Annual Practice Management Leadership Retreat September 29-October 2, 2026 │ Grand Hyatt, Atlanta, GA Tuesday, September 29, 2026 5:15 – 6:00 p.m. │ Mentor and Mentee Reception for first-time attendees and assigned mentors 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. │ Welcome Reception and Standing Dinner Included in Registration fee for attendees and accompanying persons Attire: Business Casual
Wednesday, September 30, 2026 7:30 – 8:50 a.m. │ Breakfast 8:00 – 8:50 a.m. │NextGen Panel: What Does the Next Generation Want? (Joint Session) Grab a breakfast plate and join LumiQ while they moderate a no holds barred session providing the opportunity for multi-generational dialogue. Take the opportunity to hear what is on our NextGen panelists’ minds when they consider their role and their future in the profession. Panelists: Amy Deming, CPA, Brickley DeLong, PC; Bobby Heitz, CPA, MBA, Swink Coplen & Company, P.C.; Mark Tessar, GRF CPAs & Advisors 1.0 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 8:50 – 9:00 a.m. │ Transition Break 9:00 – 9:20 a.m. │ President’s State of the Union (Joint Session) Grace Horvath, President & CEO, CPAmerica, Inc.
9:20 – 10:35 a.m. │ How to Define Your Differentiator and Elevate Customer Experience in a Competitive Industry (Joint Session) In today’s distracted and rapidly evolving marketplace, companies can no longer compete on products or services alone. Technology is transforming customer expectations faster than ever, and what once made you stand out can be replicated overnight. So how do you set your organization apart—and stay ahead? In this talk, Elizabeth Dixon reveals how to define and amplify your true differentiators by combining innovation with authenticity. She explores the intersection of humanity and technology—helping you harness the power of tools like AI and automation without losing the warmth, empathy, and personal touch that create lasting loyalty.
CPAmerica, Inc.
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Elizabeth Dixon, Elizabeth Dixon Speaks 1.5 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 10:35 – 11:05 a.m. │ Networking Break 11:05 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. │ Practice Management Survey (Joint Session) This session combines insights from the 2026 CPAmerica practice management survey, INSIDE Public Accounting survey, and firm discussions to identify strategies for success amid change. Learn what works, emerging trends, and focus areas to support the ongoing health and success of firms, partners, staff, and clients.
Charles Hylan, CPA, MBA, Managing Member, Hylan Advisory 1.5 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 12:20 – 1:20 p.m. │ Lunch 1:20 – 2:35 p.m. │ Developing Advisory Skills in an AI World (Joint Session) As AI reshapes what it means to be a trusted advisor, this session explores the leadership capabilities partners need to build in their firms. We’ll look at how AI is changing apprenticeship and staff development, and what it takes to grow people quickly into consultative, client-facing leaders. Through real examples and live discussion, participants will identify a few concrete actions to strengthen their talent pipeline, differentiate their client experience, and sustain their practices in a tech-enabled world. Wendy Miller, Chief People Officer, North America and Ryan Paulowsky, Senior Partner, Atlanta Office, both from McKinsey & Company 1.5 CPE │ Information Technology │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 2:35 – 3:00 p.m. │ Break and Transition to Member Sharing breakouts by firm size 3:00 – 4:15 p.m. │ Anything Goes Member Sharing Breakouts by Firm Size (LPR Session) This will be a compilation of all the topics taken from the member survey for each group to discuss as desired. (Revenue based on 2025 Practice Management Survey results.) GROUP 1: Up to 8.99M, facilitated by Kim Russo, Leading Partner, COO, Swink Coplen & Company, P.C. and Greg W. Hammonds, CPA, Leading Partner, Whaley Hammonds, PC GROUP 2: 9M – 12.99M, facilitated by Debra Mason, CPA, CFF, CFE, Managing Director, Shareholder, Thomas, Head & Greison PC and Dean Krech, CPA, CGMA, Managing Partner, JHM CPAs GROUP 3: 13M – 19.99M, facilitated by Brad Beasley, CPA, CGMA, Managing Partner, Beasley, Mitchell & Co., LLP and Blake Isobe, CPA, Managing Partner, N&K CPAs, Inc. GROUP 4: 20M +, facilitated by John Pace, CPA, Partner and Director, GRF CPAs & Advisors, Jonathan Kassouf, CPA, Partner, Managing Director, Kassouf & Co., Inc. 1.5 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 3:00 – 4:15 p.m. │ The Talent Equation: Retention, Turnover, and What the Data Tells Us Summary & The Top Trends in the Accounting Market- (FMR Session)
CPAmerica, Inc.
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This session examines turnover trends, compensation pressure, non-CPA staffing models and leadership pipelines. Using benchmarking insights, it reframes talent challenges as structural and strategic—not generational—and explores what firms can actually control. Chelsea Summers, Executive Director of INSIDE Public Accounting 1.5 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 4:15 – 6:00 p.m. | Free Time 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. │Connection Reception Connect with meeting attendees as you create your plans for dinner and enjoy the property or explore Buckhead on your own. Included in Registration fee for attendees and accompanying person. Attire: Casual
Thursday, October 1, 2026 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. │ Breakfast 7:40 – 8:30 a.m. │ Business Before Hours (Joint Session) Make a plate and choose from one of the following sessions led by topic experts: Getting Your Team AI-Ready: Firms are not skeptical of AI. In fact, adoption at the pilot level has been extraordinarily promising, but these gains rarely scale, and execution falters at the practice level. One question runs through this session: why do accountants with AI tools still not have AI-ready skills? The path is three levels of learning across audit, tax, and CAS: use AI, then build with AI, then design how the work runs on it. We'll build a working AI agent for a real accounting workflow, live and from scratch, on the Microsoft stack your firm already runs on, and you don't need to code. Rohan Singhai, Chief Growth Officer; Miles Masterclass 1.0 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None The Bench Behind the Growth: Why Development — Not Just Training — Wins as You Scale TJ Sponsel, Managing Shareholder & Co-Founder; McGuire Sponsel 1.0 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None The AI-Ready Firm: Why Data Is the Backbone of What Comes Next: AI is rapidly changing what is possible inside CPA firms, but effective AI begins with a trusted, connected data foundation. This session explores how client, engagement, workflow, billing, capacity, and financial data can be brought together to create the context AI needs, with ERP and connected operational platforms serving as a potential backbone. Participants will examine the progression from connected data to insight, action and AI agents, including practical applications across profitability, capacity, billing, collections, and client service. Attendees will leave with a framework for assessing their firm’s data and AI readiness and identifying practical steps to prepare their people, processes, data and technology for an increasingly agentic future. Dirk Shimpach, CEO and Founder, PracticeERP 1.0 CPE │ Information Technology │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None
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8:30 – 8:45 a.m. | Transition Break 8:45 – 9:35 a.m. │ State of the Profession (Joint Session) The accounting profession is entering a period of significant change shaped by AI, talent pressures, evolving licensure, new delivery models, and outside capital. Steve Strammello will distinguish durable trends from short-term noise and examine how they are reshaping firm strategy, client value, talent development, and audit quality. Attendees will consider practical decisions involving technology adoption, pricing, ownership, and the capabilities firms should build independently or through networks. The session will conclude with a focused agenda for leading change while protecting trust and professional judgment.
Steve Strammello, Crowe US CEO 1.0 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 9:35 – 9:40 a.m. │ Transition Break 9:40 – 10:55 a.m. │ AI and the Future of the Accounting Profession: From Strategy to Ethical Governance (Joint Session) This keynote will demystify AI for firm leaders and identify the strategic, operational, and ethical considerations shaping the next era of accounting. It begins with a practical overview of the AI landscape, how leading firms are using AI today, where the technology is heading, and what it means for competitiveness and client trust. Jeff will then explore the essential building blocks of effective (and ethical) AI governance and introduce a pragmatic model for firms to assess their own AI readiness. Jeffrey Saviano, Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management | Research Appointment, Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University 1.5 CPE │ Business Management & Organization│ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 10:55 – 11:20 a.m. │ Networking Break 11:20 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. │ From Principles to Practice: Building Your Firms AI Strategy and Governance Roadmap (LPR Session) This facilitated session builds on the keynote’s insights, offering firm leaders a practical hands-on opportunity to shape their own AI strategy and governance roadmap. Participants will work through guided exercises and peer discussions to define what responsible AI adoption means for their firm, identifying opportunities, risks, and immediate next steps. The workshop leverages methods developed for executive education programs at Harvard, MIT, and Vanderbilt, customized for CPA firm leaders. Jeffrey Saviano, Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management | Research Appointment, Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University 1.5 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None
11:20 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. │ Taking Ownership – How the Team Mitigates Risk (FMR Session)
CPAmerica, Inc.
