💥 Back in person for 2023! 💥
Register by October 17, 2023 at 11:59 PM to secure the early bird rate for the in-person option!
Wednesday, November 1, from 5:00-7:00 PM
Meet & Greet Welcome Reception
All in-person attendees are invited to join the conference speakers for a memorable experience!
You’ll have many unique networking opportunities and time to get to know the phenomenal, powerhouse presenters lined up to inspire and educate you the following day!
Thursday, November 2
8 CPE Credit Hours
With sessions tailored for all levels of experience, you’ll find topics that speak to you. Whether you’re searching for more confidence, personal branding help, guidance on setting boundaries or you’ve set out to develop your leadership and management skills, there’s a session for that (and more)! Our sessions are designed to be interactive, informative, and engaging, with plenty of opportunities for Q&A and discussion.
If you’re attending virtually, you’ll have the flexibility to choose the sessions that best fit your schedule and interests, and participate from the comfort of your own home or office.
General Session | 8:00-9:15 am
Meridith Elliott Powell
MotionFirst
The Confidence Plan Step Out Boldly, Find Your Voice, Own Your Seat At The Table
Today’s world moves quickly. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the constant pressure to keep up, or unsure of how to take the risks you need to move forward. You wonder how others do it, why they seem self-assured, secure enough to share their ideas, ask for what they want, and pave their own path. How did they develop their deep sense of inner knowing what it takes to always come out on top. That inner knowledge is confidence! And the good news is confidence is a skill that can be learned. More importantly it is one that needs to be consistently developed. When you have that level of belief in yourself, you can step boldly into any challenge, find your voice in every conversation, and always own your seat at the table. You can trust that your skills, your abilities will move forward so your control change rather than allowing change to control you. Whether you see yourself as confident, or you feel you have some progress to make in that area of your life, The Confidence Plan takes you on the journey to heightened self-confidence. Through innovative research, tools, techniques and powerful stories The Confidence Plan helps you understand the impact confidence can have on your life, your career, those you care about, and the growth of your organization. It’s that powerful!
Join Business Growth Strategist and Award-Winning Author, Meridith Elliott Powell in this high powered keynote where she reveals the research, the stories and most importantly the methodology.
Key Take Aways
- Sharp Fundamentals – the basics you need to develop, build and strengthen your belief in yourself and develop inner confidence. Learn why confidence matters, and the vigorous impact it can have on personal and organizational results.
- Powerful Mindset Shift – embrace that confidence is a choice, and a skill that can be learned. You are in control of how much you have, and how deep and strong your confidence is.
- PROVEN Methodology – the well-researched strategy, step-by-step approach to building and mastering confidence.
- Gain The Secrets – to setting boundaries, investing in yourself and creating realistic goals.
Field of Study: Personal Development
Learn more about Meridith
Meridith Elliott Powell
MotionFirst
For more than twenty years, President and CEO of MotionFirst, Meridith Elliott Powell, has been a leading expert on the subject of business growth covering sales, leadership, change and uncertainty.
With a background in financial services, manufacturing, healthcare and travel and tourism, she has real-world experience with developing teams, exceeding sales goals and dominating the marketplace by building centers of influence.
Her latest book THRIVE: Turning Uncertainty To Competitive Advantage has cracked the code on the greatest challenges facing business today.
Through her work as a Hall of Fame keynote speaker, award-winning author, and business growth strategist, Meridith is able to help companies and leaders learn to develop talent, drive sales, and strategically manage change and uncertainty.
Her work has been featured in Forbes, FastCompany, Inc Magazine, among others, and she has worked with companies such as Microsoft, FastSigns, Bobcat, Caterpillar, and IBM.
Her groundbreaking research, The State of Uncertainty and The Impact on American Business Today, is an annual report providing innovative solutions to business growth in turbulent times.
Concurrent Sessions | 9:35-10:35 am
Marcey Rader
RaderCo
Anne Shoemaker
Anne Shoemaker, LLC
Manage Distractions, Set Guardrails, and Be More Present
Pulled away by your phone? Thinking of your inbox during dinner? Feeling behind, even though you worked a full day?
