Kent State Hosts 38th Annual Meonske Accounting Conference, April 26-27

The Ohio Council of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) will host its 38th Annual Meonske Accounting Professional Development Conference and Workshop on April 26-27 at Kent State University.

“Our conference this year is going to be outstanding as usual,” said Norman Meonske, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Kent State University and national online instructor for the Becker CPA Review Course. Meonske, conference namesake, said, “We are going to have two days packed full of high-quality practical training for members of the accounting and financial community, and we encourage registrants to take advantage of the group discounts because we expect a sellout.”

The pre-conference workshop on Thursday will feature keynote addresses, including “Automating the Last Mile – Improving Reporting Processes and Controls” by Mike Willis, partner, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and chairman emeritus, XBRL International; “Implementing Analytics-based Enterprise Performance Management Methodologies – Pitfalls and Speed-bumps” by Gary Cokins, principal, SAS Global Business Advisory Services; and “The Truth and Consequences of Ethical Behavior” by Meonske. There also will be breakout sessions during the conference that review Ohio Professional Standards and Ethics, Fair Value Measurement and Accounting, and Sustainability and the Accountant’s Role.

The Friday financial reporting panel features Dennis R. Beresford, Ernst & Young executive professor of accounting, University of Georgia; Mark M. Bielstein, partner, KPMG LLP; Daryl E. Buck, member, Financial Accounting Standards Board; James L. Kroeker, chief accountant, Office of the Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); and Carlo D. Pippolo, partner Ernst & Young LLP. The panel will address SEC proposed rules, issues arising from the review of SEC registrant filings, and other key projects, such as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standard updates.

Also on Friday, the keynote luncheon address “Fierce Competition in the Accounting Industry – Are you Kidding?” will be delivered by Jeffery C. Thomson, president and CEO, Institute of Management Accountants.

Afternoon sessions include “As One (Collective Leadership Power)” by James H. Quigley, CEO, Deloitte Touche Tohmastu Limited, and co-author of The New York Times best seller “As One,” and “Mobile Technology Best Practices for Increasing Executive Productivity” by Donald R. Tomoff, partner, Thornhill Financial Inc.

This year’s conference is dedicated to the memory of Kent State alumnus Newton D. Becker, ’52, founder of the Becker CPA Review that began as an in-house course in Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ Cleveland office. Becker is responsible for more than 400,000 accountants passing the CPA exam.

Attendees on both days will earn 16 hours of CPE. Friday attendees will get a free copy of the best-selling book “As One” and the opportunity to win a new Apple iPad.

For more information or to register, contact the Kent State University Conference Bureau at 330-672-3161 or go to www.ohioima.org.

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Media Contacts:
Norman Meonske, nmeonske@kent.edu, 330-554-7211
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595