Future-proof | A Podcast For Tomorrow's Accounting & Finance Pros

It seems as if everyone wants to offer client accounting services, but not many know where to start.Hitendra Patil is the Head of Customer Success at AccountantsWorld. He is a fixture in Accounting Today’s list of The 100 Most Influential People in Accounting. And he’s one of the biggest fans – and, certainly, one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject – of client accounting services. He has a new book called “The Definitive Success Guide to Client Accounting Services.”He talks about the opportunities that CAS provides, the barriers getting in the way of their adoption, the new skills we’ll have to learn to be successful, and what’s in the future for CAS. Like everything else these days, it’s evolving fast. If you’ve been thinking about diving into the CAS pool, this is a great place to start.To learn more and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:Read: “The Definitive Success Guide to Client Accounting Services”CAS Begins With a MindsetTop Five CAS Killers and How to Overco

David Nour is CEO of The Nour Group, where they're all about building strategic relationships to help leaders reimagine the future. He's an advisor to Fortune 500 execs, a professor at Emory University, and the author of 11 books. His latest is “Curve Benders: How Strategic Relationships Can Power Your Non-Linear Growth in the Future of Work.”What are curve benders? How do you define "strategic relationships?" What is non-linear growth? What is the future of work? And how does all this fit together?David joins us to talk about his notion of curve-benders and how they are more than just strategic relationships. They are a series of forces that change how we live, work, and even play.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:nourgroup.comRead: “Curve Benders”What Relationships are the Core of Your Personal Market Value?Future-Proof is a production of Crate Media

Donny Shimamoto is the founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies, an advisory-focused CPA firm in Honolulu. He’s also an incredibly active volunteer and thought leader for the American Institute of CPAs, doing work in information management, IT, and assurance services.His latest project is leading the launch of the new Center for Accounting Transformation. Its mission statement reads: “The Center enables transformation by guiding members through the adoption and change required in order to step into the future of the accounting profession. We are not here to convince people to change, but rather to empower those who seek an alternative to the status quo.” We talk about how they are doing that, and why.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:intraprise.usimprovetheworld.netevolutionofcpa.orgFuture-Proof is a production of Crate Media

Kelly Phillips Erb runs a very popular Twitter account under the handle, TaxGirl. She has written a regular Forbes column for years under the moniker, and now she’s doing the same for Bloomberg. She’s been interviewed by every big-name media company in the business about all things tax: CNN, Reuters, Time, NPR, ABC, CBS, MarketWatch, and more. She is also a managing attorney with ErbLaw, based in Glenmoore, Pennsylvania.We talk about the state of tax professionals more than a year into the pandemic, how the industry has changed due to it, and of course the ways it will continue to evolve moving forward.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:taxgirl.comTwitter: @taxgirlInstagram: @therealtaxgirlFuture-Proof is a production of Crate Media

Andrew Codd is the host of Strength in the Numbers Show, a top-rated podcast aiming to help solve significant problems in the finance industry. He’s also an author, speaker, coach, trainer, and a senior member of After-Sales Finance Operations for Dell. Based in Ireland, Andrew brings an international perspective to the profession's issues and offers a fresh opinion on potential solutions.Andrew Codd listens to people in various roles throughout the industry, giving him valuable insight into making it future-proof. We talk about some of the ties that bind accounting and finance pros, the importance of that human element to the future of our work, and some of his favorite lessons he’s learned after more than 300 episodes.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:sitnshow.comTwitter: @andrewSITN"The ABCs of Leadership in Crisis""Stay calm … and stay extraordinary"138. The path to excellence is 'extreme humanism' | with Tom PetersRead: “Excellence Now: Extreme Humanism”Fu

Jacquelyn 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/in/jessica-e-mcclainlinkedin.com/in/jacquelyntracyAICPA Women's Initiatives Executive CommitteeThe MACPA Foundation"Adding Women to the C-Suite Changes How Companies Think"Future-Proof is a production of Crate Media

Dr. Amy Zalman is the former CEO and president of the World Future Society. While she was there, she repositioned the World Future Society for renewed future global impact — helping a transformational organization transform itself. She’s also the founder of Oryx Communications and chair of information integration at the National War College, where she’s introduced new ways of understanding information to future senior leaders so they can better inform their perspectives on the ways the world is changing —  not just technologically, but also culturally and geopolitically. She’s currently the founder of Prescient, a foresight consultancy that helps leaders and companies anticipate new opportunities, markets and threats before the competition does. In Prescient’s words, “Our clients manage the future by creating it.”Amy Zalman talks about anticipation: Is it a skill, a mindset, or a bit of both? How does it differ from critical and strategic thinking? How can we tell if we’re moving fast enough? And how sho

