Creating a Culture of Innovation
DECEMBER 5, 2022 • VIRTUAL CONFERENCE 
Event Details
With renowned subject matter experts, innovators, and leaders in current technology trends,
you’ll walk away from this conference prepared to help your business keep up the pace.
December 5, 2022
8:00–8:55 am
General Session
Tom Hood, III, CPA,CITP, CGMA
Business Learning Institute
Building a Culture of Innovation in the Age of Acceleration
The pandemic accelerated all the major trends facing every business and challenged us to think differently about our business models. This is a time of great opportunity for finance and accounting professionals to support the business inside and outside as trusted advisers.
This program will introduce the mindset, toolsets and skillsets that will enable contributions to any organizations’ innovation agenda. You will learn how and why leading, measuring, and executing innovation takes a fresh mindset, new tools, and skills different from those used to operate an established business.
The topics covered will provide you with the ability to:
- Describe how innovation can help your organization stay ahead of customer or user needs and other trends needed to survive.
- Recognize the top barriers to innovation in your organization Describe the role of leadership in creating and supporting a mindset of innovation.
- Explain the three types of innovation and how to apply them to your organization to accelerate innovation.
- Recognize the areas of opportunity to leverage your skills as a finance professional to assist your business’ innovation efforts, and where these can be enhanced and expanded with new learning.
More about Tom
Tom Hood, III, CPA,CITP, CGMA
Business Learning Institute
Tom Hood, CPA, CITP, CGMA is currently the EVP Business Growth & Engagement for AICPA-CIMA and the Business Learning Institute.
Tom recently stepped onto the global stage of the largest association of certified professional accountants in the world, representing over 690,000 CPAs, CGMAs, and students. He was named the second most influential person in accounting by Accounting Today Magazine for the tenth year.
His focus is elevating and accelerating the role of CPAs and CGMAs in corporate and management accounting.
In 2012 LinkedIn recruited Tom as one of their Top 100 Influencers and he now has a following of over 730,000. He is a member of Forbes Finance Council and was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame. He is the former CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and former CFO of a highway construction company. He has a Master’s in Finance from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Loyola University of Maryland.
He lives in Baltimore with his wife Sharon.
9:05–10:20 am
General Session
Dr. Sean Stein Smith
City of New York – Lehman College
Year-End Review: Blockchain and Cryptoassets
This session will discuss some of the practical use cases and applications of blockchain and cryptoassets that practitioners should be aware of as the calendar year comes to a close. Topics to covered include a review of pending regulation around cryptoassets, examining any FASB updates around blockchain or crypto, and tax highlights to keep in mind when discussing these topics with clients. Additionally, a review of market trends around crypto and blockchain, including the accounting implications of different cryptoassets, will be covered. At the end of this session, time will be allotted for Q&A, and resources will be provided for those attendees looking to learn more.
More about Sean
Dr. Sean Stein Smith
City of New York – Lehman College
Dr. Stein Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Business and Economics department. Before transitioning to academia full time, beginning with his appointment to a faculty position at Rutgers University, he worked in several corporate financial planning and accounting roles in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Dr. Stein Smith is actively engaged in the accounting community, having been awarded the NJCPA 30 under 30 in 2015, the Institute of Management Accountants Young Professional of the Year Award in 2016, and currently serves on the Fairleigh Dickinson University Alumni Association Board of Governors. Sean is also a member of the 2017 Class of the AICPA Leadership Academy.
His research interests and areas of expertise include integrated financial reporting, non-financial reporting, and the intersection of technology, strategic planning, and accounting. Dr. Stein Smith is a contributor to Thrive Global, publishes a weekly column for Inc.com, and is a member of the NJCPA Content Advisory Board, where he is routinely featured in the state society magazine. As a member of the AICPA Financial Literacy Commission, he has been quoted, interviewed, and recorded in numerous regional and national publications on personal finance issues.
10:35–11:50 am
Concurrent Sessions
Robert Powell
Chief Delivery Officer of Network Engineering and Managed Services
1A: Creating a Technology Solutions Infrastructure
Creating a technology solutions infrastructure is a critical piece to your organization’s success and determining an appropriate technology investment for your budget. Join this session as we review hardware and software solutions for every new client or startup. As VP of Networking Engineering, Robert will share best practices across their client base on technology solutions that will even stretch into proper security protection.
More about Robert
Robert Powell
Chief Delivery Officer of Network Engineering and Managed Services
Robert Powell brings over 25 years of experience in technology, systems architecture, implementation, and IT management serving healthcare, manufacturing, printing, merchandising, and nonprofits. As a passionate customer advocate, Robert excels at understanding the needs and complexities of each client’s business and its ability to leverage technology in new and innovative ways.
Robert joined LBMC Technology Solutions in 1998 as a Network Engineer, providing IT support and project deployment services to customers. Since 2001, he has managed and led the managed services practice for LBMC Technology Solutions. Under his direction, the team has realized regular growth in customer base, technical knowledge, technical skillset, and customer service. The team has supported and managed hundreds of client environments and successfully completed thousands of projects. The team consistently receives rave reviews from their customers touting LBMC Tech Solutions’ outstanding customer support.
Mr. Powell graduated from Western Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems. He continues his education by reading, attending classes, and pursuing professional certifications.
1B: A Realistic Approach to Business Automation
Every organization wants to run at high efficiency, but achieving it can often seem out of reach without a huge IT budget and knowledge base. In this presentation we’ll walk through current approaches to automation and discuss how to plan and put together a digital enablement strategy that works for your particular business needs.
Judy Nichols
Data Analytics and Collaboration Director
More about Judy
Judy Nichols
Data Analytics and Collaboration Director
Judy started her career working in all aspects of physician practices for several years including Cardiovascular Testing, Lab, Transcription, Coding, Billing, AR/AP, Physician Recruitment, and Practice Management. She helped found the Toledo Medic Users Group in 1991, aided several practices in starting the process toward electronic medical records, and worked as a consultant with a hospital reimbursement specialty organization.
She joined Aspect Software (then Quilogy) in 2006 as a Managing Consultant and ended as a Senior Director in their Professional Services Division leading their Services Healthcare Vertical and Collaboration Practice. In this role she was responsible for delivering solutions that enabled Aspect’s customers to more fully engage within the enterprise and to their consumer base. She was also a leader in the Aspect Women in Technology group.
In September of 2016 Judy, along with her partners Greg Petrites and Jessica Gray, launched a new company called Breakpoint Technology focused on data analytics and collaborative technology solution custom-built for clients. Judy has led the creation of several custom platforms including client portals, RVU workload manager for academic medical centers and complex physician practices, and location identifier for nonprofits. In July 2021, Breakpoint Technology joined Dean Dorton.
Anna Cassaro
Data Process Optimization, Dean Dorton
More about Anna
Anna Cassaro
Data Process Optimization, Dean Dorton
Anna Cassaro has a BS in Finance from Xavier University and has worked as a developer in the software consulting industry for seven years. Anna has had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of technologies on projects ranging from software integrations to mobile applications. She specializes in .NET development and Microsoft’s Power Platform, being the Power Platform expert within the Business Process Consulting team at Dean Dorton.
Anna makes good use of her business background to help her understand the approach in developing custom solutions for our customers. She is very intentional when creating an effective user experience as well as instrumental in optimizing work processes to improve and automate company workflows.
12:40–1:55 pm
Concurrent Sessions
2A: Ideation to Realization
The most innovative organizations recognize ideas to advance the business can be initiated from anyone regardless of role or position. Join us, as we walk through the lifecycle of an idea for a corporate initiative from ideation, to business case development, to project delivery, to realization of benefits. You will gain knowledge to increase probability of success for adoption of your ideas in your environment.
Dana Minorics
More about Dana
Dana Minorics, LSSBB, PMP
Dana is an accomplished leader with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations achieve their strategic plan; through disciplined business planning, project execution, and business process optimization. Dana has led project organizations faced with large-scale transformation: from developing a new business model in the face of NC Medicaid Transformation, to leading change to value-based payment in a large health care system, to mergers and acquisitions, to her current role driving alignment to new business models in tech at Red Hat.
Dana received her Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from The College of New Jersey and a Master’s Degree in Information Systems from Stevens Institute of Technology. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Project Management Professional, and Agile ScrumMaster.
Heidi Huenemann
More about Heidi
Heidi Huenemann
Heidi is a proven leader with more than 20 years of progressive experience both in managing and optimizing company financial performance (Corporate FP&A), and in driving operational excellence and organizational change. Adept at bridging the gap between technical and functional, Heidi has built the foundation for process excellence at Red Hat. From developing scalable standards and frameworks, to designing inclusive business process architecture models, to building cross-functional process excellence communities, Heidi’s current role shapes Red Hat’s process excellence perspective, drives seamless value streams, and creates a future-ready organization through new core capabilities like process mining.
Heidi received her Bachelor’s Degree in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri – Columbia. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
Aleksander Joseph Bevensee
Elliot Davis
2B: What BI/Analytics Tools Can Do for You Now!
Join us as we discuss tangible, cost effective use cases for the deployment of analytical solutions. Regardless of your experience and comfort level with data analytics, you’ll find value in this session as we cover a broad range of topics, including:
- In House Development of Analytical Solutions
- Using Analytics for Automation
- Embedded Audit Modules
- AI Tools Entering the Audit Industry
- Visions of the Future”
More about Aleksander
Aleksander Joseph Bevensee
Elliot Davis
Alek frequently guest lectures at universities and industry conferences on the topics of data analytics, business intelligence, and data visualization. He aids companies in unlocking the full power of their financial and operational data to find solutions to complex challenges. From executing in-depth statistical analyses to building c-suite-friendly dashboards, customers value Alek’s ability to deliver effective solutions with substantial ROI.
