The need for future-focused accountants has never been greater. In a recent national survey, 76 percent of small and mid-size business owners say their CPAs are not proactive, and 75 percent have changed firms because their CPAs are providing reactive services rather than proactive advice. Another recent survey found that only 6 percent of CFOs, controllers, and management accountants say they are future-ready and unable to deliver the game-changing value their organizations desperately need. The urgency of the highly competitive marketplace and pace of technological change are fueling the demand for an “anticipatory” accounting and finance professional who can help businesses and organizations look through the windshield instead of the rearview mirror to see around corners. The critical skills necessary to achieve this vision were identified as: 1. Communications – the ability to effectively exchange reliable and meaningful information using appropriate context and interpersonal skills. 2. Leadership – being adept at influencing, inspiring, and motivating others to facilitate change and achieve excellence. 3. Strategic and critical thinking – skills in evaluating facts, challenging assumptions and applying judgment to develop relevant solutions. 4. Anticipating and serving evolving needs – abilities in identifying strategic directions and opportunities to meet the evolving needs of those we serve. 5. Synthesizing intelligence to insight – expertise in connecting data, performing analysis and using business acumen to provide astute guidance for better decision making. 6. Integration and collaboration – effectiveness in building strategic alliances and working collaboratively to provide multidisciplinary solutions to complex problems. We have spent years building our boxes – in my case, 33 years! Isn’t it time we get out of our boxes? What if we work with the younger generations to help us see new ways out of the box while we reinforce the core values and wisdom gained over our careers? Our Business Learning Institute can help design a curriculum that equips your accounting/finance professionals with these critical success skills in multiple formats - instructor-led, webcast, on-demand and our newest transformational learning project with Daniel Burrus called the Anticipatory Organization: Accounting and Finance Edition... for more info http://www.blionline.org

1. State of Accounting: 2015
How Business Would
Improve If More
Accountants Were
Proactive, Not Reactive
By:Tom Hood, CPA, CITP, CGMA

2. www.blionline.org
Source: CPA.COM Insight into the CPA of the
Future Study 2014
Only 8% of CPAs are Future Ready
Future Ready is the capacity
to be aware, predictive, and
adaptive of emerging
challenges, tech innovations,
and trends and changes in
business, population, and
social environment.

3. Only 13% of CPAs Ahead of Curve

4. A Clarion Call to Get Out of Our Box(es)

5. Why are windshields so much bigger?

6. CPAs are trusted advisors who
help business and organizations
shape their future. Combining
insight with integrity they
deliver value by:
• Communicating the total picture
with clarity and objectivity;
• Translating complex information
into critical knowledge;
• Anticipating and creating
opportunities;
• Designing pathways that
transform vision into reality.
Source:AICPA: CPA Horizons 2025 Report

7. We Need New Skills…

8. www.blionline.org

9. The No. 1 Barrier?
But I am too busy and don’t have time…

10. ANTICIPATION
Strategic
Thinking
External
Awareness
Vision
Con7nuous
Learning
Innova7on
Crea7vity
Problem
Solving
Priori7za7on
Business
Acumen
Decisiveness
Influencing/Persuading
Emo7onal
Intelligence
Consensus
Building
Collabora7on
Inspira7on
Risk
Management
The competency of “anticipation” actually includes a number of
competencies included in many of the top companies of today and
the CPA Profession as well.
Across these models, you'll see a common theme of "strategic
thinking," "innovation" and "leading change."
Many of these organizations build (and validate) fantastic
competency models and know what they want people to do.
The beauty of the Anticipatory Organization model is that it offers
a clear process that makes highly-abstract leadership competencies
attainable and trainable.
If an organization wants to make "strategic thinking" or "innovation"
a core competency, we can provide clear, trainable activities that
can be targeted to a wide range of learners (from individual
contributors to senior leadership).
We provide the bridge between the competency model and the
desired observable behaviors.
Anticipation –The Critical Competency

11. The research: Anticipation is
showing up across our Profession
MACPA
Member
Survey
Top
Challenges
2014
Sleeter
Group
Survey
2014

12. ANTICIPATION
Strategic
Thinking
External
Awareness
Vision
Con7nuous
Learning
Innova7on
Crea7vity
Problem
Solving
Priori7za7on
Business
Acumen
Decisiveness
Influencing/Persuading
Emo7onal
Intelligence
Consensus
Building
Collabora7on
Inspira7on
Risk
Management
An7cipatory
Organiza7on:
Finance
/
Accoun7ng
Edi7on
CGMA Competency Framework

13. The Anticipatory CPA / Finance /
Accounting Professional

14. From: Reactive To: Preactive & Anticipatory
From: Crisis Management To: Opportunity Manager
From: Problems To: Solutions

15. http://blionline.org/the-anticipatory-organization/

16. “You can’t stop the waves, but you can
learn how to surf.” – Jon Kabat Zinn
Start by riding the
hard trends…

17. A Clarion Call to Get Out of Our Box(es)
We have spent years building our own
boxes, now it is time to break out…

18. Trust
Integrity
Objectivity
Excellence
Lifelong Learning
Stimulate Progress and Protect the Core.
What should not change…

19. Getting started:The No. 1 App
Just one hour per week…

20. If there is a conversation about the future
of the profession, you're bound to hear
Hood's name mentioned as one of the
people leading the way.
– Accounting Today
Tom Hood, CPA, CITP, CGMA
Named the Second Most Influential in Accounting
by Accounting Today Magazine 2013
Top 150 Influencer by Linked-In
Top 25 Influencers in Learning & HR by HR
Examiner
CPA Practice Adviser Accounting Hall of Fame
Top 25 Public Accounting Thought Leaders by
CPA Practice Adviser
Working on Learning Management with AICPA/
CPA2Biz, Cloud Curriculum, Performance
Management /XBRL, Leadership & Generations
CEO
Maryland Association of CPAs
(MACPA) www.macpa.org
Business Learning Institute
(BLI) www.blionline.org
http://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhood/