CPA Congress

Deborah Leung, General Manager – Greater China

After 13 years of rotating the annual Asian Regional Conference from Hong Kong to Singapore to Malaysia, I have been really looking forward to the CPA Congress, which was to be CPA Australia’s flagship event of the year.

CPA Congress in Hong Kong had an encouraging start with 27 sponsors, supporting organisations and promotional partners, the most supporters we have ever had. The event website, marketing collaterals and backdrops – not to mention the new CPA Virtual Congress website – were all superbly done to convey a global event with consistent branding across all locations. I was also pleased that the new President & Chairman of the Board, Low Weng Keong, agreed to officiate the event for us by traveling to Hong Kong.

Small glitches appeared as the event drew near, such as last-minute speaker replacements and a speaker informing us he might miss his session due to a missed flight. But this was just a small prelude to a hugely successful event. This year’s CPA Congress theme ‘Navigate the New’ generated strong resonance among 18 eminent speakers and a successful turnout of over 250 delegates, who fully enjoyed the learning and networking opportunities the event offered.

CPA Congress was kicked off by two powerful opening addresses from our guests of honor from the government – Les Luck, Australian Consul General of Hong Kong and Macau and Tim Lui, Deputy of the National People’s Congress, People’s Republic of China. By reinforcing the Australian government’s support to the accounting industry and placing China’s evolving economic situation to the fore, the speeches provided a solid basis for other speakers to elaborate on the theme.

The Hong Kong team also came up with a fantastic idea for the official opening ceremony – which, as anyone who’s been to our Asian Regional Conference knows, is a cultural highlight of the event. The opening ceremony featured a transparent, high tech looking control station with small screens symbolising business integrity, strategic development and new technology – components for success in a global economy. Our two guests of honor and global and divisional presidents were then asked to place one hand on the screens like the CPA Congress hero. At the touch of their palms, the screens lighted up and a video clip was launched showing an arrow navigating the world map until it ended up as the small triangle in the ‘Navigate the New’ logo.

From the positive comments we received, the morning keynote speeches were definitely the highlights of the CPA Congress. Prof Sydney Finkelstein, our international speaker and author of ‘Why Smart Executives Fail’, gave a thought-provoking presentation on why even experienced people can sometimes make irrevocably wrong decisions. Former Chairman of HSBC Asia Pacific, David Eldon, taught delegates to think outside of the box in his presentation ‘The Tripping Points’. Drawing from his personal experience, Eldon highlighted three potential blind spots organisations face today as they are adjusting to new power shifts in the global economy.

Besides discussing pertinent industry issues in the Economy and Investment Forum, we added a CSR element into the CPA Congress by inviting Dr George Woodman, Founding Director of Teng Hoi Conservation Organization, to deliver a short presentation during the networking lunch. ‘The importance of being carbon literate’ pointed to the cost of inaction against climatic changes and encouraged delegates to change their wasteful habits.

Following a well-debated Corporate Governance Forum session in the afternoon, Managing Director of Stepworks, Stephen Barry, shared his company’s success stories in ‘Steps to successful brand building’. Barry highlighted the importance of consistency in branding and reminded delegates of the need to capitalise on the latest communications technologies.

The CPA Congress ended on a high note with a celebration toast and a blast of confetti, followed by a post-event cocktail reception at a posh bar courtesy of our sponsor. I thought the CPA Congress this year was an outstanding event, especially with the addition of the CPA Virtual Congress which gives delegates access to inspirational speeches by thought leaders across the globe. By providing delegates with consistent value under a unified global brand and theme, the CPA Congress has achieved remarkable synergy and strengthened the CPA Australia brand everywhere.

Nathan Morsillo CPA

I was working away this last weekend before having to travel for CPA Congress and clicked on a link a fellow accountant friend had sent around. It was a song I loved a while ago by Chemical Brothers called “The Golden Path” – which has an eye catching video clip for all us office bound pants shiners. Very briefly, the clip shows a very bored looking office guy who day-dreams (to somewhere else) a world filled with colour, expression and fun. This song is, for lots of people, about the doubts, fears and difficulties in finding some direction for the journey of life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V24TaUJSDe0

Now I don’t know about everyone else out there, but at that moment, while I was beavering away in the office after normal working hours I thought “bugger this for a joke!”. I’ve been to all the Work/Life balance seminars and been to some good coaching in a previous job… that stuff’s all good, but it doesn’t stop it happening now and then. WHY AM I STILL WORKING THESE HOURS?!?

