th...2022-02-1433 minFuture-ProofThe importance of legislative advocacy, with Tom HoodIt’s legislative season here in Maryland, and getting involved in the process is more important than ever for the CPA profession.With more changes coming that promise to directly impact the accounting and financing profession than we’ve ever seen, our world is on high alert. We need to stay on top of those changes – which is why it’s nice to have a little help from CPA societies.We take a close look at what’s happening in Annapolis right now, because there are sure to be similar stories playing out in whatever state you’...2022-01-1031 minFuture-ProofBarrett Young ... the strongest CPA you've ever seen?Barrett Young is a partner at Garbelman Winslow CPAs, a firm in Southern Maryland, and a Strongman competitor. You recognize the Strongman brand from those mind-blowing competitions on TV where people lift massive rocks and logs, or pull trucks, or flip huge tires. Those are the kinds of challenges that Barrett thrives on. We talk about how he got into such a heavy passion and how his work in the gym overlaps with his work at the firm.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:macpa.org...2021-11-2930 minFuture-ProofAccounting's future rests with people who care, with Dr. Freeman Hrabowski & Kimberly Ellison-TaylorDr. Freeman Hrabowski is the president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and he recently announced his retirement after three decades at the helm of UMBC. He will officially step down in June 2022. He's a leader in every sense of the word, particularly when it comes to educating and graduating an incredibly diverse and inclusive student body.Joining him is Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, accounting and finance's Wonder Woman. She's former chair of the AICPA, and the Maryland Association of CPAs, and chair of way too many organizations to mention. She's a graduate of UMBC, and she and...2021-09-2137 minFuture-ProofRemembering 9/11We are 20 years out from 9/11, the tragic event that changed everything in the US. We all have our 9/11 stories – the things we remember most when we think back to that fateful day.To mark the occasion, we’re going to hear from some of the leaders in the accounting and finance profession, their stories, where they were when it happened, and how the event has impacted the profession. Those leaders are:AICPA President and CEO, Barry MelanconTom Hood, Executive Vice President of Business Growth and Engagement with the Association of International Certified Professional AccountantsJessica McClain, Controller for...2021-09-1041 minFuture-ProofPeople, Pipeline, Pandemic: A View from the TopBill Pirolli is the new chair of the American Institute of CPAs and a partner with DiSanto Priest & Co., in Warwick, Rhode Island. He gives us his take on the future of the profession, some of the things he has his eye on, and his priorities for the coming year – all of which will impact everyone in the profession.Bill has been thinking about pipeline issues, engaging the next generation of CPAs, keeping interest in the profession strong, and making sure we’re providing tomorrow’s CPAs with the skills they need to thrive. That’s just on...2021-08-1627 minFuture-ProofAnirban Basu and the Chamber of DataAnirban Basu is chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, an economic and policy consulting firm headquartered in the great city of Baltimore, Maryland. He is one of the most popular speakers on the MACPA educational circuit, chair of the Maryland Economic Development Commission, and of the Baltimore County Economic Advisory Committee. He was named one of Maryland’s 50 most influential people. When it comes to the economy, he knows what he’s talking about, so we’re going to take a quick look with him – at Maryland, United States, the COVID factor, housing, all of it – and see what he ha...2021-08-0928 minFuture-Proof147. The future of finance in Maryland, with Lexy KesslerLexy Kessler is the partner in charge of Aronson’s Government Contract Services Group and chair of the AICPA’s PCPS Executive Committee. As of July 1st, she is the new chair of the Maryland Association of CPAs Board of Directors. We’re going to look at her priorities this year and the trends impacting CPAs in Maryland and beyond. Of course, diversity and inclusion in the pipeline are always a focus – however, Lexy is also excited to step into what she calls “MACPA 3.0,” stepping into the opportunities for the association that look ahead, past the current leadership and structural c...2021-07-0523 minFuture-Proof146. The pitfalls and potential of working from home, with Kassi RushingYou would be hard-pressed to think of an area that has a greater impact on the working world than where we work. The pandemic has taken the cat out of the bag – so to speak – and there’s no putting it back. Working from home is here to stay. Now it’s up to us to keep it productive.Kassi Rushing is a communication and people strategist who works with organizations to bring their cultural visions to life. She's got experience and expertise in workplace culture, high-performing teams, diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, leadership and pipeline development, employee...2021-06-2137 minFuture-ProofAs leaders, women rule, with Jacquelyn Tracy and Jessica McClainJacquelyn Tracy is chair of the AICPA's Women's Initiatives Executive Committee. Jessica McClain is a member of the board of directors of the MACPA Foundation, which works to build a diverse talent pipeline to ensure the strength of the CPA profession for years to come.We talk about the excellent work being done by both of these organizations, the role of women in the profession, and why it's crucial that we expand it for future generations.