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Avoiding pitfalls in practice requires effort from every member of the firm team. This session explores how disgruntled clients and their counsel press claims and how to avoid them. Some of the most pressing issues include navigating changing independence/objectivity issues, third party vendors, non-CPA ownership, client renewal/termination and more. The most current practice risk issues coupled with mitigation suggestions will be addressed. Steve Platau, University of Tampa 1.5 CPE │ Regulatory Ethics │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 12:35 – 1:40 p.m. │ Lunch 1:40 – 2:30 p.m. │AI Updates and Use Cases (LPR Session)
Doug Schrock, Managing Principal of AI, Crowe US & Juan Carlos Lara, Chief Digital Officer, Crowe Global 1.0 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 1:40 – 2:30 p.m. │ Member Showcase- Best in Class: The Software and Technology Powering Today’s Top Firms (FMR Session) This session highlights the best-of-the-best software used by leading CPA firms today. Learn what tools firm administrators rely on, why they chose them, and how these solutions support daily operations and long-term growth. Facilitated by Erin Raukar, SHRM-CP, Cummings, Keegan & Co., P.L.L.P. 1.0 CPE │ Information Technology │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. │ Networking Break 3:00 – 3:50 p.m. │ Member Sharing by Topic Breakouts – Round 1 (Joint Session) • • •
Topic 1: EOS with Rich Craig, 415 Group and Ande Grubb, hfco Topic 2: Succession Planning with Lesley Hargraves, CPA, Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP and Dave Farnsworth, CPA, MHCS P.C. Topic 3: Financial Management & Cash Flow with Ronnie Richards, CPA, Peters & Chandler, PC and Glenn Miller, CPA, CGMA, Wegner CPAs
Member Facilitated 1.0 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None
3:50 – 4:05 p.m. │ Transition Break (LPR) 3:50 – 6:00 p.m. │ Free Time (FMR)
CPAmerica, Inc.
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4:05 – 4:45 p.m. │ Council of Members Meeting (LPR Session - Required) Annual Business Meeting of the Council of Members 4:45 – 6:00 p.m. │ Free Time (LPR) 6:00 p.m. │ Transportation to Special Event – Meet in lobby 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. │ Special Event | Georgia Aquarium Set within the iconic Georgia Aquarium, this venue provides a truly unique atmosphere for your event. Surrounded by captivating aquatic exhibits and stunning marine life, guests will enjoy an unforgettable evening enhanced by exceptional catering from Wolfgang Puck, all while having exclusive access to the entire aquarium for the duration of the event.
Included in Registration fee for attendee Guest/Spouse fee*: $150 Attire: Business Casual * Private group events incur additional costs, including labor and preparation. CPAmerica is transparent with event expenses and is willing to share more details upon request as we understand the meal cost for your guest is substantial.
Friday, October 2, 2026 7:45 – 8:50 a.m. │ Breakfast 8:00 – 8:50 a.m. │ Business Before Hours (Joint Session) Make a plate and choose from one of the following sessions led by topic experts: AI and the Future of Tax: New Growth Opportunities for Leading Partners: AI is doing two things to the tax profession at once: reshaping how the IRS reviews and selects claims and generating an enormous wave of capital investment that carries real tax opportunity for clients. This session looks at both sides and what they mean for the practitioners advising them. We'll explore how the agency is putting AI to work in claim review and audit selection, and what that shift demands of the way returns and supporting documentation are prepared going forward. We'll then discuss the AI opportunity itself, and show where federal R&D and energy incentives attach along the way. Throughout, the focus is on recognizing which clients are positioned to benefit, spotting the fact patterns that signal an opportunity, and knowing what raises risk in an environment where reviews are increasingly automated. Alex Kirillov, Director, alliant 1.0 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None Building a Foundation for Professional Readiness: Public accounting firms are increasingly evaluating how technology can support professional readiness across their organizations, including learning, compliance, and professional development. This session will explore key considerations for building an effective approach to professional readiness, including managing CPE requirements, centralizing learning activities, improving administrative efficiency, and supporting employee development. Attendees will also learn about considerations for transitioning learning and compliance processes between systems and how firms can prepare for a successful change. The session will highlight practical strategies firms can use to evaluate their current processes and identify opportunities for greater efficiency and visibility.
CPAmerica, Inc.
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Toni Williams, Senior Business Development Manager, LCvista 1.0 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None Built Differently: A New Leadership Playbook: The profession is changing faster than the leadership models we inherited. AI, private equity, and the talent pipeline are rewriting how firms work, and who the leader is decides how the firm adapts. In this session I share three shifts for leading through what's coming: from bulletproof to vulnerable, from culture by default to culture by design, and from doing it all to designing it all. Built on real-world case studies, including my own firm's tenfold growth, plus my annual survey of 200+ accounting professionals, you'll leave with a practical playbook you can apply immediately. Randy Crabtree, CPA, Tri-Merit, LLC 1.0 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 8:50 – 9:00 a.m. │ Transition Break 9:00 – 9:10 a.m. │ 2026 Co-Chair Appreciation and 2027 Co-Chair Introduction (Joint Session) Grace Horvath, President & CEO, CPAmerica, Inc.
9:10 – 10:25 a.m. │ Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta – Economic Update and Forecast (LPR Session) Dave Altig, Executive Vice President and Chief Economic Adviser
1.5 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 9:10 – 10:25 a.m. │ Book Club Session- Building Better Leaders Through Shared Reading (FMR Session) This interactive session marks the launch of a new book club designed for CPA firm leaders and administrators. The book Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant was chosen by members, making the discussion both relevant and participant-driven. Attendees will share insights, perspectives, and practical applications from the reading. Member-Facilitated by Rachel Myhre, SHRM-CP, Widmer Roel 1.5 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 10:25 – 10:45 a.m. │ Networking Break 10:45 – 11:30 a.m. │ Member Sharing by Topic Breakouts – Round 2 (Joint Session) • Topic 1: EOS facilitated by Blake Johnson, CPA, Cooper Norman, PLLC and Jennifer L. Landis, CPA, MBA, Baum, Smith & Clemens, LLP
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Topic 2: Succession Planning with Laura Everett, CPA, Albin, Randall & Bennett, CPAs and Drew Haddock, DMJPS PLLC
Member Facilitated 1.0 CPE │ Business Management & Organization │ Overview Pre Req: None │ Adv Prep: None 11:30 – 11:40 a.m. │Pick up Boxed Lunch 11:40 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. │ Monday Morning Game Plan and 2027 Pre-Planning (LPR Session) Share your strategy for Monday morning regarding the key takeaways for 2026 and outline what issues or topics you'd like to focus on in 2027. 2027 Leading Partner Co-Chairs: Laura T. Everett, CPA, Managing Principal; Albin, Randall & Benett and Jim Ramborger, CPA MST, President and Lead Owner; HKP Advisors 11:40 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. │ Monday Morning Game Plan and 2027 Pre-Planning (FMR Session) Share your strategy for Monday morning regarding the key takeaways for 2026 and outline what issues or topics you'd like to focus on in 2027. 2027 Firm Management Co-Chairs: Amy Maule, Firm Administrator; Williams & Company P.C.; Rachel Myhre, SHRM-CP, Firm Administrator; Widmer Roel CPAs & Business Advisors
CPAmerica, Inc.
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