Thrive through change: MBAC23
A look back at MBAC 2023
Julia Shiota, MNCPA communications coordinator | August/September 2023 Footnote
The MNCPA’s annual conference for CFOs, financial leaders, internal auditors and business advisers returned to the Mystic Lake Center in Prior Lake, providing an exhilarating educational experience to enhance attendees’ leadership and decision-making skills.
More than 500 professionals attended the MNCPA’s Management & Business Adviser’s Conference (MBAC) June 13-15 with many attending in-person on the final day of the event. The conference offered attendees the choice between a hybrid, fully virtual or single day experience. Attendees chose from more than 50 sessions on key topics impacting the industry, including federal and state tax updates, topics surrounding staffing and talent, technology, personal and professional development, and more. Those who attended the final day in-person also networked, won prizes, met with exhibitors and mingled with their peers at a happy hour sponsored by Salo, a Korn Ferry company.
Here are highlights from two of the sessions.
Case studies in cyber incidents and breaches
David Anderson, OSCP and Nehemiah Jones
Rapid advances in technology make many elements of our jobs easier, but with this ease also comes new threats for leaders to be aware of to keep themselves and their clients safe. David Anderson, OSCP and Nehemiah Jones, both with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, showed attendees how to keep their own organizations safe from cyberthreats.
Beginning with Microsoft’s 2022 Digital Defense report, which aggregates information on the most common incidents and breaches, the duo outlined the most significant cyberthreats that attendees were likely to encounter in their businesses: phishing threats. While the dangers posed by links embedded in emails or suspicious external calls are widely known, the presenters explained how many hackers now target specific individuals who oversee payroll and invoicing — often masking their nefarious activities so well they impersonate the vendor they hacked to then target those vendor’s clients.
David and Nehemiah provided real-world examples through multiple case studies, wrapping up their discussion on each with actionable take aways that attendees could implement in their own place of work. Lessons gleaned from these case studies include:
- Formalizing vendor and payment verification processes.
- Restricting foreign logins. Implementing a strong password policy and a multi-factor authentication policy.
- Maintaining patch schedules to ensure necessary security updates are occurring.
- Contact IT or similar service providers if something seems suspicious — even if you don’t know what exactly is going wrong, it is always better to say something.
While the presenters made it clear that hackers are becoming smarter, both were quick to encourage attendees to remember that remaining vigilant and implementing (as well as maintaining) security protocols can stop many malicious attacks before they occur.
Talent management in a remote setting panel discussion
Paige Batcha, CPA, MBA; Katie Gabriel, CPA; Larry Morgan, MA, SPHR; and Mandee Page, J.D.
Three years of COVID has profoundly reshaped the labor market, creating a new set of considerations that both employers and employees must navigate. In an in-person exclusive session, panelists delved deeper into what job applicants are currently looking for and what considerations employers should keep in mind as they hire new talent.
One of the key terms panelists returned to throughout the session was flexibility. For some, this meant maintaining the flexible nature of the hybrid work environment that became commonplace during the pandemic. As several panelists noted, many potential employees would even take a pay cut to have the flexibility of working a hybrid schedule. Another important aspect of flexibility was touched on by Katie, who highlighted the prevalence of burnout among many workers still recovering from the strain of the pandemic and the need for employers to think creatively to address it. Paige likewise emphasized the importance of creating a culture of open communication from the top-down to address issues like burnout, mental health and workload, all of which still occur in a remote setting.
At the same time, the panel described some of the tradeoffs of moving to a wholly remote environment, including lack of collaboration. Many managers still focus on employees who come into the office and it may be important for employees who are seeking career advancement to go into the office a few times a week to remain competitive. Mandee also noted that other crucial aspects of work, like creative collaboration and camaraderie, are harder to keep up in a remote environment and, therefore, requires intention to actively maintain. Drawing on his HR expertise, Larry outlined several approaches to employee retention including internal mentorship, promoting mental health services and remaining open to larger workplace trends — like the four-day work week or discussions around PTO.
With the hybrid model here to stay, there are considerations employers must make moving forward. Thinking through how to remain flexible to meet the needs of both employees and employers will not only benefit individual workers, thereby creating value for employers, but can also help combat other issues impacting the industry like the CPA pipeline.