Well. After a coffee and a think, I came up with a sort of answer which will have to do for now.

For me right now it’s because I believe in where I work, (www.clc.org.au) so I can draw on something in my head which makes these long finance hours OK. Some weeks there’s just “this” amount to be done and that’s the job they pay me for. Or other times most of my staff have kids already, so others of us pick up some extra pieces here and there. Or maybe it’s the house payments – but there are reasons. They’re not excuses for not managing time well – but they’re valid reasons, and reasons are important.

Anyways – watch some of this video. Now if this is too close to where you are feeling for the busy accountant lifestyle – probably time to mix it up!

But if you’re like me – there’s probably a good reason the work/life balance is like it is – sometimes it’s good to actually spell it out… otherwise you’ll have a copy room episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V24TaUJSDe0

Nathan Morsillo CPA, Finance Manager, Central Land Council, Northern Territory.

Paddy Spruce

Now is a good time to do anything. In fact, it is the only time to do anything. Some people and even some countries have a past focus. They used to be better than they are now. They regret. They hold grudges. Some people are future focused. Now is a means to an end. It has little value except to prepare for the future. Productivity and enjoyment are postponed, sometimes until after death.

A now focus is essential for effective management and client service. Of course we need to plan but we also need to do something now that will lead to the goals in the plan. Letting go of grudges or memories of past poor performances, your own and those of others, will help you to focus on what you can do now. If you are always working on the most important task at the moment, your time management will be excellent. When you are listening to others, a determined focus on what they are saying in the present will hinder you from wandering.

So simply, decide what is important and do it now. Be where you are. Get a reputation for being 100% present. Make ‘what can we do now to solve the problem’ your mantra. Closely followed by ‘what can we do now to make sure it doesn’t happen again’.

Now is all you’ve got. Use it wisely. It won’t last forever.

Paddy Spruce
www.paddyspruce.com.au
email: paddy@paddyspruce.com.au

Paul Taylor, GM - European Group

I am delighted that for 2010, Europe launched the CPA Australia congress season in London, our first and by no means the last, truly international event.
 
It was a great team effort from our councillors who helped put the programme together, to our office team, who were literally, up before the dawn to make sure everything went well for delegates and with several important VIP’s in attendance, it was a good opportunity for them to network.
 
During the CPA Congress, we had a number of satellite events, member breakfasts, presentation of an honorary membership, academic lunch to launch our entry into the UK tertiary space, making the use of our VIP guests, Richard Petty, Low Weng Keong, Alex Malley and Jeff Hughes.
 
The feedback from delegates was very pleasing and we exceed expectations and last years event.
 
There were a number of highlights including a Tasmanian double act of Graeme Butterworth from IBM and James Shugg from Westpac.
 
One of the more unexpected events was a speaker that did not show up for their allotted slot, so with twenty minutes preparation, we held an impromptu networking seminar, where we were able to discuss the challenges that delegates faced when they went networking, after the session a presentation was made available for delegates.
 
For the branch team including office staff and councillors, this was definitely a bum clenching moment, as Sir Alex Ferguson (Manager of Manchester United) would say, but in true style and with delegates understanding, we pulled it off.
 
Last week, we delivered a webinar on planning for career success, which gave a ten point plan that members can download and use, as well as providing additional CPD hours, free of charge.
 
So, now we can finally rest for a few days, with the baton well and truly passed to our colleagues in Australia, before we start planning for 2011 and with the Olympics just around the corner in 2012, London will certainly be the place to come and network with fellow members, discover new learning experiences, watch feats of athletic prowess and put your feet up on a well earned holiday.

