bright ideas

7:30 - 8 a.m. —  Registration/Continental Breakfast

8 - 8:05 a.m. —  Opening Remarks

8:05 - 8:55 a.m. —  Simple Solutions/Harness the Power of Passion and Simplicity to Get Results
Arnold E. Perl, Attorney, Ford & Harrison LLP, Memphis, Tenn.
     Attendees will be exposed to an effective model for leadership which highlights the tools and logic from the left side of the bran balanced by the passion, energy and intuition on the right - and embedded on a foundation of simplicity.

8:55 - 9 a.m. —  Change Break

9 - 9:50 a.m. — Podcasts in the Workplace
Brian D. Janz, Ph.D., Professor of MIS and Director of Executive Education and Development, The Fogelman College of Business and Economics at The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tenn.
     If the terms podcast and workplace seem mutually exclusive to you, you'll want to find out how this emerging audio technology has moved from an underground method of sharing music and stories to a prime-time method of sharing important audio information with your colleagues and clients. In this session, podcasting will be demystified, and you'll find out how you can incorporate this technology into your workplace and work life.

9:50 - 10:05 a.m. — Fraud Risk Management: Creating an Anti-Fraud Environment
John J. Hall, CPA, President, Hall Consulting Inc., Vail, Colo.
     Leaders in every organization face risks from misconduct, wrongdoing and fraud. But relatively few organizations have a comprehensive fraud risk management plan in place to proactively address fraud exposures. This session gives CPA business executives the anti-fraud tools they can apply in their own organizations. Topics covered will include:

• 10 best practices for fraud deterrence and prevention,
• The critical policy on suspected misconduct,
• Three steps to detecting fraud and misconduct,
• Why internal controls break down, and what to do about it,
• How to conduct a "Comprehensive Fraud Risk Assessment,"
• How to build prevention into every day activities and
• Special challenges from third party relationships.

11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. — Lunch

12:45 - 1:35 p.m. — Who Says It Not Easy Being Green? Why “Going Green” = “Better Business Practices” at Butler Snow Attorneys
Ken Jones, Director of Information Technology, Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada, PLLC, Jackson, Miss.
     We all know that companies should adopt “green” practices, but the common perception is that these practices are disruptive to normal business operation. Another misconception is that while “green” initiatives have benefits for the environment, there are few, if any, benefits for the company and their clients. At Butler Snow we discovered that both of these common perceptions were inaccurate. We discovered that “green” practices and better business practices go hand in hand. We will share our experiences of how “green” practices helped us to become a more efficient firm.

1:35 - 1:40 p.m. — Change Break

1:40 - 2:30 p.m. — The New Form 990: What You Must Know and Do
David Craig, CPA, Senior Tax Manager, Deloitte Tax LLP, Memphis, Tenn.
     The IRS has released the final redesigned Form 990 scheduled to take effect for the 2008 tax year along with the draft instructions. Information reporting changes on the redesigned Form 990 are intended to provide increased transparency and facilitate comparisons between similar types of tax-exempt organizations. Learn the action items you need to implement now to assist tax-exempt organizations in complying with the redesigned 2008 Form 990. It is not too soon to begin taking steps to ensure that information is being captured in a manner that will enable tax-exempt organizations to meet the expanded reporting requirements.

2:30 - 2:45 p.m. — Networking Break & Exhibit Viewing

2:45 - 4:25 p.m. — How is the Recession Going?
George A. (Tony) Spiva, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
     The National Bureau of Economic Research dates recessions (when they start, when they bottom out, etc.) only well after the fact so we don't get the official start of this recession for at least another six months. The current recession probably started during the fourth quarter of 2007. What is its status about a year later? Recessions share similar properties but each one has its own unique features that determine how severe and how long the recession will be.