If you have been following our "Your Way To San Jose" series, then you know that QuickBooks Connect is full of speakers from various parts of the profession, as well as some who are not related to the profession at all. One of the panels, “Directions on the Accounting Industry”, will be a gathering of four of the top Thought Leaders in the profession Greg LaFollette, Gary Boomer, Darren Root and Joe Woodard. These 4 will share the stage to speak about and respond to the most prevalent issue that are affecting the profession today including:
- disruptive technologies
- shifts in trajectories
- multi-generational influences
To find out more about this upcoming panel I spoke to Gary Boomer and Darren Root. (Look for my interview with Joe Woodard coming up and you can find my interview with Greg LaFollette here)
Gary Boomer was named as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Accounting and is also a member of Inside Public Accounting’s 10 Most Recommended Consultants. He is a CPA and the CEO of Boomer Consulting, Inc., an organization that provides consulting services to leading accounting firms in the areas of Leadership and Management, Client Development, Talent Development, and Technology and Compensation.
When asked what got him interested in consulting, he said:
“I found out that the CPA services were not as rewarding as listening to the client, finding out what their real needs were, and developing solutions to meet those needs. That's why being a trusted business advisor is a much higher valued and rewarded position. If you're listening to the client’s needs, even if you don't know the answer yourself, but you know where the resources are and you can put that client in touch with those resources then you're the trusted business advisor."
Gary is also recognized in the accounting profession as a leading authority on technology and firm management and consults and speaks world-wide on management and technology related topics including strategy and technology planning, compensation, change management, and developing a training/ learning culture.
Darren Root, also a CPA, is a CITP, the former Executive Editor of CPA Practice Advisor; the author The E-Myth Accountant, Youtility for Accountants, and The Intentional Accountant; the principal of Root & Associates, LLC; and the President of RootWorks, a consulting practice that helps professional accounting firms implement technologies and best practices. To describe more about his role at RootWorks, he said, “The challenge with technology is that it’s evolving rapidly and these accounting firms are being bogged down with so much other work that it’s difficult to make the transition to the next generation. So we help them with that and training their staff to evolve as well.” Darren is also a speaker and speaks at dozens of professional organizations each year.
Both Gary and Darren agree that the purpose of this panel is to prepare attendees for the key issues impacting the profession and that the preparation they’ll receive is one of the key reasons they should attend the event. Darren said, “They need to understand the challenges facing the profession, the challenges facing their businesses, and what they need to do about it.” To which Gary added, “They also need to know how to utilize the technology to improve their business and to improve their clients’ businesses.” This panel will be practical and it will provide attendees with the tools and knowledge to help them.
The main learning objectives for this panel will be:
- To understand what all this new technology means and how you can implement it in your business
- To understand how to utilize new technology to stay relative and become more successful
- To understand how to develop your business to compete in next generation
Therefore, the 3 main takeaways for this panel will be:
- To have your questions answered about these different things that are affecting the profession
- To get some focus on where you need to place your resources (what type of learning investments you need to make)
- To learn how to package and price your services in the future
Both speakers enjoy these kinds of events for the positive impact they’re able to make on people and the way they’re able to help people in the profession, and they have their own specific speaking styles.
Darren’s style is very conversation and relaxed, but also very logical. He said, “I do well when someone asks me ‘Why do I want to know this information?’ I have a tendency to start with why is it important to them, and then back up and show them the logical progression to get that why. So I create a very logical discussion that leads them to the end in mind.” Gary’s speaking strength is the ability to make things easier to understand. He said, “I take complex issues and simplify them into actionable items and am rather direct about how to make them into actionable items. I simplify them and don’t make them overly complex or I use graphics to explain complex concepts.”
These 4 leaders bring a tremendous wealth of information and long histories in the profession, making this session one of the "Must Attend" sessions of the event. Mark your calendar for 1:45 on October 22 and look for Intuitive Accountant while your there!