Tom Peters is the co-author of “In Search Of Excellence” and author of seventeen other best-selling books. He’s a legend in the business and consulting world, devoted to studying what makes leaders great and how to achieve business excellence.Tom’s latest book, “Excellence Now: Extreme Humanism,” may also be his last. In the afterword to the book, he says, “This book, in effect, IS my memoir. It is solely devoted to the things that I care deeply — VERY deeply! — about. The ideas are not complex; they require no mastery of calculus or chemistry or physics. But the practice thereof is honored in the breach more often than not. Collecting and sharing these ideas are my life’s work and, indeed, my life.”In this conversation, Tom talks about joy, compassion, caring, kindness, patience, and positivity — the kinds of skills that everyone else calls “soft skills.” Tom is adamant that they are truly hard skills, that they’re the ones we need to master because they pay off in the most significant way in the long run.To

As we near the end of Women’s History Month, and with Black History Month still firmly in our memory, it’s essential to take a look at diversity and inclusion in the CPA profession — both how far we’ve come and how much further we have to go.Kimberly Ellison-Taylor is a former Maryland Association of CPAs chair, a former AICPA Chair, and the executive director of finance thought leadership for Oracle. She is also the incoming chair of the AICPA’s National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion, and the incoming president of Beta Alpha Psi, the international honor society for accounting and finance students and professionals. She has her pulse on the profession’s D&I initiatives. She talks about what the AICPA’s National Commission is focusing on these days, how generational issues factor into the diversity-and-inclusion conversation, and how we can start moving this conversation away from groups of individuals and toward more inclusiveness across the board.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, vi

As the world evolves, the concept of leadership is evolving as well. And the leaders of today are finding they need new skills to succeed.Jennifer Elder is a thought leader, trainer, and business coach dedicated to the concept of business transformation. She offers programs through the Business Learning Institute about strategic leadership, and she’s going to share about it from a corporate finance perspective. She tells us how finance is taking on a more strategic role in most organizations, what characteristics set strategic leaders apart from the rest of the pack, how finance’s role will continue to evolve, and how the pandemic impacts all of it.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:jenniferelder.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jenniferhelder“10 Principles of Strategic Leadership”Future-Proof is a production of Crate Media

If you’re feeling a serious lack of energy in your life right now, know that you’re not alone. People around the world are starting to face this as we move past year one of the pandemic. But there are strategies for moving past this energy drain, and Greg Conderacci is here to share some of them with us. Greg is a senior fellow with the Business Learning Institute, a consultant, and a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has researched and written extensively about personal energy’s impact on careers and organizations.Greg talks about the different types of energies that are at play in an environment like this, the signs that we might be about to hit that wall, and the strategies for bringing a little balance back into our lives.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:linkedin.com/in/gregconderacciRead: "Getting UP!"Professor Ahmad’s Six-Month Wall: Rehumanizing The Virtual WorkplaceFuture-Proof is a production of Crate Media

If there’s one word that describes the past year with a fair amount of accuracy, it would have to be “change.” It’s been a year of unprecedented change, in a lot of ways, and that change impacts each of us — often in ways that are very personal.Karl Ahlrichs is going to help us explore how change impacts us and what we can do to adapt. Karl is a bestselling author and an acclaimed national speaker who works across all industries and has a wealth of experience in human resources, operations, and senior-level problem-solving.He talks about the personal impact of change, the different types of change, the different ways in which we process it, the four stages we all go through when dealing with change, and the most important thing we should be focusing on as we work our way through any sort of change.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:expertspeaks.comlinkedin.com/in/karlahlrichsAll Change is PersonalThe Personal Impact of Workplace Change: Letting Go & Crossing

Personal finance isn’t always a fun topic to talk about. But the sooner you start to think about it, the less stress it’s going to cause down the line.Rachel Richards took this principle to heart when she paid her way through college by selling Cutco Knives, graduating with no debt. She took her love of helping people with their finances and her talent for sales and became a financial advisor, but her heart wasn’t really in it. She found the world of investment properties and worked that until she was 27, quitting her job and retiring while living off of the $15,000 a month in passive income that she earned from her 40 residential rental units.She’s the author of two books, “Money Honey” and “Passive Income, Aggressive Retirement.” She’s also written an online course entitled “Get Your Financial Shit Together.” She certainly has her finances together. She shares what lessons she learned along the way, what advice she might offer young professionals as they begin their savings journey — and even what older sav

