If you look at great organizations throughout history, you’ll likely see a common theme: Theyall have a clear and consistent direction that guides their every action. Well, the Society hastaken a page out of the same book.

In November 2013, the Society’s Board of Directors, senior staff and young professionalleaders met with the goal of answering the question, “Based on what members are facing,is the Society’s current mission on track?”

Any conversation about the future needs to start with a frank discussion of upcomingchanges and ongoing challenges, and ours was no different. Here’s what we concluded:

Providing a higher level of STRATEGIC BUSINESS ADVICEto clients and companies will challenge CPAs.

While compliance work will continue to be important, CONSULTINGwork will provide the greatest growth opportunity.

Demand for SPECIALIZATION will increase.

TECHNOLOGY will remain a double-edged sword: Overwhelmingto keep up with, but absolutely essential in moving us forward.

COMPETITION will be fierce, from CPAs and non-CPAs alike.

Successful organizations will embrace DIVERSITY— thinking stylesethnicity, age, national origin, and more.

Our next question was, “How can the Illinois CPA Society help the CPA of todaytransition into the CPA of tomorrow?” which went a long way in reaffirming our current mission of “Enhancing the value of the CPA profession” and helping us chart our path forward.

Our aim is to deliver relevant information and services through the four strategic pillars of Advocacy, Information, Education, and Connections. These pillars will serve asguideposts as we strive to fulfill the mission of the Illinois CPA Society.

Over the next few years you’ll experience the Illinois CPA Society as a premier providerof education and learning, with enhanced OnDemand programming, access to theKnowledgehub Learning Management System, and in-person events featuring the latest inlearning innovations—all things you, our members, have asked for in an increasinglycustom-fit world.

You’ll also see the Society working to advance the professional interests of our membersthrough legislative monitoring, regulatory intervention, CPA image initiatives, and attracting and engaging the next generation of professionals.

You’ll have direct access to relevant information through a newly designed innovative andinteractive website, digital and print publications, and our various highly anticipated eventssuch as our Young Professional Leadership Conference and the annual MidwestAccounting & Finance Showcase.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how all of us—members, leadership and staff—can movethe mission of our Society forward. Send me an email at shapirot@icpas.org or connectwith me on Twitter anytime at @Todd_ICPAS.

Todd

M. S

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Todd

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The Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS) is a $9.5 million, 501c6 individual professional statemembership organization dedicated to enhancing the value of the CPA profession.Founded in 1903, ICPAS is the fifth largest state CPA society in the nation, servingover 23,000 Illinois CPAs in public accounting and consulting, corporate accountingand finance, government, education and not-for-profit organizations, as well as fournon-CPA affiliate member groups: Students, educators, international and relatedfinance professionals.

The Society’s Board of Directors also governs two 501c3 organizations: The IllinoisCPA Foundation, dedicated to member education, and CPAs for the Public Interest,dedicated to pro-bono services for individuals and not-for-profits in need. TheSociety also oversees the Illinois CPA Political Action Committee and works intandem with the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois, which raises funds to supportCPA professional entry in Illinois. The Society employs 55 professional staff withoffices in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois.

Serving as a preeminentprovider of training anddevelopment for financeand accountingprofessionals.

Providing relevant,customized informationto satisfy the variousneeds of ICPAS member segments.

Advancing the professionalinterests of CPAs and theCPA profession byproviding a respected andinfluential voice in stateand federal regulatoryprocesses, promoting apositive image of CPAs,and working to ensure andretain a strong pipeline ofqualified, diverse CPAs.

Facilitating and serving as a central hub forprofessional connections among ICPAS membersand other professionals,with the goal of enhancingprofessional growth andrecognition, and ensuringaccess to indispensableresources throughoutone’s career.

While the typical refrain of “technology, regulatory

overload, globalization, specialization, competition,

and changing demographics” continues to be relevant

when discussing the top trends and issues impacting

CPAs over the next 3 to 5 years, the following issues

hold a particular resonance: Depth of knowledge;

generational synergies; diversity in the workforce

and methods of learning.

Trends indicate that CPAs will need a deeper knowledge base in order toremain competitive and successful. Specifically, as technological advancesgive rise to automation and outsourcing of traditional compliance functions,CPAs will be challenged to provide a higher level of strategic businessadvice, and to put real-time financial information in the hands of clients andbusiness owners. CPAs also will be challenged to keep pace with ever-growing business complexity resulting from regulatory changes and globalization.

Big data will drive everything, and CPAs have a tremendous opportunity tohelp businesses interpret, analyze and make sense of that data.Compliance work will continue to be important; however, consulting workwill provide the greatest growth opportunity. There will be a naturaltrending towards specialization versus generalists due to the depth ofknowledge needed. The competition will be fierce from non-CPA sources.Future automation of areas such as federal individual income tax returns,real-time auditing, and the monthly close also will have a major impact.

The challenge is ensuring members will be prepared to make the shift orknow where to shift.