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:linkedin.com...2021-04-1932 minFuture-ProofParting Words from the Founder of the BLI | with Tom HoodThere are some big changes taking place at the Business Learning Institute. Tom Hood, now the former president and CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Business Learning Institute, is the new executive vice president of business growth and engagement for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants — the global arm of the American Institute of CPAs. Before Tom closes out his time with the MACPA, we capture some of his wisdom so that we can learn from it going forward. He talks about where the profession was 24 years ago, how far it’s come in the past...2021-02-0836 minFuture-ProofGeneral Assembly & The Importance of State Legislature | with Tom HoodWhat’s happening at the state level that might have an impact on the accounting and finance world? There’s a lot that’s going on in state capitals across the country that bears watching. Here to talk about all of this is Tom Hood, the president and CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Business Learning Institute. The issues we’re talking about today are things that Tom is watching in Maryland, but these could be issues in any state in the nation. Nearly all states are either dealing with issues like these right now or are watc...2020-12-1424 minFuture-ProofFinance, football and the future of the profession | with Jeff GoeringThe world of financing touches everything—including sports. Jeff Goering is the CFO of the Baltimore Ravens NFL team.He talks about how life as a CFO for an NFL team differs from your typical job in finance—and the ways in which it doesn’t. He also discusses the impact COVID-19 is having on teams, how corporate finance has changed in recent years, and how the role of the CFO has changed right along with it.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:baltimoreravens.commac...2020-11-0254 minFuture-ProofPaying Attention to A.I. and Automation Advancements | with Byron PatrickByron Patrick is a chameleon of sorts, changing his specialty with the times and staying ahead of the curve. He’s a good friend of our host, Bill Sheridan, who met him in 2006 as the Director of IT for KatzAbosch in Maryland. He had just created a virtual office for the firm in an online virtual world called Second Life. Virtual space is a great place to teach and learn, and other platforms have come along since then and proved it right. Byron was thinking about this concept long before anyone else in the profession.He went on...2020-10-1932 min
Future-ProofHow A.I. Will Change Everything | with Alexander HagerupAlexander Hagerup is the founder of Vic.AI, a strategic partner of the MACPA and the Business Learning Institute. Alex is a serial tech entrepreneur based in New York with a strong passion for artificial intelligence.Alex joins us to talk about A.I., and how far we’ve come, and where we are now in terms of the automation possibilities that A.I. gives us. And maybe most importantly, why CPAs should be paying attention to this, and what this technology will do for us that will improve our lives, and the lives of our clients an...2020-10-1226 min
Future-ProofValue Pricing 2.0: Financial Services as a Subscription | with Ron BakerRon Baker has been a vocal evangelist in favor of the concept of value pricing—the idea of charging based on the value you provide, rather than on the amount of time you spend providing it. He has spent more than 20 years trying to convince people in the accounting profession to throw away the timesheet, but now he’s come to the conclusion that there’s something else that may work instead—something he calls the subscription model, “Value Pricing 2.0.” It’s a completely different business model, and one that we all need to be paying very close attention to.To l...2020-09-0737 min
Future-ProofHow Improv Powers Strong Leaders | with Peter MargaritisThe skills involved in mastering improv are the same critical skills for becoming a great leader. Peter Margaritis is a CPA, a thought leader with the Business Learning Institute, and a comedian doing stand up in his free time. He knows all about improv, and more importantly, how it connects to CPAs and finance professionals. Good leadership requires connecting with and listening to others, being in the moment, being flexible, and following our intuition, and Peter is going to tell us how all of that comes together through the magic of improv.To learn more, and for...2020-08-3137 minFuture-ProofBuilding a Culture of Autonomy with a Results-Oriented Work Environment | with Jody ThompsonWith so many people working from home, companies are being forced to re-examine how they measure productivity and input. Is time spent in front of the computer really the greatest factor for measuring employee contribution? Jody Thompson co-created the Results-Only Work Environment system, or ROWE, in 2003. Since then, it’s gained global traction and has influenced the cultures of countless organizations around the world, and we’re seeing a resurgence of it now as more and more companies adopt remote working.Remote teams that have adopted ROWE have been responding very positively for one key reason: Autonomy. It’s...2020-08-2440 min
Future-ProofLiving a Happy & Purposeful Life | with Sebastian Terry11 years ago, when Sebastian Terry was 24 years old, he lost a friend. The sudden death shook Sebastian to his core, to the point where he re-evaluated his own life and asked himself, “Am I happy?” His answer was, “No.”Sebastian started looking for more happiness in his life. He wrote down a list of 100 things that he thought might make him happy — 100 things that he wanted to accomplish and that he thought might bring him a sense of joy — and as he started crossing things off his list, other people were inspired by his example. They started...2020-08-1728 min
Future-ProofThe Power of Positive Leadership | with Gretchen PisanoWith everything that’s going on in the world today, it could do us all some good to spend more time on positivity. Gretchen Pisano is co-founder and CEO of pLink Leadership, a group that combines strategy, leadership development, and coaching with a focus on the “link” between the practice of positive psychology and better business results. She’s a professional certified coach, she has a master’s in applied positive psychology, and she’s a student of the teachings of Barbara Fredrickson and Brené Brown.We’ve all dealt with struggles recently. This conversation offers insights that anyone cou...2020-08-1054 min
Future-ProofThe Future Leadership of CPAs | with Tracey GoldenTracey Golden is the new chair of the American Institute of CPAs and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. She’s also a CGMA and an audit partner with Deloitte. In her acceptance speech, after her election, she used the COVID-19 crisis as a backdrop for her thoughts on the role CPAs play as trusted advisors who will help lead us on a financial path forward and through this crisis. Here’s what she said:“We are truly living disruption – not incremental change but a radical break from the familiar. Our profession has a crucial role to play...2020-08-0327 min
Future-ProofThe Power of Subscription Models | with Robbie Kellman BaxterRobbie Kellman Baxter has written the book—quite literally—on the Membership Economy and subscription-based business models. This is the way the world is going. In fact, it’s already gone. And it’s only a matter of time before it makes its way into the CPA profession and starts impacting accounting and finance. In some ways, it already is.Robbie recently released a book called “The Forever Transaction: How to Build a Subscription Model So Compelling, Your Customers Will Never Want to Leave.” And doesn’t that sound appealing? She talks about what a successful subscription model might lo...2020-07-2737 min