Ring, ping, buzz, knock! Distractions are everywhere, demanding your attention. How do you keep them at bay, keep up at work, and still have time for what matters to you? The secret isn’t retreating to a cave but enacting the right tech guardrails and habits to help you be more present and gain the concentration you need.
Ditch the distractions and find your focus!
Learn how to:
- Increase willpower and decrease digital distractions
- Reduce communication overload and avoid costly mistakes by setting tech guardrails
- Recharge your batteries by creating low-sensory and screen-free times
Concurrent Session 1A
Field of Study: Personal Development
Learn more about Marcey
Marcey Rader
RaderCo
Marcey Rader believes that health powers productivity. She is a multi-certified health and productivity expert, a three-time author, and an award-winning, global Certified Speaking Professional® keynote speaker.
As the founder of RaderCo, Marcey helps executives, teams, and individuals banish burnout, keep good people, and move forward through practical, tailored tools, healthy, sustainable habits, and coaching accountability.
Sought-after by Fortune 100 companies and others, she’s spoken for tens of thousands of people worldwide – from North Dakota to Dubai to Tokyo.
As a high-impact speaker, she trains her audiences to maximize their energy, conquer the calendar, master tasks, and extinguish their email. To change your career, team, or organization one habit at a time, learn more or connect with Marcey at marceyrader.com.
Networking for Success (Introverts Included!)
When you think of networking, what comes to mind? Maybe a sparsely attended cocktail hour in a cavernous hotel ballroom, full of new faces and illegible nametags? Or, perhaps you envision a round of golf or drinks that feels… tedious? Worse, you might think of cringe-y LinkedIn messages that are so misaligned with your experience and interests, you avoid the platform altogether.
If any of this sounds familiar, attend this session!
We’ll explore:
• Smart, proven techniques to maximize your networking efforts while preserving your energy & authenticity
• Expert language you can use in networking conversations that will boost your confidence – and your results
• Everyday opportunities to practice your skills while broadening your network
Concurrent Session 1B
Field of Study: Personal Development
Learn more about Anne
Anne Shoemaker
Anne Shoemaker, LLC
Anne Shoemaker is a career advisor, strategist, and coach for executive and aspiring executive women. She applies her 20+ years of experience as an executive and leader in corporate, non-profit, privately held, and early-stage startup businesses towards supporting and elevating women into positions of power and influence in their careers and communities.
Through 1:1 and small group coaching, advisory services related to building one’s career marketing portfolio and network, and workshops, Anne helps women unlock their potential so they can reach new levels of impact and fulfillment. Her portfolio of coaching clients is dedicated to women who are CxOs, legislators, founders of venture-backed and bootstrapped companies, and professionals such as attorneys, accountants, and physicians who are considering steering their career in a new direction – and want a co-pilot to help them navigate.
Concurrent Sessions | 10:45-11:50 am
Pam Boney
Tilt 365
Anne Shoemaker
Anne Shoemaker, LLC
Unleash the Power of Character: Navigating Conflict, Inspiring Change
Have you ever left a good job or company because your leader’s personality felt intolerable? Over 2 out of 5 people will experience this problem at some point in their career, and this trend is predicted to worsen. In a hyper-partisan world where technology and media feed our biases to the extreme, it’s tempting to believe “I am okay” and other people are the problem. You may be right, but chances are, your reaction to them will be equally troubling – at least for you on the inside.
But what if there was something that could change everything? What are we missing in the discourse of great leadership? Experts have called it “the blind spot of our time.” We take it for granted when it’s present, only noticing its absence when it’s too late. A focus on performance slips away into insidious corporate politics. The bottom line? Divided teams don’t win.
There is a simple solution, and you can do something about it every day if you have the tools and language to become a force for good in a world hungry for healing.
This session offers takeaways you can put to use today:
- The hidden source of all conflict and how to process it quickly.
- Four clues that your culture may be over-tilting to toxic.
- A science-based framework you can use to course correct.
- A common language that will stop ego-drama in it’s tracks.
Creating a culture where top talent loves to work is easy when you understand the evidence. Crack the code for psychological safety and a growth mindset where everyone around you will thrive with generativity.
Concurrent Session 2A
Field of Study: Personal Development
Learn more about Pam
Pam Boney
Tilt 365
An innovative expert in the field of personality and character strength development, Pam founded Tilt365.com, a provider of evidence-based assessments that drive agility, innovation, and generativity in people, teams, and culture. Pam’s impact reaches beyond her coaching, resonating with forward-thinking organizations that seek to cultivate exceptional leadership and thriving work environments. .
Communication Hacks: How to Ask for What you Need and Navigate the Response
“I know what I want – I just don’t know how to say it.”
“What if they say (fill in the blank) – how do I respond?”
“I know I’m qualified/deserving, but I’m not sure how to say it without bragging/sounding desperate.”
Do you ever stop short of advocating for yourself or your team because you’re concerned about how someone might respond? You are confident in your position and have a great case, but when it comes time to communicate, the words just don’t come out right?
In this session, we will:
- Explore trusted communication methods you can use today to unlock the answers you are seeking
- Examine specific language that uncovers a positive response, time & time again
- Develop strategies to overcome common beliefs that prevent us from articulating our needs.
Concurrent Session 2B
Field of Study: Personal Development
Learn more about Anne
Anne Shoemaker
Anne Shoemaker, LLC
Anne Shoemaker is a career advisor, strategist, and coach for executive and aspiring executive women. She applies her 20+ years of experience as an executive and leader in corporate, non-profit, privately held, and early-stage startup businesses towards supporting and elevating women into positions of power and influence in their careers and communities.
Through 1:1 and small group coaching, advisory services related to building one’s career marketing portfolio and network, and workshops, Anne helps women unlock their potential so they can reach new levels of impact and fulfillment. Her portfolio of coaching clients is dedicated to women who are CxOs, legislators, founders of venture-backed and bootstrapped companies, and professionals such as attorneys, accountants, and physicians who are considering steering their career in a new direction – and want a co-pilot to help them navigate.
Lunch Break | 11:50 AM-12:50 PM
General Session | 12:50-2:05 pm
Mentorship, Allyship and the Women in the Profession
How would you answer these questions:
- What was the worst business advice you were given and how did you learn from it?
- Was your career path a ladder or the jungle gym?
In this session, Melisa Galasso, CPA, author, and business owner, will facilitate a round of questions with leaders in the field of finance and accounting. Our experts will share their career strategy and the professional support they received in their career journey. You will leave with advice and tools that helped them achieve their goals.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity!
Field of Study: Personal Development
Melisa Galasso, CPA, CPTD, CSP
Galasso Learning Solutions LLC
Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA
AAFCPAS INC
Kelly Mann, CPA
Auditminer
Jessica McClain, CPA, CITP, CISA, PMP CGFM
CFO Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital
Learn more about Melisa
Melisa Galasso, CPA, CPTD, CSP
Galasso Learning Solutions LLC
Melisa Galasso is the founder of Galasso Learning Solutions LLC.
With over 15 years of experience in the accounting profession, Melisa designs and facilitates courses in advanced technical accounting and auditing topics, including not-for-profit and governmental accounting.
She also supports essential professional development, public speaking, and business skills.
Melisa closely monitors regulatory bodies for changes in auditing and accounting guidance and serves as a subject matter expert in implementing the updated guidance.
Melisa earned the Association for Talent Development (ATD) Master Trainer™ designation.
Melisa was appointed in 2016 to the AICPA’s Technical Issues Committee (TIC), which is responsible for monitoring the activities of the various accounting and attestation standard-setting boards and submitting comments and recommendations during the due process phase.
Melisa is also currently serving on the Board of Directors for the VSCPA.
Previously, she served as President of the Board of NCACPA’s Charlotte Chapter, Chair of the A&A Committee for the NCACPA and held several leadership positions with the VSCPA.
Learn more about Carla
Carla McCall
AAFCPAS INC
Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA is Managing Partner of AAFCPAs, a preeminent, 300-person CPA and consulting firm based in New England. Carla was named one of the Most Powerful Women in the Accounting Profession in 2021 and 2022 by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) and CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. Her dynamic executive leadership, bold practicality, and enthusiasm to embrace change is setting the standard for mission driven, growth organizations.
Carla has been an instrumental force in the evolution of AAFCPAs, responsible for driving the expansion of services for our sophisticated clients beyond the core audit and tax, such as managed accounting, wealth management, robotic process automation, IT & cyber security, system selection & implementation, and data analytics. She thinks about the client in everything she does and puts AAFCPAs’ customers in the center, at the core of our business, to provide a positive experience and meet their evolving needs.
Learn more about Kelly
Kelly Mann, CPA
Auditminer
Kelly Mann is the CEO & Co-Founder of AuditMiner, a B2B online SaaS program. Since its release in 2021, AuditMiner continues to streamline the employee benefit plan audit for CPA firms across the country. Kelly is also a breast cancer survivor and a mom of three children.
Learn more about Jessica
Jessica McClain, CPA, CITP, CISA, PMP CGFM
CFO Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital
Jessica is currently the Chief Financial Officer for the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital. In this role she is a member of the senior leadership team with strategic responsibility for finance and accounting, risk management, property, product program, retail merchandise, and business operations.
Prior to transitioning to the not-for-profit industry, Jessica spent 11 years in public accounting. Jessica is passionate about the accounting profession. She serves on several American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) volunteer committees such as the AICPA Foundation Board of Trustees and the AICPA Student Recruitment Committee. Jessica is a Council Member-At-Large with the AICPA and is a former AICPA Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee member. Jessica serves on the Boards of the Maryland Association of CPAs Foundation and the Greater Washington Society of CPAs. Lastly, Jessica is a Board Member of the Towson University Accounting Advisory Board.
Jessica’s recent accomplishments include being named 2023 Most Powerful Women in Accounting award ,2022 Washington Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree, the 2022 NABA DC Chapter Outstanding Accounting Leader of the Year, a Maryland Association of CPAs 2021 Women to Watch- Emerging Leader, a Black CPA Centennial’s 40 Under 40 Black CPA Award Winner.
Break | 2:05-2:25 PM
Concurrent Sessions | 2:25-3:30 pm
Kassi Rushing, APR
AICPA & CIMA
Nicole Andrews
Nicole Andrews International, LLC
Winning at Work as a Working Parent
This session is about specific actions that help us win as working parents. Part of winning the game will be learning new plays—if we keep doing what we’ve always done nothing will change. Some of these plays you could run today, while others may be saved for later. No matter the age of your dependents, you can feel like you are winning at work as a working parent.
Highlights:
- All the best sports teams make adjustments throughout the game in order to win
- We’ll open our playbook and share specific plays that real working parents use to win at work
- We’ll tackle the new normal of work from home
- The session also provides a space for group-based learning/sharing
- After completing this course, you will be able to:
- Confidently articulate your “why” for work
- Identify the areas where you need to run a different play
- Apply at least one idea for “winning” to your daily or weekly routine
Concurrent Session 3A
Field of Study: Personal Development
Learn more about Kassi
Kassi Rushing, APR
AICPA & CIMA
As a communication and people strategist, Kassi Rushing, APR, believes in culture by design. She collaborates with organizations to intentionally envision, clearly articulate and then bring to life their vision for workplace culture and employee experience. She specializes in connecting the functions of recruiting and onboarding, learning and leadership development, communication and employee engagement, to create a powerful, unified strategy. The result is a place where people want to work, and a company that other businesses want to work with.
For more than two decades, Kassi has been bridging the strategies between business and people. Her experience and expertise is in workplace culture and transformation, high performing teams, leadership/pipeline development, employee experience and communication strategy.
She previously served as the director of people growth and engagement for a Top 50 public accounting firm and as a corporate communicator focused on employee relations for a multi- billion dollar financial institution. She also worked as a development consultant for a national women’s non-profit organization.
Kassi earned her Bachelor of Arts in communication with an emphasis in public relations from Mississippi State University and her Master of Science in corporate communication and public relations from Mississippi College. She holds the Accreditation in Public Relations from the Public Relations Society of America and her Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from the Yale School of Management. She is a Certified DISC Behavioral Analysis Consultant, a tool she uses to help teams work more effectively and increase their sense of belonging.
Kassi is an alliance member at Blue Hen, a company dedicated to organizational health and workplace development. She also serves as a strategic partner and designated Thought Leader with the AICPA-CIMA’s Business Learning Institute.
How do you Thrive as an Employee and Manager in the Hybrid Work Environment
Are you struggling to navigate the hybrid work environment? In today’s world, hybrid work is becoming increasingly more common. Hybrid work is a combination of remote and in-person work, and it can be a great way to increase productivity and collaboration. However, it can also be challenging to manage or work in a hybrid environment due to a lack of connection or focus.
We’ll discuss how to not only survive, but thrive as a manager or employee in a hybrid work environment. This session is designed to help you walk away with an actionable plan that you can begin using to implement a new hybrid work plan in your office or improve your current plan to maximize effectiveness.
In this session, you’ll:
- Review the benefits and challenges of hybrid work and how to navigate them within your team
- Learn key skills needed to thrive in hybrid work environments
- Create your own hybrid work success plan to share with your team or to help drive your career forward
- Learn the 3C’s of successful hybrid work performance
Concurrent Session 3B
Field of Study: Personal Development
Learn more about Nicole
Nicole Andrews
Nicole Andrews International, LLC
Nicole is known as The Career Disruptor® and created Nicole Andrews International, LLC in 2019 offering career coaching, organizational consulting, speaking, memberships, online courses and events all focused on teaching and inspiring ambitious women how to disrupt the status quo on purpose in their careers.
She also helps organizations do the same through her unique approaches to leadership development, career development, and inclusion using her custom frameworks, tools, and strategies.
Nicole is a primary breadwinning mom, wife, former corporate executive, thought leader and online entrepreneur.
She formerly served as a Vice President of Human Resources for an Architecture Firm and prior to that role, she served as a Senior Manager in a Top 20 Certified Public Accounting Firm.
Nicole was a 2021 40 under 40 honoree by GSA Business Report, a 20 under 40 honoree by Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce and was recognized as a Top 100 Corporate Executive in America under 50 by Chicago based Diversity MBA Magazine.
She was also awarded the 2018 and 2021 Greenville Society of Human Resource Management’s Unsung Hero Award in Diversity Excellence.
Nicole holds a Certified Master of Career Services credential from the National Career Development Association and earned two Master’s from Clemson University: MBA and Masters in Human Resources Development.
She also has a Bachelor’s in Business Management with a minor in Psychology from Clemson.
Nicole is driven to help individuals and organizations be their absolute best and does this by leading them in positively disrupting the status quo in their careers and organizations on purpose to get from where they are to where they want to be in order to thrive and compete in the new future of work.
Break | 3:30-3:40 PM
General Session | 3:40-4:45 pm
Amy C. Horner
CHIEF | Top 50 Women in Accounting
The Amplified Impact of Leading Authentically
Join one of NCACPA’s own 2023 Top Women in Accounting recipients through an empowering reflective exercise supporting the key objectives of the day’s conference.
- Building relationships and developing a network of meaningful connections
- Tips for identifying a mentor and the rewards of being a sponsor or mentor
- Setting goals for the pillars of our personal health and wellness, career growth and the profession
This session provides a playbook for creating better work/life balance while navigating our individual goals.
Field of Study: Personal Development
Learn more about Amy
Amy Horner, CPA, MBA
CHIEF | Top 50 Women in Accounting
Amy is an accomplished leader with a track record of successfully leading collaborative strategic planning initiatives throughout her career. She is known for her unwavering dedication to celebrating change and embracing the opportunities which result from a dynamic environment.
A recipient of the Top 50 Women in Accounting award for 2023, she is committed to the professional development and career advancement of those around her. Amy launched Horner’s Corner to share her experience and thought leadership to create a positive, lasting impact through teaching, leading, and motivating. She is a founding member of CHIEF, a private network of women executives, where she actively engages with other members to continue her professional development, guide strategy, and mentor others.
Book your seat!
NCACPA is a NASBA-approved sponsor of continuing education.
For complete program information (course registration, learning objectives, instructional delivery methods, CPE, field of study, prerequisites, program knowledge, level, advance preparation, program description, and speaker information), please visit the event links above.
The North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org/.
For information regarding refund, complaint, program cancellation or other policies, visit our Registration Policies page or call 800-469-1352.