The accounting profession is at an inflection point. AI, automation, and intelligent systems are not just changing how work gets done—they are redefining what it means to lead, advise, and create value. 

In this opening keynote, Dr. Shawn DuBravac challenges California CPAs to rethink their role in a world where technical expertise alone is no longer enough. Drawing on real-world examples across finance, professional services, and adjacent industries, he explores how emerging technologies are reshaping decision-making, career paths, and the expectations placed on trusted advisors. 

Key Takeaways: 

• How AI is changing the CPA value proposition faster than most firms realize 
• Practical steps to remain relevant, credible, and indispensable over the next decade 
• A practical approach to lifelong learning that fits busy professionals 

Can you lead the room in under two minutes? In this bold, interactive session, executive coach Colleen Hauk challenges participants to command attention, speak with authority, and deliver unforgettable impact through live coaching, practical tools, and high-stakes exercises that transform presence in real time. 

In this session, Derek Davis, CPA, will share lessons from leading six CPA firm acquisitions, helping owners retire while securing client continuity. Attendees will explore strategies for succession planning, maximizing firm value, and navigating the transition process, insights designed to support both current leaders and the next generation of firm owners. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Identify key strategies for succession planning that maximize firm value and client continuity. 
• Evaluate different approaches to structuring CPA firm acquisitions and owner transitions. 
• Determine best practices for integrating new clients and staff into an existing practice. 
• Recognize the challenges and opportunities of retirement planning for CPA firm owners. 

This workshop teaches new accountants how to use AI as an analytical partner rather than a shortcut, developing the strategic thinking skills that make them irreplaceable. Attendees learn a systematic AI process that ensures they gather context and validate outputs, reducing manager review burden while demonstrating big picture thinking that accelerates their careers. Topics include practical frameworks for AI use, real accounting scenarios, and how to position yourself as indispensable by enhancing AI capabilities with professional judgment.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the leadership hierarchy and stakeholder priorities - Participants will be able to identify what each level of leadership (manager, senior manager, partner, client) values most and explain how their AI-enhanced work can strategically address these priorities.
• Apply the C.O.R.E. strategic AI framework and distinguish between tactical and strategic AI usage - Participants will demonstrate the ability to use the C.O.R.E. method (Context First, Output Analysis, Refinement, Explanation Ready) to differentiate between using AI as a shortcut versus using AI strategically, and identify opportunities to shift from task completion to value creation in their current role.
• Communicate AI-enhanced work professionally - Participants will be able to articulate and present their AI-assisted analysis and conclusions in a way that demonstrates professional judgment, builds trust with supervisors, and positions them as strategic contributors to their team.

The Silver Tsunami is creating both risk and opportunity for advisors. Discover how to help clients prepare for transition, increase business attractiveness, and protect wealth during one of the largest generational shifts in history. Gain frameworks to elevate your role from compliance to strategic advisory.  

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the demographic and economic forces driving the “Silver Tsunami” and their impact on small business continuity.  
• Recognize the key indicators of business attractiveness and transferable value that determine a client’s transition readiness. 
• Evaluate common operational, financial, and leadership gaps that place client businesses at risk during succession. 
• Apply advisory frameworks to guide clients through proactive exit planning and long-term value protection. 
• Determine the initial steps clients should take to strengthen their business in preparation for ownership transition. 

This workshop teaches new accountants how to use AI as an analytical partner rather than a shortcut, developing the strategic thinking skills that make them irreplaceable. Attendees learn a systematic AI process that ensures they gather context and validate outputs, reducing manager review burden while demonstrating big picture thinking that accelerates their careers. Topics include practical frameworks for AI use, real accounting scenarios, and how to position yourself as indispensable by enhancing AI capabilities with professional judgment.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the leadership hierarchy and stakeholder priorities - Participants will be able to identify what each level of leadership (manager, senior manager, partner, client) values most and explain how their AI-enhanced work can strategically address these priorities.
• Apply the C.O.R.E. strategic AI framework and distinguish between tactical and strategic AI usage - Participants will demonstrate the ability to use the C.O.R.E. method (Context First, Output Analysis, Refinement, Explanation Ready) to differentiate between using AI as a shortcut versus using AI strategically, and identify opportunities to shift from task completion to value creation in their current role.
• Communicate AI-enhanced work professionally - Participants will be able to articulate and present their AI-assisted analysis and conclusions in a way that demonstrates professional judgment, builds trust with supervisors, and positions them as strategic contributors to their team.

Within many high achievers lies an extraordinary story. In this deeply personal and courageous session, the speaker reveals what she once kept hidden: that buried trauma fueled her success and her unhappiness. 

From the outside, her successful career in accounting reflected discipline, drive, and results. Internally, however, emotional stability and joy remained elusive. Long-term stress, an addiction to achievement, and a pattern of relationship challenges ultimately led to the realization that she was living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). While the majority of individuals experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime—making these experiences ordinary—few have the opportunity to fully process them, and even fewer understand how they unconsciously continue to shape behavior, relationships, and performance. 

Attendees will gain insight into how C-PTSD can manifest as anxiety, depression, addiction, and relationship struggles—even in high performers. This is not a clinical talk. It is an honest one. Participants will be invited to reflect on how their own life experiences may be influencing the way they work, lead, and define success. They will leave inspired to redefine what it truly means to become ExtraOrdinary. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Recognize how common adverse life experiences can contribute to mental health challenges. 
• Identify how survival patterns may simultaneously drive success and undermine well-being. 
• Explore actionable strategies for navigating personal challenges and applying self-discovery principles to chart new paths in both career and life. 

Have you ever wondered why some clients sabotage financial progress even when the numbers are clear? The answer is rarely logical — it’s cultural, emotional, and deeply somatic. 

In this session, Felina Danalis, M.A., S.E.P. unpacks the hidden influences that shape money behavior: family systems, cultural norms, intergenerational trauma, migration stories, and gender conditioning. Participants will learn how these forces impact financial decisions, money shame, risk tolerance, procrastination, and client resistance. 

By blending somatic psychology with cross-cultural insight, Felina offers tools to understand and de-escalate emotionally charged financial interactions while staying regulated and confident. CPAs will gain language and frameworks to better serve diverse clients — and clarity about when to refer clients for trauma-informed support. 

What really holds us back from change? And how do we overcome the fear and inertia that keep us from becoming who we’re meant to be? 

In this candid and deeply human keynote, Patrick Mork shares the story of how he walked away from a high-flying Silicon Valley career—including co-founding Google Play—to start over in Chile as an executive coach and entrepreneur. From navigating a painful divorce to leaving behind prestige and stability, Patrick unpacks what it means to make a real leap—one rooted in courage, humility, and radical reinvention. 

Drawing on the powerful frameworks from his best-selling book Step Back and LEAP, as well as his experience living in 11 countries, speaking 4 languages, and working across 7 industries, Patrick reveals the mindsets, habits, and tools that helped him rewrite his story—and that anyone can use to do the same. Through raw stories and actionable strategies, your audience will walk away inspired to face discomfort, step outside their comfort zones, and begin crafting a career—and life—driven by meaning and joy. 

Key Takeaways: 

• A mindset shift about what it takes to make bold, lasting life and career changes 
• Practical tools to overcome resistance, step outside comfort zones, and move toward a purpose-driven life