MDBizExpo

What will be your key to success in 2010?

2010-01-15T08:03:41-05:00

The 2010 edition of the MDBIZEXPO - MACPA Member Summit will be THE event of 2010 to help you survive and thrive in these turbulent times.

Just announced - June 29th will be the date of this year's MACPA's Member Summit (aka MDBIZEXPO) and a new location, the New - BWI Hilton Hotel.

This year will feature the hottest topics and speakers in four tracks:

Emerging Issues - XBRL, Sustainability, Healthcare, Financing
Leadership/Business Acumen - I2A - Insights to Action, Leading in Turbulent Times and more
Updates - the economy, lending, financing, technology
Fundamentals - the latest on tax, accounting, auditing, financial planning

Special Pre-Event Options on June 28th:

11:30-1 p.m. - MACPA Annual Meeting
1:30-5 pm - Managing Partner Summit and special update from Mark Koziel of AICPA PCPS
1:30-5pm - CFO Summit
1:30-5 p.m. - Ethics, Leadership and the Role of the CPA
5:30-8 p.m. - New CPA Swearing In and Reception

After two very successful years, we are shotting for an even better third year after listening to our attendees, exhibitors, sponsors, and partners. You can expect the same leading-edge topics, excellent vendors and sponsors with a more focused (CPA-centric) approach in an exciting, more accessible venue.

Don't miss the New CPA Swearing-in Ceremony - evening of June 28th at the BWI Hilton Hotel

For more information about this and other conferences, visit MACPA's Conferences Page

See highlghts from last year's EXPO at our Social Media Mash-up (by R2integrated) or on our website

Thank you for making the MDBIZEXPO a social network!

2009-06-22T10:01:36-04:00

As I reflected on the MDBIZEXPO over the last few days, Matt Goddard's (CEO of R2integrated) words kept coming back to me, "the MDBIZEXPO is a social network!"

The point is that the most important outcome for us and many we have heard from is the network of relationships, connections, and people that this opportunity made possible. Just read the recaps from some of the many articles, posts and twitter conversations that are captured below and you can get the essence of the event and feel the connections that were made.

Our second point is our tremendous gratitude and thanks to all who contributed to this event. We have always said that business is social and this event put a big exclamation mark on that point. So, our thanks to all of our connections, old and new that came together to make this event possible.

Thanks to our Associate sponsors from the Federal and state government and Maryland non-profit community. The Association for Corporate Growth; Department of Economic and Business Development; Financial Executives International; Greater Baltimore Tech Council; Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants; Maryland Bankers Association; Maryland State Bar Association (Business Section); Maryland World Class Consortia; National Federation of Independent Business; The Maryland Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Thanks to our special media sponsors AccoutingWeb, Bay Street Group, Baltimore Business Journal, Smart CEO magazine, Raintoday.com, and Accountants Media Group

Thank to our premium sponsors CCH, Richard J Princinsky, Harvest Bank of Maryland, Mindjet, & Business Learning Institute and over seventy-five exhibitors who demonstrated their support and courage to help us make a difference in Maryland. Like most events in the current economy, we would have liked to see more foot traffic, but we were very successful with workshop attendance and set a new record at the CPA Swearing-in ceremony.

Thanks to all of our friends, speakers, and thought leaders who took time to attend our event.

Thanks to all of our attendees and MACPA members who came out.

Thanks to the MACPA team that worked tirelessly to make this event a success!