Future-ProofHow Associations Can Benefit CPAs | with Tom HoodThe work of associations is right in the name: It’s about connections, it’s about relationships, and it’s about networks. These are the things that associations are designed to provide, and this is the time — a time of true crisis — in which those things are more important than ever. To explore all that an association can do, we sit down with Tom Hood, President and CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Business Learning Institute. He discusses how the work of associations shifted significantly in the face of the pandemic, how members have benefited, and how that w...2020-07-2030 minFuture-ProofThe PPP Flexibility Act & Staying Afloat as a CPA | with Mark KozielMark Koziel has been one of the most prominent voices at the American Institute of CPAs for nearly 15 years. He is executive vice president of firm services for the AICPA and a fixture on Accounting Today’s annual list of the most influential people in the profession. He’s been at the forefront of the profession’s response to the COVID-19 crisis—advocating on behalf of CPAs everywhere when it comes to Paycheck Protection Program loans, the designation as essential workers, and what our clients need from us going forward. We ask him for his perspective on the state of the p...2020-07-1327 min
Future-ProofMaking the Accounting Industry More Inclusive | with Avonette Blanding & Kimberly Ellison-TaylorInclusion remains a huge problem in our profession. As of 2016, just one percent of CPAs employed by public accounting firms were Black. And 0.3 percent of partners at those firms were black. Meanwhile, roughly 13 percent of our country’s population is Black. And the numbers for other people of color weren’t much better. We want our profession to look like the public it serves, but it isn’t close — and it isn’t making much progress, either.Our guests this week, Avonette Blanding and Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, offer some poignant insights that might help us take the first step. Avon...2020-06-2257 min
Future-ProofFinancial Planning Concerns During a Pandemic | with Lyle BensonWhat should we be doing with our money, with our investments, when things are as unpredictable as they’ve been lately? There’s a lot of advice out there — some of it good, some of it bad — and we wanted to speak to someone who knows what he’s talking about to sort it out.Lyle Benson is president of L.K. Benson & Company in Baltimore and a MACPA member who has been at the forefront of advancing planning services for individuals within the profession. He’s served with the AICPA’s Personal Financial Planning Division Executive Committee, the...2020-06-0827 min
Future-ProofAnticipatory Thinking in Uncertain Times | with Daniel BurrusDaniel Burrus is all about one word: Anticipation. How can we anticipate future trends, how can we spot them early, and learn to take advantage of the opportunities those trends provide us? He has written about this skill in his bestselling book “The Anticipatory Organization.” He has built a learning system that’s designed to help us learn how to become more anticipatory. In spite of all of the anticipatory planning and guidance, we are currently struggling through a period of time that few of us could have anticipated — a global pandemic. So what do we do about it...2020-06-0141 min
Future-ProofCOVID-19 is the Great Disruption Accelerator | with David BrayBefore the coronavirus, we talked about disruption as something we had time to prepare for — advances in technology, future laws and regulations, and what will happen when all of the Boomers are gone and the Millennials take over for good. These are things we knew were going to happen, but it seemed we had time to prepare for them.David Bray was one of those people talking about disruption. In January, the AICPA brought David in front of its Executive Roundtable in New York City to talk about disruption and digital transformation and technological advances. He joins us...2020-05-2551 min
Future-ProofTaking Care of Your Employees During Trying Times | with Richard SilbersteinWe are all facing trying times right now — whether you’re working from home, out of a job, or still working in public in the midst of a pandemic. This is a time when humans need to connect more than ever. We’re going to talk about all of that — how to make sure your teams are holding up, that they’re well, that they’re productive, and that they have all the resources they need in this very difficult environment. Facilitating that conversation is Richard Silberstein, the managing partner of SIG (Silberstein Insurance Group). They are experts in human resour...2020-05-0531 min
Future-ProofExtraordinary Leadership in Times of Crisis | with Emmanuel GobillotEmmanuel Gobillot is one of the world’s leading experts on leadership. He’s the best-selling author of a number of great books, including “Leadershift,” “The Connected Leader,” “Follow the Leader,” and “Unleash Your Leader.” He has also recently co-authored a book specfically for this moment in time: “Crisis Leadership: Principles and tactics for success when your world turns upside down.” There aren’t many leaders out there who can help their teams grow and thrive and feel more capable in the middle of a crisis — and we have a lot to learn from those who can.To learn more, and for the c...2020-04-2938 min
Future-ProofThe Building Blocks of Core Confidence | with Kate Boorer and Fiona PearmanLack of self-confidence is a key reason why many of us don’t get what we want — that promotion, that raise, that speaking gig. Our guests this week are trying to change all of that. They are Kate Boorer and Fiona Pearman, two leading Australian business experts who have joined forces to write a book aimed at helping people “own their talents, face their fears, and create their futures.” That’s the sub-head of their extraordinary book Core Confidence. We discuss why that happens, and what we can do with these building blocks to re-tap into that core confidence and walk aw...2020-04-2042 minFuture-ProofUnderstanding the Paycheck Protection Program | with Erik Asgeirsson and Tom HoodThis week we’re talking about the Paycheck Protection Program. A provision of the CARES Act — the massive coronavirus relief bill that was signed into law on March 27 — the PPP is a loan that’s designed to be an incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.We know some of our listeners may be applying for it, and if you are, you probably have a few questions. So we sat down for a conversation with two people who can help put this all into proper context. Erik Asgeirsson is the president and CEO...2020-04-1438 min