William M. Isaac

I’m very much looking forward to participating in the Melbourne and Sydney conferences on October 11 and 19. It will be my second visit to Australia and the first for my family.  We are thrilled to be going to the Great Barrier Reef between my talks.

My remarks will focus on the financial events described in my new book, Senseless Panic: How Washington Failed America. The book’s foreword is by the legendary former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Paul Volcker, and the book has been endorsed by such diverse notables as Steve Forbes, Dr. Arthur Laffer, and political activist Ralph Nader.

The US made serious policy mistakes in the aftermath of the severe banking and S&L crises of the 1980s and those misguided policies led directly to the crisis of 2008-2009. Once the crisis hit in 2008, it was terribly mishandled by the government, creating what I label a “senseless panic” throughout the world.

The recently enacted so-called financial reform legislation in the US does not address the major causes of the crisis and would not have prevented it. Nor will it prevent the next crisis.

I hope we will get some lively dialogue going with members of the audience at the CPA Congress in both Melbourne and Sydney and look forward to signing books after my talks. In the meantime, you might enjoy visiting my website at www.williamisaac.com. 

CPA Congress delegates of a one day package or more can view William Isaac’s presentation on CPA Virtual Congress on Monday 18 October at 2.00pm.

Don Graham FCPA

I like to make sure I get a good balance of ‘technical’ and ‘motivation’ when I go to CPA Congress. After all, I’ve taken the time away from the office, I need to be smarter and more fired up when I get back to make my investment pay! Now there’s a great array of business leaders, including accountants and other professionals on the program, but I’d like to recommend a speaker who may be not so well known to some of us, but is sure to serve up a big slice of (both business and personal) motivation to go with his technical.

David Conry is Chairman of YoungCare, a charity dedicated to the development of care facilities for young people. David’s is a very personal story. His wife was struck down with MS and forced into an aged care facility because no appropriate accommodation existed. David and friends built the first facility in Brisbane with many more planned. Along the way David has been awarded Queenslander Of The Year but remains focused on fundraising and lobbying to have this sorry part of Australia’s health care sector improved.

YoungCare is a case study of pure innovation in marketing and running their charitable cause. David was a school friend of Powderfinger lead singer, Bernard Fanning. YoungCare and Powderfinger have been a great partnership. You can’t go through a supermarket without seeing ‘YoungCare’ co-branded with (want-to-be) market leading products. The YoungCare team have networked, and worked, to raise not just money, but a very important profile.

There a lessons for all of us with any aspirations in business.  Look forward to your joining me at David’s presentation at Brisbane CPA Congress on Thursday 7 October.

Paddy Spruce

Humans have the unique ability to change the way they view time. We can look back positively or negatively. We can view the present as a means to an end or an opportunity to enjoy ourselves. We can view the future fatalistically or optimistically. Obviously, we have a lot of control in how we view time and the way we view time will affect our mood, our productivity and our enjoyment. Imagine the difference to your attitude to the present if you accept your past as an opportunity to learn rather than complain or behave like a victim. Similarly, you mood will become more optimistic if you plan for an exciting future rather than adopt the ‘life sucks’ attitude. We need to spend most of our time in the present to be productive. Life can be frittered away if we believe that something needs to happen for us to be content with our careers and our lives. ‘If only I got a promotion’. ‘If only I earned more’. The present is all we have and we need to use it wisely. The past is over. We are creating our future at the moment. The present is all we have.

So, give thought to spending more time in the present. Focus on what you are doing and do it well. At least accept your work and your situation. Complaining is rejecting the present. Accept your situation or change it but don’t complain. Maybe move towards enjoying your current situation. You’ll get a lot more done if you enjoy your work. Think about your past positively. You can’t change it so better to view it positively. Everything that has happened to you can help you to become wiser. Wishing something didn’t happen is truly a waste of time and effort. Finally, an optimistic view of the future will give you energy. Don’t wait for things to happen. Make them happen.

A balanced view of time will help you become more content and productive. You can change your perspective and your life. CPA Congress is an excellent opportunity to learn new ways of working or improving your situation. Embrace new ideas and become more. Everyone benefits if you improve.

Paddy Spruce
CPA Congress Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide