CONFERENCE OUTLINE

The 36th Annual Meonske Professional Development Conference, “one of the top five financial reporting conferences in America,” continues the tradition of presenting leading national authorities from the FASB, SEC, academia, public accounting, Corporate America and experts to discuss the latest external financial accounting, regulatory and corporate governance issues.
 

The Financial Reporting Panel
This year’s conference continues the tradition of providing one of the best conferences available for accounting and financial executives. The conference kicks off with the popular financial reporting panel which includes Wayne E. Carnall, Chief Accountant – Division of Corporation Finance U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Robert H. Herz, Chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), Carlo D. Pippolo, Partner – Director of Standard Setting – Americas Accounting Standard, Ernst & Young LLP and Donal Byard – Associate Professor of Accountancy, Baruch College, CUNY. Nicholas R. Sucic, Vice President and Controller of The Davey Tree Expert Company, will be the panel moderator.

The panel will provide a complete update of FASB recently-issued standards, exposure drafts, project updates as well as SEC rule proposals. The SEC’s Workplan as to International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) will be discussed, including the impact on issuers' controls and procedures, corporate governance considerations, cost and human capital considerations, the impact on other regulatory filings, as well as investor understanding and education issues. You will not want to miss the update to the agenda of the Chief Accountant of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance. The question and answer session provides the opportunity to ask thought-provoking questions from the leading financial regulators and obtain a quick update on the critical topics.
 

Keynote Address at Lunch
“Use Your Strengths to Succeed”
Umberto P. Fedeli, President and CEO of The Fedeli Group, will speak about the unique “Fedeli Difference,” having catapulted the company into one of the largest privately-held insurance brokerage firms in Ohio. The Fedeli Group has succeeded by identifying its unique strengths, including The Fedeli Difference pillars of networking magic; (b) personalized, phenomenal service; and, (c) figuring out how to offer a warm touch in this sometimes cold world. In this exciting keynote, you will hear how relationships and the power of networking are the strengths of The Fedeli Group. You will be challenged to identify your unique strengths while you hear about: (a) the four cornerstones of The Fedeli Group’s success; (b) three ways to compete in any profession; and, (c) three things you have to do in any business to succeed.
 

Afternoon Sessions
“Leading With Kindness - - How Good People Consistently Get Superior Results”
Dr. William F. Baker, a Cleveland native, will discuss thought-provoking guidance based on research with some of the world’s most successful business leaders. “Leading With Kindness” identifies those successful leadership qualities that help emerging and aspiring leaders bring out the best performance to motivate their employees to excellence, nurture all employees while recognizing unique talents, stimulate calculated risk-taking, adapt to change in troubled economic times, and prepare the next generation of leaders.
All conference attendees will receive his best-selling book, "Leading with Kindness."

“How to Find Fraud in Clear Sight”
Sam E. Antar, former CPA and former CFO of Crazy Eddie, Inc. was one of our most highly-rated conference speakers. He is one of the nation’s foremost white collar crime authorities. Before “Sammy the Crook” was caught, he masterminded one of the largest securities frauds of its time as CFO of Crazy Eddie, Inc. by deceiving shareholders, employees, creditors, public accounting firms, Wall Street firms, the press and others. He has appeared on the national television and radio networks providing insights on white collar crime. He has written numerous guest articles for national publications and spoken at major ational conferences and leading universities.

 

 

The “Meonske” Conference

In January 2004, the Ohio Council of the Institute of Management Accountants named its annual conference in honor of Dr. Norman R. Meonske., recognizing his “outstanding contributions to the field of management accounting education through his (then) 30 years of continuous meritorious service as the program chairman and numerous leadership positions at the IMA chapter, council, and national level. Through his vision, leadership, dedication and hard work, the Conference has become recognized as providing attendees an opportunity to learn the latest accounting, financial reporting, and management methods.”