2:10–3:00 pm
Concurrent Sessions
3A: How to Run a Pilot/Beta to Solicit Good Feedback
The increasing pace of change means we need to develop dependable routines to test new ideas in small pilot programs and reliably scale positive results throughout the business. There are lots of opportunities throughout the pilot and rollout process to misstep and collect bad data, get an inaccurate picture of the problem space, frustrate the target audience, and turn an improvement effort into a disaster. We aim to share some of our learnings with you around what factors are critical to success and what counter-intuitive practices can help prevent failure to launch.
Objectives:
- Learn which prerequisites need to be in place before a pilot program begins
- Learn who needs to participate in a pilot program and in what roles
- Learn how to gather unbiased feedback and leverage negative feedback into positive results
Jonathan Cory Kraftchick, CPA
Cherry Bekaert LLP
More about Jonathan
Jonathan Cory Kraftchick, CPA
Cherry Bekaert LLP
A partner in the Raleigh office, Jonathan also serves as the head of the Firm’s Innovation team. Since 2001, he has conducted audit engagements for a variety of companies and industries throughout the country, as well as writing and delivering courses both inside and outside of the Firm. Outside of his work at Cherry Bekaert, Jonathan served as an adjunct professor at Elon University in their accounting department. In 2015, Jonathan was awarded the “Taking it to the Max” award by the NCACPA, which honors the legacy of former NCACPA Chair Maximo Mukelabai. He has also received NCACPA’s 5.0 Discussion Leader Award and their Outstanding Seminar Discussion Leader award on several occasions. In 2018, Jonathan was the first-ever recipient of the NCACPA Elevating Women Award, which recognizes a male in the CPA profession who actively supports the advancement of women. In 2017, Jonathan participated and placed second runner-up in CPA.com’s Innovative Practitioner of the Year, which recognizes innovation in process, services or technology implementation in public accounting firms.
Scott Beckett
More about Scott
Scott Beckett
Scott’s been involved with improvisational comedy since 2011, and he’s been mashing it together with his corporate experience since 2013 when he won the Coalition Theater’s first Battle Decks competition.
Scott finds harmony between his work strengths where he provides value as a facilitator and collaborator; and his improv strengths where he focuses on groupwork, patterns, and games.
Scott has taught the Coalition’s 301 level course several times, in addition to coaching house teams and independent teams. He’s performed as a house team player for multiple years, in addition to joining a plethora of ad hoc casts at the Coalition Theater as well as festivals and workshops up and down the East Coast.
Only somewhat more professionally, Scott has held roles with Ernst & Young’s Health Science Advisory Services practice, McKesson’s Medical-Surgical division, and Capital One’s Commercial Bank division; serving as a Six Sigma trained data analyst, business analyst, and project lead.
Martha Jane Rinehart, CPA
LBMC Technologies
3B: Useful Integrations to Better Support Your Clients
Using cloud-based financial software allows CPAs to be more responsive to their clients and communicate quickly and accurately. There are many tools on the marketplace that businesses can use to integrate with their software to improve their efficiencies. As the business advisor, you should be familiar with them in case they come to you for advice. In addition, visual reporting software can help your client better understand your insights and advice. In this session, we will discuss software that CPA’s can use to improve communication with clients and provide more value to their services.
More about Martha
Martha Jane Rinehart, CPA
LBMC Technologies
Experience:
Martha has been with LBMC Technology Solutions for two years. She came to LBMC with over 14 years’ experience in public and corporate accounting. Prior to beginning her consulting career, Martha held positions as Sr Auditor, Accounting Manager, Cash Management Manager, Financial Reporting Sr. Manager, and Controller. Martha’s depth of experience in accounting and business process allows her to see how technologies affect entire organizations. This ability to see the big picture of an organization is what lead her to specialize in software implementation. She is an excellent communicator and can ask the right questions and research solutions to address a company’s efficiency pain points. She enjoys connecting various business processes to the accounting processes in order to provide more accurate and timely financial information to leadership.
Education:
Martha holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Louisiana Tech University, and she completed her accounting coursework at Middle Tennessee State to become a licensed CPA. In addition, she holds an MBA from the University of Scranton, with concentrations in Accounting and Healthcare Administration. She is a certified Intacct Implementation Specialist.
Personal:
Martha lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband, three children and ten house pets. They have an adult son living in Denver, CO and love to visit him during the summer. She was born and raised in Shreveport, LA and has lived in TN, GA and MS before coming to NC.
3:10–4:25 pm
General Session
Aaron Bock
Opkalla
Emerging Trends in Technology
With technology constantly evolving, it’s important to maintain a proactive IT roadmap. By familiarizing yourself with the trends discussed in this presentation, you’ll be setting your business (via your tech stack) up for success well into the future.
More about Aaron
Aaron Bock
Opkalla
With over 12 years in the IT Consulting industry, Aaron has helped companies of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 50, make the best IT decisions to make their life easier. Aaron is an avid runner, Virginia Tech alumni, proud husband and lucky father of two energetic children and a beagle named Winston.
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