You can still see highlights, photos, videos, twitter messages on our Social Mashup (Smash) site provided by R2i.ntegrated http://mdbizexpo.r2ismash.com/

Listen to what other people were saying (and writing about):

Complete MDBizExpo Live! photo gallery
More photos from the Expo and here
A call for health care transparency (Expo coverage from The Daily Record)
Collaborate. Innovate. Grow. (Expo coverage from Financial Executives International)
Live from the Maryland Biz Expo(Expo coverage from AccountingWeb)
Live from the Maryland Biz Expo, Part 2 (Expo coverage from AccountingWeb)
Institute revamps CITP credential, gives Second Life demo(Expo coverage from WebCPA)
MACPA Takes CPA meeting to new level with hyper-local business outreach(Expo coverage from Rick Telberg of CPA Trendlines)
First national Survey Results:How Accountants Use Social Media(Expo coverage by Rick Telberg of CPA Trendlines)
http://retheauditors.com/2009/06/accountants-and-social-media-dream-panel-mdbizexpo/(Expo coverage by Francine McKenna of re:TheAuditors)
The New, New Economy & Regulatory Landscape (Expo coverage from Financial Executives International)
2009 Maryland Business & Accounting EXPO(coverage by XBRL Blog Magazine
MD BIZ Expo: Optimism & Opportunity (coverage by Corridor Inc.)
Maryland's Associations Join Forces to Combat Recession, Spark Recovery(coverage by BusinessWire)

You can also view the Twitter stream under our hashtag #MDBIZEXPO

Our blog CPA Success posts about the MDBIZEXPO

Don't miss the photos of MDBIZEXPO in Second Life

'Insights to Action': Strat planning that works

2009-06-12T12:16:00-04:00

Let's talk about strategic planning. I'm guessing you either love it or hate it, right?

For those who hate it? Well, we've all been a part of strat planning sessions where we come up with 15 or 20 goals, pat each other on the back, then walk out the door and are hit with that sinking feeling that none of that stuff will ever gonna get done.

And what's more demoralizing than that? It's an awful feeling -- the reality that says, "Here's stuff we should be doing, and we're fairly certain we won't ever do it."

Those who love strategic planning, on the other hand, might very well have sat through a strat planning session that was facilitated by Gretchen Pisano.

Gretchen is a champion of what's known as "graphic facilitation" -- the art of making people's thinking visible to others through shared graphics and artwork.

With the help of MACPA Executive Director Tom Hood, Gretchen has developed what she calls a "strategic thinking system." It's called "Insights to Action," and it does just what its name suggests: Through graphic facilitation, it leads organizations through a strategic planning session that results in specific actions, and it does so via five steps:

Sight. This is the usual data-gathering step, but it comes with a problem: "We've become very good at gathering data," Pisano said, "but we gather so much of it that we lose sight of which data are important." That's where the second step comes in.
Insight: Here, facilitators help their clients make sense of the data by identifying what is most important right now.
Create: Pisano explains this step with a question: "What are some of the possibilities we can create out of some of the insights we have?"
Communicate -- in other words, explaining the plan to others in a way they can easily understand.
Inspire: "This involves communicating what you're doing in a way that's compelling enough that other people want to get on board and become part of the solution," Pisano said.

What really differentiates "Insights to Action" from other strat planning systems, says Hood, is the fact that "we drive them to priorities. We look at high-leverage opportunities and are constantly trying to focus the organization on what's most important. A lot of strat planning systems come out with 15, 20, 30 priorities that never get done. We try to push them to five, and we find that, typically, those five get action."

I've sat through a number of these sessions, and I'm here to tell you, they're amazing. The way they help build consensus, get everyone moving toward a defined set of goals, then follow through and take action on those goals is invaluable.

I sat down with Gretchen and Tom to have them describe the art of graphic facilitation and explain "Insights to Action" in detail. Listen to what they had to say in this CPA Spotlight podcast.

Subscribe to our podcast here, or search for "CPA Spotlight" in iTunes.
This slideshow takes a closer look at "Insight to Action."
Don't miss the new BLI course "Insights to Actions: Strategic Thinking System," on July 13-14.

More at the Expo
Pisano will lead a session titled "Insights to Action, Strategic Thinking System," during Day 2 of the Maryland Business and Accounting Expo, slated for June 16-17 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Get complete details and register here.

Think you know your clients? Think again

2009-06-11T12:15:00-04:00

How many of you think you know what your clients want?

OK, you can all put your hands down, because I have another question: How many of your clients would agree that you know what they want?