Future-ProofMaking the Transition to Remote Work | with Greg RittlerThe world has been slowly transitioning towards remote work, but we are suddenly in an era where many of us have been forced to adopt remote work practices in a very short time. Some of us weren’t ready for this, and we could all use a little guidance in making the leap. Here to help us through that is Greg Rittler, the founder of Blue Ocean Ideas. We learn what it takes to lead a fully-remote team like this under very difficult circumstances, and he has some great insights into how to lead a remote team in an er...2020-04-1327 min
Future-ProofWorking Remotely in the Age of the Coronavirus | with Tina GarzaAmidst all the chaos of the coronavirus, we are all trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy in our day-to-day lives. One way people are trying to maintain as much of the status quo as possible is through remote work. Our guest this week, Tina Garza, has some great guidance for businesses and employees alike when it comes to working remotely and returning to business as usual.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:Accountingprose.comlinkedin.com/in/cristina-tina-garza-small-business-superhero-b5622124/The Coronavirus Outbreak Has Become...2020-03-2333 min
Future-ProofDon’t Panic: The Questions You Need to Ask Yourself About Coronavirus | with Jennifer ElderThe coronavirus has caught everyone’s attention, and not in a good way. Most of what you read out there largely falls somewhere between paranoia and panic and — given the reliability of the “news” we see in our social feeds — that’s not good for anybody. Jennifer Elder of the Business Learning Institute has compiled a list of questions that business leaders can use to help their organizations prepare for the potential impact of the coronavirus. And now is the best time to do it because things are likely to get worse before they get better.To learn more...2020-03-1638 min
Future-ProofHow to Become a Better Anticipator | with Rita McGrathWhen you’re talking about life in an exponential age, there are few skills that are as important as anticipation — the ability to spot future trends early, before they become truly disruptive, and take advantage of the opportunities they offer.One person who truly understands the importance of anticipation is our guest today, Rita McGrath. Rita is a longtime professor at Columbia Business School and a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review. She’s considered one of the world’s top experts on innovation and growth, and her latest book, Seeing Around Corners: How To Spot Inflection Points i...2020-03-0237 min
Future-ProofHow Bots Free Us to Focus on What Matters Most | with Jody PadarBots are the name of the game this week. They are all the rage, and they’re setting their sights on the accounting and finance world. No one knows that more than our guest this week. Jody Padar built her “Radical CPA” brand as chief executive officer of New Vision CPA Group near Chicago. But then, in January she was named vice president of strategy for Botkeeper. We ask Jody about the potential of bots to transform this profession. As a future-focused accounting and finance professional, this is a conversation you need to pay attention to.To learn...2020-02-2430 min
Future-ProofCutting Through the Hype of Blockchain | with Keith NicholsWhen we had a whole show highlighting blockchain last year, the hype around it was sky-high. It was supposed to transform our profession and, in fact, many professions. It seemed like there was no problem that couldn’t potentially be solved through the use of blockchain technology. Now, things have cooled off a bit, but people in our profession are still very interested in how blockchain might transform what we do.Keith Nichols, General Manager for small to mid-size firms with Thomson Reuters, is one of them. Keith was previously Thomson Reuters’ managing director for government, which mean...2020-02-1730 min
Future-ProofThinking Exponentially & Embracing Disruption | With Jeffrey RogersWe spend a lot of time talking about exponential technologies and the disruptive impact they’re having on our world — but today’s guest turns the tables on the mindset and focuses, instead, on the importance of exponential thinking. Jeffrey Rogers is the Principal Facilitator at Singularity University, which is a global learning and innovation community that uses exponential technologies to tackle the world’s biggest challenges.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-rogers-ab368658/Read: “How Will You Me...2020-02-1055 min
Future-ProofInnovation in CPA Firms: Where it Begins & What it Looks Like | with Jonathan KraftchickIn this episode, we’re talking about innovation in CPA firms — and, no, this isn’t the punchline to a knock-knock joke. It’s happening, believe it or not, and on a pretty serious scale.Joining us to about it is none other than Jonathan Kraftchick. Jonathan is the partner of assurance services in the Raleigh office of Cherry Bekaert, where he is known (informally) as the firm’s Innovation Partner and heads up the firm’s Innovation Team. Jonathan has some great insights into what innovation actually looks like in practice within the stereotypically non-innovativ...2020-02-0433 min
Future-ProofPreparing for Tax Season 2020: State Tax Questions Answered by the Maryland Comptroller | with Peter FranchotWe spent last week talking about federal tax issues that you might need to know about as we head into this year’s Busy Season. This week, we’re going to do the same thing — but on the state tax side of the ledger.So we sit down with Peter Franchot, comptroller for the state of Maryland. We also asked some of our MACPA members what questions they have for the comptroller, and we got a ton of responses. We were able to ask a few in this episode, but we hope to share answers to even more o...2020-01-2020 min
Future-ProofPreparing for Tax Season 2020: Cyber Security, New W-4s, TCJA, & More | with Cari WestonSettle in and relax, folks, because this might be your last chance to chill until April.Yeah, tax season is here. And yeah, you’re probably going to be busy — but today’s episode just might help.Our guest is Cari Weston, director of tax practice and ethics for the American Institute of CPAs. She down with our host, Bill Sheridan, at the 2019 Digital CPA Conference to talk about the issues that will be impacting tax pros in 2020. This year, for a change, those issues go well beyond the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.To l...2020-01-1332 min
Future-ProofSupporting & Cultivating New-Gen Accountants | with Monique Malcolm-HayGiven the latest research within the profession — see our recent conversation with Lexy Kessler for details on all of that — there’s one thing that most accounting and finance professionals are thinking about: talent.How to find talent, how to keep it, and how to figure out what the best talent wants in the first place. This last bit is really important, too, because what younger generations want is often different from what the older generations wanted. To learn more about this generational gap and what you can do to attract the best and brightest of the...2020-01-0630 min
Future-ProofWhy Your New Year’s Resolution Should Be Delegation | with Emily MorganThis episode releases on the cusp of a new year — so, if you’re reading this in 2019, we want to wish you a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2020. Here’s to you and yours.Of course, with the new year comes New Year’s resolutions, and there’s one resolution that all accounting and finance professionals (and, really, most people) can benefit from: becoming a better delegator.So we sit down with Emily Morgan, the mastermind behind a group called Delegate Solutions, which offers premium-level virtual assistant services for entrepreneurs. They tackle your distracting to-dos, create a st...2019-12-3028 min
Future-ProofClient Accounting Services: Lessons from a 15-Year CAS Veteran | with Robin ThiemeClient Accounting Services (CAS) are the services that CPAs provide because clients can’t do them, don’t want to do them, or just aren’t good at doing them. It’s that full-menu offering of taking over many of a client’s routine internal accounting chores. The popularity of these services is growing, too — to the extent that a lot of people in the accounting and finance profession consider CAS to be a new line of business, something they need to start exploring to keep up with the competition.But these services really aren’t new at all. S...2019-12-2350 min
Future-ProofHow Public Practice Needs to Transform (Soon) | with Lexy KesslerToday’s episode puts the P in CPA — because we’re talking about public practice! What is going on with CPA firms these days, anyway?Quite a bit, as it turns out. The world is changing, and with every change that the world experiences these days, the folks who work at CPA firms seem to get a double dose of it. They have to figure out how to embrace these changes and disruptions inside their own firms, but at the same time, they have to help their clients figure out what to do about all of this comple...2019-12-1634 min
Future-ProofFuture-Ready Leadership | with Rachel DruckenmillerToday we’re asking an important question that every industry is going to have to ask sooner or later: What does future-focused leadership look like?Our guest, Rachel Druckenmiller, is on a mission to humanize the workplace by igniting intentional leadership. She has made a name for herself nationally in the fields of workplace wellness and culture. In 2019, she was recognized as a 40 Under 40 Game Changer by Workforce Magazine, and in 2018, Employ Humanity named her one of “7 Wellness Leaders Making a Positive Impact.”But all of this — wellbeing, wellness, culture — it all ties directly to leadership...2019-12-0933 min
Future-ProofPlaying the Infinite Game | with Stephen ShedletzkySo you know Simon Sinek? Best-selling author, leadership expert, the people-don’t-buy-what-you-do-they-buy-why-you-do-it guy?Well, he has a new book titled The Infinite Game and our host, Bill Sheridan, has become a bit obsessed with this notion of playing the Infinite Game, of adopting an infinite mindset.So we sat down with Stephen Shedletzky, chief of staff with Simon Sinek’s team at Start With Why. He supports leaders in creating environments where their people feel inspired to go to work, feel safe and valued while they are there, and return home at the end of each...2019-12-0231 min
Future-ProofAre You Designed for Digital? | with Jeanne RossBack in episode 66, we spoke with Matt Loeb about digital transformation, and he brought up a great point — just because you’re enacting some digital solutions doesn’t make you a digital organization. There’s a difference between doing digital and being digital, which is about culture and mindset more than anything else.Jeanne Ross is a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan Research Center for Information Systems Research and co-author of a new book titled Designed for Digital: How to Architect Your Business for Sustained Success. And she says there’s a key reason why your organi...2019-11-2535 min
Future-ProofHow to create a joyful place to work (and why you should) | with Richard SheridanToday’s episode focuses on something a little different. Not the technology that’s going to prepare us for the future, not the hard trends that will affect change in the future, and not why we should stop panicking about AI putting all auditors out of work. Today, we’re talking about joy.Because our guest is Richard Sheridan, co-founder and CEO of Menlo Innovations (and of no relation to our host Bill Sheridan), has written two books on the topic: Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love and Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevat...2019-11-1839 min
Future-ProofOpportunities and challenges of the next Industrial Revolution | with Marchelle Klippenstein and Jameson HughesRiddle me this, Batman: What do you get when you cross exponential advances in technology with an unrelenting regulatory environment?The answer is no joke: what you get, oftentimes, is one big headache. These “hard trends” or “future facts” that futurist Daniel Burrus talks about — the things that we know will happen, with absolute certainty — they’re hard enough to come to grips with individually. But when they cross borders and join forces... well, that’s when our lives really start to get complex.There’s another way of looking at it, though, and our guests today are h...2019-11-1143 min
Future-ProofThe (Uncertain) Future of Audit | with Mark MiklosovicHalloween is over. Autumn is kicking into full gear. And you know what that means — it’s time to talk about audits!Because the future of audit is... uncertain, to say the least. Luckily, we had an opportunity to talk to Mark Miklosovic, the Customer Proposition Strategy Lead for tax professionals at Thomson Reuters, who spends much of his time thinking very critically about the future of this profession.We talk about where audit has been, where it is now, where it is going — and most importantly, what the future of this profession looks l...2019-11-0434 min
