Description
Are efficiency and performance important to you? Do you value data security? Do you want to be more productive? The ISCPA Technology Conference can help you do all of this and more. Learn from technology expert Tommy Stephens and determine how to address your organization's most pressing needs. Walk away with practical, technology-based tips and tools to safeguard your systems, strengthen security, deter fraud and increase productivity.
Don't get left behind! Join us for exciting presentations on how to take full advantage of today's technologies to advance your business practices, processes, and workflows so that you and your team are working at peak efficiency.
Technology...There's always something new on the horizon...
Day One:
- Tech Update
- Staying up to date with advances in today's technology has never been more vital, and K2's Tech Update equips you with the knowledge to stay ahead of the rapid pace of innovation. This comprehensive session is designed for accountants who want to understand the evolving technological landscape and its implications for the accounting profession.
- AI For Accounting & Financial Professionals
- AI is available seemingly everywhere, but how many are using it as effectively as they can? Or addressing the security and privacy concerns associated with AI? Or preparing their team members to work more efficiently?
- Taking Another Look At Power BI
- If you want to improve financial and operational reporting, now is the time to take another look at Power BI! Many recent enhancements make this tool even stronger and easier to use, so now is the time to take another look at Power BI.
- Top Ten Productivity Booster Apps In Microsoft 365
- There is more to Microsoft 365 than Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Participate in this session to learn about the many productivity-enhancing apps and services included with your Microsoft 365 subscription.
- There is more to Microsoft 365 than Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Participate in this session to learn about the many productivity-enhancing apps and services included with your Microsoft 365 subscription.
Day Two:
- Data Security And Privacy Issues And Solutions
- If you work in a public accounting practice, this session is a must to understand how technology developments will change how you and your team operate.
- Excel Tips - Today's Best Features
- Keep up with the latest features, functions, and tools added to Excel by participating in this session. In it, you will learn today’s best features in Excel.
Designed For
Objectives
See below
Highlights
Day One - September 22
- Tech Update
- Staying up to date with advances in today's technology has never been more vital, and K2's Tech Update equips you with the knowledge to stay ahead of the rapid pace of innovation. This comprehensive session is designed for accountants who want to understand the evolving technological landscape and its implications for the accounting profession. Which technology trends are worth monitoring? What are the proper hardware and software products for your strategic and tactical plans? How do Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing, Software-as-a-Service, and productivity suites like Microsoft 365 influence practice, especially since this year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Excel? Separate vendor hype from reality and discover how to achieve a 2X or more return on investment from your technology expenditures. Attendees will leave with actionable insights, including ideas they may not have previously considered.
- Learning Objectives
- Identify three technology trends that will impact the accounting profession.
- Select hardware and software that meets your practice's strategic and tactical needs.
- Use one or more tools to analyze and extract meaningful information from complex license agreements.
- Major Topics
- Trends in AI and machine learning
- Applications of quantum computing in accounting and finance
- The growing role of blockchain and digital currencies in accounting
- Innovations in software and hardware
- Learning Objectives
- Staying up to date with advances in today's technology has never been more vital, and K2's Tech Update equips you with the knowledge to stay ahead of the rapid pace of innovation. This comprehensive session is designed for accountants who want to understand the evolving technological landscape and its implications for the accounting profession. Which technology trends are worth monitoring? What are the proper hardware and software products for your strategic and tactical plans? How do Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing, Software-as-a-Service, and productivity suites like Microsoft 365 influence practice, especially since this year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Excel? Separate vendor hype from reality and discover how to achieve a 2X or more return on investment from your technology expenditures. Attendees will leave with actionable insights, including ideas they may not have previously considered.
- AI For Accounting & Financial Professionals
- AI is available seemingly everywhere, but how many are using it as effectively as they can? Or addressing the security and privacy concerns associated with AI? Or preparing their team members to work more efficiently? Like all new technologies, AI provides its biggest benefits to those who know how to use it, recognize the contexts in which can be helpful, and understand the risks associated with the technology. In this session, you will learn how accounting and financial professionals can take advantage of AI and profit from this amazing technology’s capabilities.
- Learning Objectives
- List the major platforms and key characteristics of each
- Construct and issue effective prompts to AI platforms
- Identify key risks and concerns associated with AI
- Creating an estimate of AI’s return on investment
- Major Topics
- Relative strengths and weaknesses of leading AI platforms
- Effective techniques for prompting your AI engine
- Addressing security and privacy risks and concerns associated with AI
- Learning Objectives
- AI is available seemingly everywhere, but how many are using it as effectively as they can? Or addressing the security and privacy concerns associated with AI? Or preparing their team members to work more efficiently? Like all new technologies, AI provides its biggest benefits to those who know how to use it, recognize the contexts in which can be helpful, and understand the risks associated with the technology. In this session, you will learn how accounting and financial professionals can take advantage of AI and profit from this amazing technology’s capabilities.
- Taking Another Look At Power BI
- Although Power BI has been available for ten years, most business professionals don’t fully appreciate all it can do and its easy use. Further, many are intimidated by the platform and continue to use less efficient and effective reporting practices. If this describes you, invest some time in this session to learn how to work with Power BI almost immediately. In this session, you will learn how to use Power BI to create compelling dashboard reports. You will also learn how to optimize these reports to enhance their effectiveness. If you want to improve financial and operational reporting processes, this session is for you!
- Learning Objectives
- List the basic steps necessary to generate a Power BI report
- Distinguish between Power BI reports and dashboards
- Identify the necessary steps to link data into Power BI
- List the steps necessary to create a Power BI report
- Specify the steps necessary to convert a Power BI report to a dashboard
- Generate user-defined calculations in Power BI
- Major Topics
- Getting started with Power BI
- Creating effective visualizations in Power BI
- Publishing Power BI reports to dashboards
- Optimizing dashboards for viewing on mobile devices
- Learning Objectives
- Although Power BI has been available for ten years, most business professionals don’t fully appreciate all it can do and its easy use. Further, many are intimidated by the platform and continue to use less efficient and effective reporting practices. If this describes you, invest some time in this session to learn how to work with Power BI almost immediately. In this session, you will learn how to use Power BI to create compelling dashboard reports. You will also learn how to optimize these reports to enhance their effectiveness. If you want to improve financial and operational reporting processes, this session is for you!
- Top Ten Productivity Booster Apps In Microsoft 365
- This two-hour session is designed for accounting professionals and technology enthusiasts seeking to enhance productivity through Microsoft 365's versatile applications. Participants will explore ten key apps - including Shared Mailboxes, Planner, Lists, To Do, Stream, Viva Learning, Forms, Bookings, Approvals, and Places - and learn to integrate them effectively into their workflows. The session emphasizes practical applications within accounting contexts, aiming to streamline operations and foster collaboration.
- Learning Objectives
- Identify and describe the basic functionalities of at least three of the ten productivity apps discussed in this session
- Explain how Shared Mailboxes and Groups enhance team communication and help manage departmental emails more effectively
- Identify at least two of the three applications that can be used to manage tasks and/or projects available in business and enterprise versions of Microsoft 365
- Major Topics
- Enhancing communication and collaboration: Shared Mailboxes, Groups, and Places
- Optimizing task and project management: Planner, Lists, and To Do
- Streamlining training and workflow automation: Stream, Viva Learning, Forms, Bookings, and Approvals
- Learning Objectives
- This two-hour session is designed for accounting professionals and technology enthusiasts seeking to enhance productivity through Microsoft 365's versatile applications. Participants will explore ten key apps - including Shared Mailboxes, Planner, Lists, To Do, Stream, Viva Learning, Forms, Bookings, Approvals, and Places - and learn to integrate them effectively into their workflows. The session emphasizes practical applications within accounting contexts, aiming to streamline operations and foster collaboration.
Day Two - September 23
- Data Security And Privacy Issues And Solutions
- Data security and privacy issues continue to plague businesses of all sizes. No matter where you look, the numbers are bad - really bad! But that doesn't mean you can't take steps to reduce these risks. In this session, you will learn about the key security and privacy risks facing businesses today and the steps you can take to mitigate these risks. This session starts with a review of how cybercriminals attack businesses of all sizes and the related costs of these attacks. From there, you will progress into discussions of practical tools, policies, and other solutions you can use to mitigate cybersecurity risks to prudently acceptable levels. This is a "must-see" session for all concerned about data security and how to mitigate threats to sensitive and confidential data.
- Learning Objectives
- Identify at least five examples of common data security and privacy issues affecting businesses today
- Create estimates of the costs associated with data security and privacy breaches
- List examples of internal control best practices you can use to mitigate your security and privacy risks
- Major Topics
- Understanding the differences between data security and data privacy
- The major types of security and privacy breaches
- Key steps you can take to mitigate your risks of becoming another victim
- Learning Objectives
- Data security and privacy issues continue to plague businesses of all sizes. No matter where you look, the numbers are bad - really bad! But that doesn't mean you can't take steps to reduce these risks. In this session, you will learn about the key security and privacy risks facing businesses today and the steps you can take to mitigate these risks. This session starts with a review of how cybercriminals attack businesses of all sizes and the related costs of these attacks. From there, you will progress into discussions of practical tools, policies, and other solutions you can use to mitigate cybersecurity risks to prudently acceptable levels. This is a "must-see" session for all concerned about data security and how to mitigate threats to sensitive and confidential data.
- Excel Tips - Today's Best Features
- Wow! So many new Excel features and so little time! Microsoft continues to add tremendous functionality to Excel - the business professional's tool of choice. Yet most Excel users have not discovered these new tools and remain mired in yesterday's practices for working in Excel. In this session, you will learn how to use many of Excel's latest features to work more efficiently and effectively with your spreadsheets. Participate in this session to learn about recently released features such as PIVOTBY, GROUPBY, Office Scripts, integration with Copilot, new ways to share and collaborate in Excel, and data entry and formula improvements. If you work with Excel - and who doesn't - this session is necessary to help you improve your efficiency and effectiveness when using Excel.
- Learning Objectives
- List examples of key new features in Excel and how and why business professionals can take advantage of these tools
- Identify use cases for Excel’s PIVOTBY and GROUPBY functions
- Specify how Office Scripts differ from traditional Excel macros
- Cite examples of using Copilot in conjunction with Excel
- List examples of new opportunities to collaborate with others using Excel
- Major Topics
- New features and functions in Excel
- How to improve efficiency and effectiveness when working in Excel
- Taking advantage of Copilot integration with Excel
- Better ways of creating and working with formulas
- Learning Objectives
- Wow! So many new Excel features and so little time! Microsoft continues to add tremendous functionality to Excel - the business professional's tool of choice. Yet most Excel users have not discovered these new tools and remain mired in yesterday's practices for working in Excel. In this session, you will learn how to use many of Excel's latest features to work more efficiently and effectively with your spreadsheets. Participate in this session to learn about recently released features such as PIVOTBY, GROUPBY, Office Scripts, integration with Copilot, new ways to share and collaborate in Excel, and data entry and formula improvements. If you work with Excel - and who doesn't - this session is necessary to help you improve your efficiency and effectiveness when using Excel.
Advanced Prep
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Leaders
Thomas Stephens
Thomas G. Stephens, Jr., received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree (Major in Accounting) from Auburn University in 1985. Upon graduation, Mr. Stephens began working for an Atlanta-based public accounting firm. After earning his designation as a Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Stephens worked for BellSouth Corporation in Atlanta as an Internal Auditor. After two years as an auditor, he was promoted to Staff Manager and then Operations Manager of the Internal Audit Group. In 1991, he transferred to the Comptrollers' department of BellSouth and served as Manager of the Cost Accounting organization. While working full-time at BellSouth Corporation, Mr. Stephens also attended graduate school, earning a Masters of Science (Major in Finance) from Georgia State University in 1992.