We all like to think that we know what our clients want, that we're providing real value that will improve their lives. According to Mike Schultz, though, reality paints a very different picture.

"There's a pretty strong disconnect between how buyers are buying and how (professional service providers) believe they are selling," said Schultz, president of the management consulting firm Wellesley Hills Group and publisher of RainToday.com, a site that provides professional service firms with advice and resources. "I think it all boils down to human nature. We all think we are better than we are."

To prove his point, Schultz pointed to a 2008 survey from Bain & Company. In it, 80 percent of professional service providers said they offer clients a superior experience -- but only 8 percent of clients agreed.

Likewise, Schultz's group has surveyed people who buy professional services and found that:

38 percent of them said their professional service provider does not listen to them.
30 percent said their provider does not respond in a timely manner.
30 percent said their provider does not understand their needs.
24 percent said their relationship with the provider has no personal chemistry.
22 percent said the provider has not crafted a compelling solution to their needs.

So how do we bridge that gap? According to Schultz, the first step is to do what we say we are going to do. Little things like showing up on time, returning calls and meeting deadlines go a long way toward building trust and enhancing reputations.

That sounds simple enought, but Schultz says there are lots of other ways in which CPAs and other professional service providers can successfully sell their services and build trust and loyalty with clients. Listen to what he has to say in this CPA Spotlight podcast.

Subscribe to our podcast here, or search for "CPA Spotlight" in iTunes.

Learn more at the Expo
Schultz will present a session titled "How Clients Buy Accounting and Professional Services" during Day 1 of the Maryland Business and Accounting Expo, slated for June 16-17 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Get complete details about the Expo and register here.

Top 3 Leadership Priorities in a Recession

2009-06-05T07:24:02-04:00

How do you survive a major recession? How do you deal with continuous change?

Answer: Strong leadership and strategic thinking skills. According to a recent study by the IMA, the top 3 leadership priorities needed are:

Productivity - doing more with less
Motivating the workforce
Pursuing growth opportunities

These and many other key leadership skills are being featured at the MDBIZEXPO. Here are a couple of key sessions that provide skills development in these three areas:

Our keynote titled 10% or Die using innovative leadership to thrive in a brutal economy - covers both productivity and pursuing growth opportunities. Jim Swartz, Author of "Seeing David in the Stone" will give you new ways to think about increasing productivity, decreasing costs, and increasing your value offering to customers using techniques from the "deep lean"and innovative leadership fields.

Motivating the workforce is covered in our high energy session titled Leadership at the helm in a storm by BLI favorite instructor, Greg Conderacci, Inspiring Accountability - excellence in management, and Finding the strength to get it done - energy management all provide skills you can apply immediately to help motivate and inspire your team.

As for opportunities, the EXPO is full of sessions designed to help businesses and CPAs, large and small find opportunities in maryland that they can put to use immediately. Working with a broad coalition of Maryland's top business associations and federal and state business development groups we have sessions that teach you "how to" and provide resources and contacts in areas like BRAC, government contracting, international trade, SBA loans, financing, and more. Here is a list of our associate sponsors:

Maryland Chamber of Commerce , Maryland Bankers Association, Greater Baltimore Tech Council, Maryland World Class Consortia, Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development, US Small Business Association, National Federation of Independent Business, Association for Corporate Growth, Maryland Bar Association - business section

The EXPO will provide special "Connection Plus" sessions for many of these programs giving you time to interact with the speakers, exhibitors and attendees as we provide facilitated conversations about these key topics at your table. you will gain the perspectives from the community, build new relationships, and have time to think about how these concepts can help you and your business or firm.

And an all-star line up of business sponsors and exhibitors with resources and services you need to survive the recession.

See the agenda here

Twelve steps to find & seize opportunities

How to get the right things done an evening with maryland manufacturing

MDBIZEXPO + R2iSMASH = a Social Mash Up

2009-06-03T06:03:03-04:00

"Economic growth requires more than just knowledge. It requires networking as well as access to suppliers, government agencies, and partners who will help our companies grow and compete beyond our region." - Tom Hood

Business is about people and people are social that is why we have inserted social media throughout the MDBIZEXPO and made networking and connections such priority. (See post Up Your Whuffie Factor)

We see this event as a way to connect people which is why we are really excited about this technology tool. This latest version of R2i SMASH will showcase what the EXPO is really all about - people - connections - the network.

