Our world and our profession are changing. Accounting professionals need to embrace the changes, adapt, and evolve to remain relevant. Scaling New Heights 2018 will teach us how to "Tame the Machines."
Disruption is a radical change in an industry or business strategy as the result of an advance in technology.
Anyone feeling a little overwhelmed? How is the disruption in the accounting profession going for you? What are you doing about it?
The Conference Dilemma
For many of us who have attended conferences, we have learned that there is a bit of a "leaky bucket" effect that occurs. Our brains get filled with amazing, juicy bits of knowledge: new processes to implement, apps to demo, paradigms to shift, and ideas to impart to our teams upon arriving back at the office. As we sit on the plane, exhausted from an amazing experience, the details of those gems of learning begin to fade, like a dream that we just cannot quite hold onto. We may even take piles of notes, but when we arrive back home we return to our flow of needing to get things done. The notes are set on the back burner until the day we have time to review them... only to realize that we don't recall what we meant when we wrote down that epiphany.
As a conference instructor, one of the common pieces of feedback that I've heard is that participants want more interactive opportunities to integrate and employ new ideas, ensuring that they are not forgotten. Ask and you shall receive!
Bring Your Own Learning
Each of us has amazing value to share with our colleagues, and we want to hear YOUR ideas on Disruption. Join us for "Challenging Our Own Thinking About the Nature of Disruption" at Scaling New Heights 2018. This final session on Wednesday is an amazing opportunity to discuss and apply the ideas you pick up at the conference. Some of these ideas may be new and even intimidating, and we want to make sure that you have the tools to move forward in applying them in your practice. The class will break into small group discussions, facilitated by acclaimed leaders in the accounting profession:
- Ingrid Edstrom, Polymath LLC - Course Moderator
- Randy Johnston, K2 Enterprises - Group Facilitator
- Deborah Defer, BDO USA LLP - Group Facilitator
- Jason Blumer, Blumer & Associates, CPAs, PC - Group Facilitator
- Liz Scott, Accounting Lifeline - Group Facilitator
Participants in this breakout will have an interactive, discussion-based brainstorming session focusing on the changes in our industry. Together we will challenge our assumptions about Disruption, ask the deep questions that lead to more questions, and create new learning opportunities based upon the experience of all participants. The intention is to challenge our own thinking, enabling us to stretch our brains around and embrace these changes, rather than shrinking from them.
Creating Synergy
Supportive reflection with others can be a great way to shift our thought patterns, and we will work together to create a fertile environment for the growth of new ideas. This will be a supportive facilitated discussion where all ideas are welcome. We will "Synergize" together, employing the 6th habit of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to discover learning that we may be unlikely to find on our own, valuing differences and creating a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
After a brief introduction, participants will break into groups with the facilitators to discuss different questions, and participants may move from group to group. There will be time at the end for everyone to come back together, and the facilitators will report on the key breakthroughs of each group for the benefit of all.
The key learning objectives for this course include:
- Move past anxiety related to change in the industry.
- Apply new ideas in conversation to solidify them in your understanding.
Discover and offer strategies with other accounting professionals, wrapping up your conference experience with clear action items.
Author Bio: Ingrid Edstrom, panel facilitator, is a 2015 "Firm of the Future" winner, and was named one of the 2016 "Top 40 Under 40 and Most Powerful Women in Accounting" by CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. She is a member of the Intuit Trainer/Writer Network and a Certified Profit First Professional. Ingrid also is the creator of the "Ask A Bookkeeper" educational video series, and was featured in the book "The World's Most Inspiring Accountants." Ingrid leads the Southern Oregon Woodard group, and is a founder of the Southern Oregon Bookkeepers Association.