New Conference Provides More Networking and Educational Opportunities

by Jessica Iennarella, CPA

To my fellow ASCPA members, I want to take this opportunity to tell you why you should be excited about the upcoming ASCPA Annual Conference. The conference combines a few past ASCPA conference under one roof, making it a more rewarding networking experience.

Build Your Own Agenda: Over the last few years, each conference planning team has had the challenging task of creating an agenda specific to their area of practice, while also addressing those same member’s needs. For highly technical conferences, participants have been asking for more general topics, such as economic updates or leadership sessions. For more general conferences, participants have a challenge taking the time to attend without the benefit of more specific technical training.

The new format addresses those concerns by allowing participants to essentially build their own agenda. Want a submersion in the tax world – you can attend tax classes all day. Have a hard time staying focused on a full day of technical training? You can attend a leadership seminar. Curious about a different practice area but don’t want to commit to attending an entire day to learning about it? Add one of those courses to your conference agenda. The Annual Conference will also include general sessions meant for all attendees – everyone will have access to that economic update!

Centralized Location & Flexible Viewing Options: Due to fluctuations in attendance, selecting an appropriate venue size has become complicated. By combining previous stand-alone conferences into tracks within the Annual Conference, the ASCPA is able to utilize Desert Willow Conference Center – a centrally located and versatile location.

For those who will not yet be comfortable attending in person or who don’t have the ability to attend in person, the conference will also be webcast. In addition, the ASCPA will also be recording sessions for later viewing by attendees. While CPE credit will only be offered for sessions watched at the time of the conference, attendees will still be able to access all the great content from the sessions they had to miss from the day.

The new format and recording of sessions provides conference attendees with truly all-inclusive access to material presented that day, as well as flexible viewing options.

Networking Opportunities: One of my favorite parts of attending any conference or all-day training is the opportunity to network with my fellow CPAs. By offering programming for multiple audiences in one day, one goal of this new format is to provide attendees with access to a greater diversity of members than offered at stand-alone conferences. This profession can be challenging at times, particularly of late with so many changes flying fast and furious. Come connect with others who can relate and have the chance to pick up a new tip, create a referral source or forge a relationship with someone you can float ideas by (or maybe vent to occasionally).

As chair of the Leadership & Growth Alliance, I am extremely excited by the programming change and hope to see you all there! l

Jessica Iennarella, CPA, is controller at the State Bar of Arizona. She is a past ASCPA Board Member and chair of the Leadership & Growth Alliance. She can be reached at iennarellaj@gmail.com.