When we heard about this from our friends at GB Tech and the Maryland Chamber, we knew we had to have it for this event, so we went to Matt Goddard at R2i.ntegrated in Baltimore and said that they had to be a sponsor of the EXPO and they said YES!

Matt will be featured in a keynote on Tuesday, June 16th (10:15 a.m. 11:05 a.m.) - as he talks about "The Social Reality- Turning the Social Media Hype Into Real Value for Your Business"

This platform offers us the ability to capture the energy and excitement of the EXPO by showcasing all of the cool people in attendance and connecting those who can't be here with us LIVE. Attendees will be able to send photos, tweets, and text messages (use hashtag #MDBIZEXPO09 and mail live@macpa.org) and we will be conducting live interviews during the two days which will be broadcast through our MDBIZEXPO R2i SMASH site. It will be featured at three viewing stations around the EXPO and live on the website throughout the conference and after. We see this as an way to delver extra value to all of our thought leaders, speakers, and major sponsors who are making the investment in Maryland's future with us.

Check out our link with last year's photos and current twitter stream on our MDBIZEXPO R2i SMASH site now and check back as the conference starts.

R2i recently returned from San Fran where they unveiled the latest version of their social networking mash up technology as the focal point of the Inbound Marketing Summit 2009 Conference. Assigned the aptly named moniker "Smash", short for social mash up, R2i SMASH provides a robust and friendly environment which integrates the popular heavyweight social networking capabilities of Twitter, Flickr, text messaging, mobile video, Ustream, webcasting and multimedia messaging.With R2i SMASH you can quickly setup anything from a simple page with grouped social streams, to a full event conferencing web property, complete with locations, sessions, abstracts and schedules to conduct a full social networking world’s fair online or shared and in person.

R2i SMASH has been used for simple websites used to act as the one-stop takeaway point for single day conferences, to multi-day extravaganzas. It can have a custom user interface for each event, or a set of shared layouts for quick setup for use in any setting.

• Quick setup
• Custom URLS
• Popular social networking feeds
• Twitter tweets by tags and phrases
• Flickr pics by tag and author
• SMS texts from custom email addresses
• SMS pictures with automatic scaling
• Video streams with web capture
• Built in moderation capabilities
• Quick export of all multimedia types for archiving
• Adjustable and skinable layout
• Custom dimension flexibility appropriate for any display requirements like:
o laptops/desktops
o conference booths
o TV and HDTV
o standard and widescreen projectors

R2i SMASH brings you the best features of social networking, in one centrally located package.

Download R2i SMASH

Up your Whuffie Factor at the MDBIZEXPO

2009-06-03T06:00:56-04:00

or How to use social media to increase your business and boost your career.

"Whuffie is the culmination of your reputation, influence, bridging and bonding capital, current and potential access to ideas, talent and resources, saved-up favors, and accomplishments." from the book, The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt (@missrogue on twitter)

The MDBIZEXPO will feature some of the top social media gurus in business and accounting and plenty of sessions designed to help you harness these new tools for your business and career.

Pictured are a few of the nationally-recognized gurus who stopped by our tweet-up back in February at our MACPA Columbia CPA Center (@chris_jenkins @tomhood @billsheridan, @pinnovation, @retheauditors, @editho @cpatrendlines). There were even more cool people at the tweetup like @robinyasnow @will_burns @jamesuccpa, etc. That conversation led us to integrate and weave social media throughout the EXPO, to help you build your whuffie. In addition we will have plenty more social media gurus helping you build your whuffie at sessions like these:

Matt Goddard of R2.Integrated will talk about The Social Reality- Turning the Social Media Hype Into Real Value for Your Business
Rick Telberg of CPA Trendlines will feature the results of the first survey of CPAs and uses of Social Media
Bill Sheridan will feature a panel of nationally recognized bloggers and social media experts from AccountingWeb, Accounting Technology Magazine, Journal of Accountancy. Daily Record, BBJ, Financial Executives International, re:TheAuditors, MDChamber and more
Raintoday.com will offer their free special report titled Social Networking for Professional Services: How to Add Social Media toYour Networking Plan to all attendees
All this and over 60 workshops for two days for $250! Register here

Here is how you can help us make the EXPO extra social and build some whuffie

RSVP’ing to the MDBIZEXPO LinkedIn event: http://events.linkedin.com/MDBIZEXPO/pub/78303
and the MDBIZEXPO Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=61323852802
Another easy way to let your network know what you’re doing is to update your “What are you doing now” on LinkedIn. Please insert this URL http://www.mdbizexpo.com to help others get easy access to the conference information.
In addition, if you will be tweeting about this conference, we’ve set up a Twitter hash tag: #MDBizExpo09. Please refer to the conference when applicable before, during and after the event to create some buzz!
Our technology sponsor, R2i.ntegrated, has created a Web site that will mashup our social media content before and during the EXPO. You can view the site with last year’s photos and recent posts here:http://mdbizexpo.r2ismash.com/

MDBIZEXPO sites:
• Official Web site: http://www.mdbizexpo.com
• Blog: http://www.mebizexpoblog.com
• On Twitter: http://twitter.com/mdbizexpo
• Hashtag: #MDBizExpo09

Here are just a few twitterers who will be with is at the EXPO (I Can't wait to see that twitter stream on our MDBIZEXPO R2i SMASH site):

@retheauditors @cpa_trendlines @accountingweb @Atomorrow @editho @mike_schultz @cybercpa @will_burns @mdchamber @jamesuccpa @nadenlean@bbjonline@dubmenow@michaeldeutch @mindjet @r2integrated @G1440 @dubmenow @gretchenpisano @byron_cpa @FRYAN1951
@pmargaritis @gbtech @SmallBusinessAd @chadmoutray @NFIB @Tbensky
@jackiesauter @JR_Martin @ronaldbaker @davidstephenson @MACPA@billsheridan
@tomhood @kimoneill @jegbrown @hawsmith @pamelacdevine @skipfalatko @dougshaner
@ShancockMACPA @Jfrizzera @amystum

Cool tool for networking - featured at the EXPO

2009-05-28T10:35:29-04:00

Ever run out of business cards at a meeting or event? This new tool allows you to "send" your card by text, sms, or e-mail.

Every CPA needs to network.In fact, every business professional needs to network and this is a new way to speed up and organize your networking abilities. Our friend, Jeff De Cagna at Principled Innovation turned me onto this too and I was impressed. Check out this short video to really see the potential.

I use the iPhone version (available from the apps store), but there are other versions for blackberry and other smartphones, or just go to their website and setup your mobile card http://www.bibmenow.com

DubMeNow will be featured at the MDBIZEXPO and MACPA will be sending out a link to all of our exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees to connect then up (at their option).

DUB Explained from DubMeNow on Vimeo.

Mindmaps: Turning chaos into order

2009-05-26T23:38:54-04:00

There is hope yet for scatterbrained organizers like myself.

It's called mindmapping, a visual way of organizing your thoughts, planning your strategy, managing a project -- any type of activity that involves drilling down to the nuts and bolts of an issue or task. It's kind of like preparing an outline, but way more graphic, interactive and effective. The photo above gives you a very basic idea of what a simple mindmap looks like.

What I love about mindmaps are their multimedia functionality. With each topic and subtopic, you can add hyperlinks, documents, notes, images and more. You can collaborate on Web-based maps with colleagues in multiple locations and save them as PDFs, Flash files or images.

Mapping your thoughts? Heck, done right, mindmaps will map things you haven't even thought of yet.

OK, maybe they're not that good. But they're close.

