This document summarizes a presentation given to accounting students on the future of the CPA profession. It discusses trends identified by CPAs, including change, complexity, compliance and competition. The top challenges for young professionals are also outlined. The core purpose of CPAs is defined as "making sense of a changing and complex world". CPAs are envisioned to be trusted professionals who help people and organizations shape their future by providing clarity, translating complex information, anticipating opportunities, and designing pathways to transform visions into reality.

1. MACPA Professional Issues Update
2012 Student Edition
Tom Hood, CPA, CITP, CGMA
Salisbury University
March 5, 2013

2. “People
don’t
buy
what
you
do,
they
buy
why
you
do
what
you
do.”
-­‐
Simon
Sinek

3. The world without CPAs
3

4. What CPAs think about the future
30 Future Forums
1,000 CPAs
Identified these top trends
http://www.bizlearning.net/live/i2afutureforums

5. MANAGING THE SEA CHANGE
• Change
• Complexity
• Compliance
• Convergence
• Competition

6. The
Top
100
Most
InfluenAal
• AICPA
• SEC
• PCAOB
• MACPA!
• IRS
• Ron Baker – Value Pricing
• FASB
• Gary Boomer – Tech Guru
• The next president
• IASB

7. Top Seven Issues Facing Young
professionals
1. InformaAon
overload
(including
accounAng
and
tax
complexity)
2. Work
/
life
balance
3. GeneraAonal
issues
and
communicaAons
(including
upper
management
not
sharing
knowledge
with
the
younger
generaAon)
4. Developing
networking
skills
5. Keeping
up
with
technology
-­‐-­‐
especially
the
cloud
6. Finding
career
guidance
7. Understanding
social
media
benefits
7

8. In
1997,
the
CPA
profession
crowd-­‐sourced
its
future
with
over
3,500
CPAs
in
the
CPA
Vision
Project
That
was
re-­‐validated
in
2011
by
8,000+
CPAs
Our core purpose, our reason for
being is
CPAs...
Making sense of
a changing and
complex world.
Here is what they said…

9. The
DNA
of
the
CPA
Values
&
Competencies
• Leadership
• CommunicaAon
• Strategic
Thinking
• CollaboraAon
&
Synthesis
• Technologically
Savvy

10. Our
Vision
Statement
for
the
future
is:
(
mandates
to
ourselves
for
a
successful
future)
CPAs are the trusted professionals who enable
people and organizations to shape their future.
Combining insight with integrity, CPAs deliver value by:
• CommunicaAng
the
total
picture
with
clarity
and
objecAvity,
• TranslaAng
complex
informaAon
into
criAcal
knowledge,
• AnAcipaAng
and
creaAng
opportuniAes,
and
• Designing
pathways
that
transform
vision
into
reality.

11. Moving
up
the
InformaAon
Value
Chain
Designing pathways
that transform vision
into reality
Transactions
Decisions
Communicating the total
picture with clarity &
objectivity
Anticipating
Data
Translating complex Knowledge
and creating
information into opportunities
critical knowledge
Information
Copyright 2012 – Business Learning Institute

12. CPAs Inspire Confidence
“CPAs have a unique perspective that is
“I would be more confident in a job done valuable when making business and financial
by a CPA than if it were done by an decisions, even when those decisions are not
accountant who is not a CPA” directly related to accounting”
BDMs BDMs
Disagree
Disagree
Agree Agree
Don't know Don't know
Investors Investors
Disagree Disagree
15% 16%
Agree
74% Agree
67%
Don't know Don't know
11% 17%

13. According to these young professionals, the
future is one in which CPAs:
● are proactive, flexible, adaptive and
collaborative by nature;
● have regained the trust of their clients and
the public at large;
● have successfully bridged the profession’s
“leadership gap” by focusing on succession
planning, personal growth, and generational
cooperation;
● have created the profession’s premier
global industry standards and best practices;
● have redefined the profession through
work / life integration, collaboration, and a
team-first approach; and
● have earned a reputation as technological
innovators. 13
Wisdom from the MACPA Leadership
Academy

14. 14

15. The
15
The CPA Brand

16. Your CPA says so
much.
Your CPA, CGMA says
you’re a management
accountant.
16

17. Give your career a Bounce!

19. MANAGING THE SEA CHANGE
Be the Captain of your own ship!
• Continuous
Learning
• Competency
• Collaboration
=
Career Success

20. It really is about this...

22. You can't connect the dots
looking forward you can only
connect them looking
backwards. So you have to trust
that the dots will somehow
connect in your future.

24. A leader s
job is to
define
context and
provide
hope and
inspiration...
24

25. Tom
Hood,
CPA.CITP
CEO
Maryland
Associa8on
of
CPAs
Business
Learning
Ins8tute
(443)
632-­‐2301
E-­‐mail
tom@macpa.org
Web
hNp://www.macpa.org
Blog
hNp://www.cpasuccess.com