We have spent the past several years talking about the exponential advancement of technology and what it all means for our profession. Most of those conversations tend to gravitate toward the public practice side of the profession, but today we’re taking a closer look at how those advances in technology are impacting things like financial reporting, cybersecurity, auditing, assessments, and other compliance-related issues. Because tech trends are impacting those things just as heavily as any other area of the profession. There is quite a bit to consider when it comes to automation within finance and accounting departments, and AJ Yawn and Jeff Cook of ByteChek are going to help us keep it all straight.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:bytechek.comlinkedin.com/in/ajyawnlinkedin.com/in/jeffcookcpaRolling out finance automation with the right prioritiesFuture-Proof is a production of Crate Media

There 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 quarter-century, and most importantly, where it’s going from here.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:linkedin.com/in/tomhoodMaryland takes global stage as Tom Hood, BLI join AICPA teamFuture-Proof is a production of Crate Media

George Willie is a managing partner with Bert Smith & Company, a CPA and management consulting firm with offices in D.C., Baltimore, and the Virgin Islands. He has served as chair of the AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section and the Montgomery County Employee Retirement System Board of Investment Trustees, and is also an immigrant originally from Jamaica. He has some great stories to tell, and some great insights into the CPA profession’s efforts around diversity and inclusion, the importance of mentorship, the work that groups like the Maryland Association of CPAs are doing to drive the profession forward in this area.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:bertsmithco.comCompanies with more women in management have outperformed their more male-led peers, according to Goldman Sachs4 ways diversity & inclusion is good for businessFuture-Proof is a production of Crate Media

We’re approaching the third wave of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) relief, and while we’ve seen these before, there’s good reason to be prepared for what’s new this time around.Erik Asgeirsson is the president and CEO of CPA.com. Joining him is Lisa Simpson, who leads the American Institute of CPAs’ Private Companies Practice Section in the development of practice management tools that address topics that are most important to firm owners.They talk about where we stand with this latest round of funding, what they’re hearing from firms and their clients, what CPAs should know at this point in the process, whether they’re expecting things to go a little more smoothly than they did in earlier PPP rounds, and how things are going with the new CPA Business Funding Portal, which is designed to help CPAs better manage their clients’ loan applications and forgiveness requests.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:CPA.comlinkedin.com/in/erikasgeirssonlinkedin.com/in/lisa

There are so many changes being made in the world of finance. Many of them could be seen coming, but due to the pandemic, those changes are being made much faster than anyone could have guessed.Wayne Slater is the director of product marketing for Prophix, which helps mid-market companies achieve their goals with innovative, cloud-based Corporate Performance Management software. He talks about the accelerations that are disrupting corporate finance, how businesses have had to shift in order to meet those challenges, and the types of new tools finance leaders need to put their businesses and their people in a position to succeed.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:prophix.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/wayne-slater-53234810 Trends for Finance to Navigate NowFuture-Proof is a production of Crate Media

Allen DeLeon is a founding partner of DeLeon & Stang in Gaithersberg, MD, and is one of the most active volunteers in the Maryland Association of CPAs. He’s a member of the boards of directors for numerous community organizations and he has a solid pulse on what’s going on in the profession. Allen retired at the beginning of 2021, and as he steps away from his day-to-day duties, he talks about how things have changed during his career, and how he sees the future playing out for the profession. Sometimes, in order to become future-ready, we have to take a good, hard look at our past while we prepare for what’s to come.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:deleonandstang.comlinkedin.com/in/allendeleon“The Year Ahead: 2021 in Numbers.”Future-Proof is a production of Crate Media

John O’Leary is a thought leader, a world-renowned speaker, and best-selling author of “On Fire” and “In Awe.” When he was a kid, he burned himself really badly—he suffered burns on 100 percent of his body. Doctors gave him a 1 percent chance of survival. And yet he survived. Not without some issues. He spent months in the hospital, he had numerous surgeries, his fingers were amputated—all of this around his 10th birthday. But he survived, and he persevered.This has been a wildly difficult year for almost anybody, but we can all move forward with a sense of gratitude and awe—but don’t forget the lessons that this time has taught us.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog.Resources:Learn more: johnolearyInspires.comRead: "In Awe"Future-Proof is a production of Crate Media