The next generation of CPAs will influence accounting workplace businessnorms and practices. The younger CPA considers work-life balanceessential and will demand fewer hours and shorter commutes. Fewer andfewer younger CPAs will choose to stay to become partner in CPAfirms; there will be many more career jumps in a professional’s lifetime.

The preferred virtual communication methods of younger CPAs willimpact traditional methods of making connections in the business world. Inaddition, younger generations who grow up adept at gaming will come toexpect gamification in the workplace in areas such as talent acquisition,professional development, and incentives for achieving business goals.

Explore More: Gen B — The Blended Generation

Explore More: 5 Trends Transforming Tomorrow's CPA

One of the biggest issues facing the CPA profession is its need toincrease the diversity of its workforce. At one time, the term “diversity”generally related to underrepresented groups, such as women and ethnicminorities. However, the term now has come to embrace diversity ofgender, sexual orientation, race, national origin, thinking styles,religion, and physical ability, to name a few.

Enhancing diversity has become a business issue not just for theaccounting profession but for many industries. The profession will needto be attractive to diverse talent in order to win its fair share of top students.Diverse clients and business associates will prefer to do business withorganizations that are comprised of diverse professionals. Diverse talentis more likely to accept and stay in a job where it sees diversity.

Given the massive changes in technology, regulation, demographics,globalization, specialization, and more, the CPA profession’s corecompetency of lifelong learning as stated in the AICPA’s CPA Horizons2025 vision has never been more important. Technology, again, isplaying an integral role in driving changes in what, when, where, how andhow much people learn.

From gamification to ‘flipped’ classrooms and social learning approaches,the concept of the traditional classroom will begin to experience adramatic shift over the next 10 years. The classroom for today’sbusiness professional is a 24/7, 365-day experience that can occurface-to-face or on computers, tablets or smartphones. You will be able tocustomize your learning based on how you learn best, and when andhow you want and need the information.

Even the ways in which education and learning are regulated likely willevolve to better reflect the reality of real learning in real time. Soon thetraditional 50-minute ‘hour’ of CPE (continuing professional education)credit likely will give way to the ability to earn 10-15 minute bytes of learning.This shift alone will open up many avenues of learning and development.

Explore More: Reinventing the Business of Learning

Explore More: Diversity Now

The Society engaged an outside consultant toconduct a thorough member needs assessment.The study helped the Society view its relationshipwith its members through three key lenses:Awareness, engagement, and connection.

Fortunately, most ICPAS members are aware ofour core service offerings in Advocacy, Information,Education, and Connections, and a significantmajority reported that they are highly satisfiedwith their membership. However, the awarenesslevel of key services greatly fluctuates accordingto age.

The Society has the opportunity to increasemember engagement in both online educationand in-person networking events – particularly if the in-person events are located closer to wheremembers work or live. Members also are interestedin meeting with fellow professionals in similarpositions or industries.

The concept of “connecting” is defined person-by-person. Some members feel connected if theyare active on committees or other Society initiatives.Some feel connected just because they feel goodabout the organization and belonging to anassociation. Others may not feel connected at all, but continue to retain their membership.

It is essential for the Society to continually developservices and to fine-tune its message in the contextof whether it is of greatest value to membershipsegments - CPAs in public accounting, industry& business, not-for-profit, government or education,and at all stages of their career (early, mid-career, or experienced). Local advocacy, education,information, and networking are consideredto be the Society’s ‘sweet spots’ for all membersegments.

strategic prioritiesThe Society’s Board of Directors concluded that the following five areas are essential to the Society’s success over the next three years:

1. Aligning and effectively delivering the Society’s programs and services with the mission of enhancing the value of the CPA profession through four strategic pillars: Advocacy, Information, Education, and Connections.

2. Becoming a preeminent provider (within the top 2-3 choices) of training anddevelopment to accounting and finance professionals by offering high-qualityeducation that provides the depth and breadth of knowledge needed, whenand how members/customers want it.

3. Growing ICPAS membership by communicating the benefits of membership at every opportunity and cementing our relationships with and securing thesupport of employers.

4. Increasing opportunities for members to connect with each other and the Society.

5. Recruiting and engaging young professionals as the next generation of ICPASleaders and active members.

Key initiatives have been developed accordingly and will be reviewed and updatedannually. All ICPAS programs and services, continuing or new, will be assessed inthe context of the Society’s mission and strategic pillars.

next stepsThe Society’s Strategic Planning Committee is charged with overseeing a strategicplanning process that monitors and periodically assesses the impact of trends on theCPA profession and the long-term viability of the Illinois CPA Society. The Committee iscomprised of Board members representing the diversity of the Society’s membershipby areas of practice, age and geography.

The Strategic Planning Committee reports to the Board of Directors annually to flagtrends and issues of significance and to help the Board and Society continue to charta successful path forward.

For more information about the Illinois CPA Society, visit

www.icpas.org

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: Todd Shapiro - President & CEO | shapirot@icpas.org | 312.601.4601 | @Todd_ICPAS Melanie L. Minnix - Vice President, Planning & Communications | minnixm@icpas.org | 312.601.4602