Future-ProofThe Why of It All: Addressing Recruitment & Retention Woes | with Alan JagolinzerPretty much every survey under the sun identifies recruitment and retention as one of the top five issues facing accounting and finance organizations today. Everyone is struggling with this and nobody seems to know how to solve it.There are a lot of suggestions being put forward throughout the profession — communicate, be a role model, make your expectations clear, offer a safe working environment, provide a clear career path, build leaders — and that’s all great advice. Yet, no matter how many times we hear this, talent continues to be one of our most pressing problems.So...2019-10-2846 min
Future-ProofWriting: The Future-Ready Skill You Didn't Know You Need | with Bob DeanToday we’re going to talk about something that most accounting and finance professionals probably never give a second thought — writing.Writing is one of those skills that we all take for granted. We all do it in some way, shape, or form every day, so we all assume we’re awesome at it. Maybe even better at it than some of our peers?This is a misconception that happens all the time, in different areas of our life. We can’t all be better than mostly everyone else at most things, but we’ll learn more...2019-10-1441 min
Future-ProofWe’re Getting Disruption Wrong | with Pascal FinettePascal Finette is co-founder of be radical, an organization that teaches leaders how to create new business models for success, positively embrace disruption, and prepare their people to be future-forward and future-ready.He is also chair for Entrepreneurship and Open Innovation at Singularity University, which is a global learning and innovation community that uses exponential technologies to tackle the world’s biggest challenges. He previously held leadership positions at Google, Mozilla, and eBay.Pascal’s focus these days is what the future looks like, as it pertains to the intersection of business and technology. And that...2019-10-0733 min
Future-ProofYour Business Model is Not Your Why | with Will HillSummer’s over, October’s here, and things are changing. But that’s the state of our world today, isn’t it? And not just when it comes to the weather. Change is the new normal, and that can be an uncomfortable thing, especially for CPAs. But for those who are ready to embrace it — to adapt a more nimble and flexible mindset — there are a lot of opportunities just waiting to be taken advantage of.The question is, then, how do we do that? How do we start embracing flexibility an...2019-09-3034 min
Future-ProofThe Culture Key: Bet on Talent | with Dee Ann TurnerWe’re jumping back on the culture train today. As you can probably tell, we’re big believers in getting your culture right. We’ve had conversations on the topic with Tom Peters, Karl Alrichs, Jamie Notter, Richard Silberstein, and David Barrett — and that’s because it’s a REALLY important conversation to be having! Really, there might not be a bigger or more important differentiator in business today than your culture. If you get it right, you’re going to have a leg up in recruitment and retention, for one, but you’ll also just be doing business wi...2019-09-2329 min
Future-ProofColor Accounting: Teaching the Language of Business to Everyone | with Peter FramptonToday’s episode is all about Color Accounting — and if you’re not familiar with Color Accounting yet, you need to be!So, we invited Peter Frampton, co-founder of Color Accounting, onto the show to teach us all about what Color Accounting is and why it’s so important to the future of our profession.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:ColorAccounting.comLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/peterframptonHow Color Accounting works: https://youtu.be/QeoCoatHGsYColor Accounting’s books on account...2019-09-1629 min
Future-ProofBlunt Talk About 'Cannabiz' Issues | with Emily BurnsToday we’re going to talk about something you probably didn’t expect from this show: Cannabis. But legalization for both medical and recreational cannabis products is growing at the state level. At this point, it seems like a hard trend. So it’s high time we talked about this stuff (pun intended) if we want to future-proof this profession.To help us come to a joint understanding, if you will, about how we can best serve our clients in this area, we are joined by Emily Burns, who provides customized legal and consulting solutions specific...2019-09-0937 minFuture-ProofWhy You Need a Cloud Strategy (& Why We Need to Get Beyond Hourly Billing) | with Blake OliverWe’ve been talking about the cloud for so long now that it’s easy to assume that everyone already has it figured out – but that’s the wrong assumption to make with our profession. There are exceptions, of course. There are some accounting and finance pros out there who take pride in getting ahead of new technologies early. But a sizeable part of the profession hasn’t made that leap yet. So Blake Oliver, co-host of the Cloud Accounting Podcast, joins us to assess where we’re at in the profession when...2019-09-0236 minFuture-ProofDoing Digital Vs. Being Digital | with Matt LoebHow do you transform your organization into a truly digital organization? It’s not as simple as it sounds. You can’t just about employ some digital technologies and think that you’ve made it. Doing digital and being digital are not the same things. Not even close. So, we’re joined by Matt Loeb, principal of Optimal Performance Seekers and acting CEO of SECURE, who is simply one of the deepest thinkers about what it means to be digital in an increasingly digital world. Quite frankly, too many people get this stuff...2019-08-2638 minFuture-ProofSaving Washington | with Chris FormantTo know where you’re going, you have to have an understanding of – and an appreciation for – where you’ve been. Publisher and activist Marcus Garvey said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” And Michael Crichton, the bestselling author of Jurassic Park and Westworld, said, “If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.” Why are our two favorite quotes about history also about trees? Who know...2019-08-1954 minFuture-ProofRegulation: A Hard Trend with a Big Impact | with Russ GoldenWe spend a lot of time on this show talking about future trends and technologies — things like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and automation – and, more importantly, what those things mean for the future of our profession. But there are many other hard trends — a.k.a. future facts, a.k.a. things that we know are going to happen – that will have a huge impact on what we do. The topics aren’t always as sexy, sure, but they’re equally impactful, and if we want to get serious about becoming future-ready, we need to be talking about...2019-08-1225 minFuture-ProofHow to Win in a Winner-Take-All World | with Neil IrwinOur guest today is Neil Irwin, who is the senior economic correspondent at the New York Times and the best-selling author of The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire, about the global financial crisis and its aftermath. And Irwin recently wrote a new book titled How to Win in a Winner-Take-All World: The Definitive Guide to Adapting and Succeeding in High-Performance Careers. It’s a fascinating and important book, given the changing and complex world we live in. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blio...2019-08-0527 minFuture-ProofPeople Problems | with Paul McDonaldToday, we’re talking about the elephant in the room, or what Tom Hood would call the dead moose in the room. That thing that’s stinking up the joint but that nobody wants to do anything about – or, more to the point, nobody knows what to do about it. That dead moose is talent. How do you find it? How do you keep it? How do you set your organization apart from all the others out there so people want to work for you? It’s a HUGE probl...2019-07-2938 minFuture-ProofBringing Innovation into Accounting & Finance | with Jordan KleinsmithToday’s show is all about innovation – which, let’s face it, it’s not something the accounting and finance profession is known for. We’re all about accounting for what has happened, and history tells us that what will happen is not our problem. Except, here’s the thing: We’re living in a world where we’ll be flattened by what’s in front of us if we don’t take the time to look for it, if we don’t take the time to turn around and look for what futurist Andrew Zolli would call those...2019-07-2229 minFuture-ProofNavigating the Twists & Turns of Your Career | with Tony NittiWe’re going to talk about your career path today. If you’re new to the profession, and even if you’re not, we’re not going to lie to you – things are going to get weird. It’s just the nature of work today. Things are changing at an exponential pace these days and that means your career is also going to change exponentially – so you have to be ready with new skills, a flexible career path, and the ability to shift on a dime when the time comes. More than ever, we all have to be more...2019-07-0158 minFuture-ProofForget What You Know. The World is Changing. | with Bill ReebThe accounting and finance profession as we know it seems to be under assault. New technologies, staggering legislation and regulations, demographic shifts that are reshaping the face of workforces — we’re experiencing change and complexity on a level we’ve never seen before. Or is that really true? In a way, when you think about it, none of what we’re experiencing right now is new. All of the thought leaders out there are calling this “the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Know what that means? There have been three other industrial revolutions before it. We’...2019-06-2438 minFuture-ProofWhy We Should Adopt a Moonshot Mindset | with Sherif Hallaba and Travis DirksOur guests this week have a challenge for all accounting and finance professionals: start thinking in terms of moonshots. Now, you might be asking yourself, what in the world is a moonshot? It’s a huge, seemingly insurmountable quest that is ultimately inspirational and game-changing in nature. It’s something that, when achieved, changes the boundary between possible and impossible – just like the USA’s attempt to land Apollo 11 on the moon almost exactly 50 years ago. Sherif Hallaba and Travis Dirks are the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer, respectively, for an org...2019-06-1742 minFuture-ProofScaling Our Lives by Seeing Things Differently | with Brian SolisOur guest this week is Brian Solis, who you’re probably already familiar with if you’re conference nerds like us. He describes himself as a digital analyst, an anthropologist, and a futurist; he has studied the effects of emerging technology on business, marketing, and culture; and he’s written best-selling books like Engage, The End of Business as Usual, and What’s the Future of Business? His latest book is called LifeScale – and it could really be a gamechanger for the accounting and finance industry, and really any industry that takes it to heart. ...2019-06-1043 minFuture-ProofCFO 2.0: Transitioning From Navigator to Co-Pilot | with Ash NoahThis week we’re talking about the role of the CFO – a role that is changing, and pretty radically. Thanks to advances in technology and other disruptions, organizations are expecting their CFOs to play an increasingly strategic role; to actually help drive strategy in the organization, rather than just leading their department and crunching numbers. It’s a fairly recent phenomenon, but it’s happening quite quickly, and getting up to speed on that is just the latest challenge that finance chiefs are facing. Joining the show to offer some insight on the fluc...2019-06-0327 minFuture-ProofReport: “The Rise of Artificial Intelligence: A Critical Inflection Point for the Accounting Profession” | with Kacee JohnsonToday’s topic is A.I. Artificial intelligence. You might have heard about it? It’s that thing everyone’s been talking about for the last five years or so. Yeah, the hype is out of this world. But here’s the thing, and there’s really no getting around it: this isn’t something entirely new or groundbreaking. The technology itself is new, but we’ve been through this before. Excel was supposed to kill our profession, remember? Then came the Internet, and Turbotax, and the cloud. And you know what? We’re still here, adding grea...2019-05-2728 minFuture-ProofAre Accounting & Finance Regulators Future-Ready? | with Terri PolleyOver the past year, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about how the accounting and finance profession is changing – but we haven’t spent nearly as much time talking about how those who regulate our profession are changing. So, on today’s episode, we sit down with Terri Polley, (outgoing) president and CEO of the Financial Accounting Foundation. The FAF is an independent, not-for-profit, private-sector organization that is responsible for the oversight of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, or GASB. To learn more...2019-05-1336 minFuture-ProofA Report from the 2019 Maryland General Assembly | with Tom HoodWe’re headed back to Annapolis for this week’s episode, where Maryland’s General Assembly recently put a bow on its 2019 legislative session. It was another busy one, including some CPA-related legislation that will impact accounting and finance professionals, not just here in Maryland but throughout the country. Legislative advocacy, according to our members, is the most important thing that the MACPA does for them, and our president and CEO Tom Hood takes that role very seriously. So, today, we talk to Tom about what went down in Annapolis and how it is likely to impa...2019-05-0619 minFuture-ProofBuilding Tomorrow's Leaders Today | with Emmanuel Gobillot & Katherine ThomasWhere are we going to find tomorrow’s leaders? We’ve been doing these podcasts for almost a year now, and as much talking as we’ve done about the future, the missing ingredient in all of those conversations has been leadership. We just haven’t spent much time talking about future leadership, and with 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, that’s a critical part of becoming future-ready. So this week, we are talking to Emmanuel Gobillot and Katherine Harris, co-authors of Unleash Your Leader: How to Win in Business. It's a blueprint...2019-04-1537 minFuture-ProofDiving Deep into Management Accounting | with Jeff ThomsonIf you ask most people — not all, but MOST people — outside of the profession what an accountant does, they’ll probably say “taxes,” or “auditing,” or some variation on the tasks of people who work in public accounting. But they’re missing about half of the profession, of course. You’ve got educators, you’ve got accountants who work for nonprofits and governments, and you have those who work in business and industry, which is arguably the largest segment of the profession – and that’s why, today, we’re diving deep into the world of management accounting....2019-04-0829 minFuture-ProofThe Anticipatory Organization: Accounting and Finance Edition | with Tom HoodWe’ve talked quite a bit in past shows about this notion of “anticipation,” and we’ve talked about this concept as if it’s a skill or competency that you can learn – and it is, but we haven’t spent a lot of time talking about how how you do that. So, how can you become more anticipatory? How can you train yourself to look for future trends and spot the opportunities those trends provide, and then take advantage of those opportunities before your competition does? Joining the show again to help us do all...2019-04-0132 minFuture-ProofThe Entrepreneurial Mindset | with David MammanoToday we’re discussing why accounting and finance professionals have a lot to gain from adopting an entrepreneurial mindset. Entrepreneurship isn’t something that many accounting and finance pros have a lot of experience with, but we’re in an era when at least thinking like an entrepreneur can go a long way toward becoming more future-ready. Entrepreneurs just look at the world differently, and adapting an entrepreneur’s mindset might help us evolve a little faster and become just a little more future-ready. Our guest David Mammano is...2019-03-2539 minFuture-ProofCreating Future-Ready Education | with Kelly Richmond PopeWe hope you have your thinking caps on, because today we’re going to be talking about education in this episode – and this is probably the right thing to be talking about for the accounting and finance profession! We talk about skills quite frequently on this show – the skills we’re going to need to remain relevant in a changing and complex world – so it seems appropriate that we spend some time talking about where we’re going to be getting these skills, and who’s gonna be teaching them to us. So... should a...2019-03-1837 minFuture-ProofStop, Collaborate, & Listen | with Rebekah BrownEveryone talks about the importance of collaboration, but what does it really mean? Working together? Teamwork? Sharing ideas? It’s one of those things that’s hard to define, but we know it when we see it. And because of that, it’s something that everyone defines differently. But here’s the thing – every list of the most crucial future-ready skills for our profession includes collaboration. Every single one. So we have to figure out a definition that everyone can embrace. And here to help us figure that out is Rebekah Brown, the d...2019-03-1137 minFuture-ProofAdvocacy: How YOU Can Help the Accounting & Finance Profession | with Tom HoodJanuary 2019 is a big month for CPAs, in Maryland and throughout the country. The Maryland General Assembly begins its annual session on Jan. 9. Not a single bill has been introduced yet, but it’s already shaping up to be an extraordinarily busy session for those of us who are trying to protect our profession. For CPAs nationwide, of course, tax season is ramping up, and there are a number of issues that are already complicating things for tax practitioners: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, The Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision, and th...2019-01-0730 minFuture-ProofThe Essence of Future Readiness: Financial Planning | with Lyle BensonWhen you think about helping your clients become more future-proof, you’re probably thinking about things like helping them innovate, revamping their business models, taking advantage of new technologies, or finding their next competitive advantage. However, you’re probably not thinking about helping them get their finances in order. I mean, that’s not future-proofing anybody’s business — that’s just doing what we’ve always done, right? And yet our guest this week, Lyle Benson, says doing what we’ve always done is, in a way, the essence of being future-ready....2018-12-1027 minFuture-ProofMidterm Madness: A Divided Congress & Tax Reform | with Cari WestonHow about those midterm elections? Now, some of you might already be thinking, “Don’t even go there. I came here for taxes, not politics!” Well, not to worry, dear listeners. This is indeed a show about taxes. But here’s the thing: taxes and politics are joined at the hip right now, and there’s no getting around it. For the past two years, Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress and the White House. That means it’s been relatively painless getting things like the Tax Cuts and Jo...2018-12-0340 minFuture-ProofWhat Accountants Can Learn From Associations | with Reggie HenryThis week, we’re going to spend a little bit of time talking about our host Bill Sheridan’s profession – the association world. Bill works for the Maryland Association of CPAs, which means he doesn’t technically work in the accounting and finance profession. But when it comes right down to it, it’s like splitting hairs. These two professions are remarkably similar in how they operate, in their state of future-readiness, and in their willingness to embrace change. Accountants and association folks are kindred spirits in a lot ways. And so we’re exc...2018-11-1943 min