"Mindmaps visually connect ideas and information," said Michael Deutch, chief evangelist at Mindjet, one of the leaders in mindmapping software and creator of the MindManager mapping software. "Mindmapping brings together broad ideas and the depth, the flow of ideas to create a holistic representation of your thoughts."

Deutch has taken a keen interest in the worlds of finance and accounting, and has even gone so far as to work closely with MACPA Executive Director Tom Hood to create a special edition of MindManager specifically for CPAs. That edition will make its debut at the Maryland Business and Accounting Expo on June 16 and 17 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

The special edition includes about 25 preloaded maps that center on audit plans, change management, marketing strategy, meeting facilitation, social media strategy, XBRL implementation and more.

"We've leveraged the expertise of CPAs and the power of the software to pull together some great, meaningful content," Deutch said.

I spoke with Deutch on the phone recently to find out more about mindmapping and how CPAs can take advantage of it. Listen to what he had to say in this MACPA podcast.

Subscribe to our podcast here, or search for "CPA Spotlight" in iTunes.

More at the Expo
Besides launching the CPE edition of MindManager, Deutch will be on hand at the Maryland Business and Accounting Expo to deliver a presentation titled, "Using Mind Mapping to Increase your Productivity." The session will take place on June 16 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Get complete details about the Expo and register here.

Are you ready for XBRL? Latest data shows most are not

2009-05-18T06:12:26-04:00

35 percent of public company CFOs and senior comptrollers are not familiar with XBRL and an astounding 64 percent had no plans to implement it, according to the latest survey by Grant Thornton.

With the XBRL mandated use by public companies fast approaching on June 15, 2009, we decided to make this an important component of our Large Corporate / Public Company / Banking track for public companies and their auditors.

We also priced this to encourage our public companies and auditors to bring their teams to get up to speed quickly. At $250 for two days, this is one-tenth of comparable national conferences and it is right in their own back yard -- no travel!

The latest developments in XBRL will be featured in four sessions on Tuesday, June 16 starting after lunch.

We start with the latest experiences from the VFP (Voluntary Filers Program) featuring Ken Kelly of McCormick & Co., Bob Laux of Microsoft and members from the SEC's Interactive Data division. You will learn about their experiences and gain first-hand knowledge of what is really involved. Featured XBRL vendors will also be on hand to offer resources and assistance, like Clarity, Neoclarus, Hitachi and BusinessWire, We hope this is a start of gathering best practices to help public companies and auditors deal with the implementation of this important new rule.

Eric E. Cohen of PWC, a founding member of XBRL, will be on hand to present how to use XBRL for improving your financial reporting supply chain internally in his session on Global GL.

The final two sessions cover the future of assurance and XBRL with a panel moderated by Bob Tarola of Right Advisory. (He is also the retired CFO of WR Grace & Co).

Other highlights of the Public Company track include the following:

Fair Value Accounting by Jack Ciesielski of the Accounting Observer will share his insights and perspective on this hot topic.
Increasing Transparency through Enhanced Business Reporting. Bob Laux of Microsoft will share the latest developments on this important initiative -- www.EBR360.com.
Francine McKenna of re:theauditorswill host a panel discussion featuring Colleen Cunningham of Resources Global (a former CEO of FEI), Joanne O'Rourke of the PCAOB, and Susan Webster, editor of BNA's Accounting Policy Journal.

Members of our association sponsors the Financial Executives International, Maryland Bankers Association and the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, along with key regulators from the SEC and PCAOB will be attending these special sessions to learn and share the latest developments.

Alsosponsoring and (many) in attendance will be editors, bloggers and representatives of the national trade press like Edith Orenstein of FEI's Financial Reporting Blog, Accounting Web, Accounting Today, XBRL Blog, CPA Trendlines, RE:the auditors, and others.

Registration link: Register here(All MACPA Members and members and affiliates of our sponsors and exhibitors can attend at the $250 rate - savings of $150 for both days)

See the complete agenda on slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/thoodcpa/mdbizexpo-2009

Resources: