“Go Beyond” was this year’s theme for the 9th annual Firm Association and Network Collaboration Meeting at the AICPA/CIMA (The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants / Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) New York offices. Once a year the leaders of global accounting organizations meet to discuss the state of the profession and needs of members and their clients. Elaine Pantel, North American Board Chair, attended along with Michelle Arnold, PrimeGlobal North American Chief Regional Officer. 

Barry Melancon, AICPA/CIMA President & CEO, opened the meeting with a presentation on transforming the profession by reimagining how, where and what services we provide to support the firms and clients today and tomorrow. He focused on a few specific areas for accountants to be ramping up skills to better serve our clients:

• Trust: building on expertise and being your clients' trusted advisor
• Talent: hiring people with technical skills, business skills, leadership and people skills, all while maintaining integrity and professionalism
• Technology: including Cloud (software as a service), big data and analytics, artificial intelligence, and blockchain

Elaine said, "I always find it extremely interesting and inspiring to meet with colleagues and counterparts and discuss the state of the accounting industry and crucially, how we can continue to adapt and upskill to better serve our clients."

Michelle Arnold, PrimeGlobal North American Chief Regional Officer, said “Meeting with other association and network management is always enlightening and rewarding. It reinforces to me, the quality of PrimeGlobal members and the strength we share in global collaboration and client service.” Read the PrimeGlobal press release here.