NASBA Hosts 2014 Regional Meetings

Author: David Sargent, NASBA Communications & Electronic Media Specialist
Posted: July 9, 2014

NASBA kicked off the month of June by serving as host to its 2014 Regional Meetings. All roads led to the nation’s Show-Me State (St. Louis, MO) for NASBA’s Western Regional Meeting, held June 11-13.

The Western Regional was preceded by the Eastern Regional Meeting held in the Bluegrass State (Louisville, KY) June 4-6. Over 213 members attended the annual meetings representing 43 Boards of Accountancy.

Held each summer and open to all members of the 55 U.S. Boards of Accountancy, NASBA’s Regional Meetings provide a two-day forum for Board of Accountancy members and staff to discuss the issues and new regulation developments facing the accounting profession.

Phillip M. Layne of the Kentucky Board of Accountancy opened the Eastern Regional with a rousing welcome message. Attendees of the Western Regional Meeting were welcomed by Robert Helm from the Missouri Board of Accountancy.

This year’s Regional Meeting presentations included:

• Changes in Compilation Standards by Janice Gray, CPA, Gray, Blodgett & Company, PLLC and Chas McElroy, CPA, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
• Uniform Accountancy Act Issues by Kenneth Odom, CPA, Rabren, Odom, Pierce & Hayes, P.C., and Noel Allen, Esq., Allen, Pinnix & Nichols, P.A.
• The Future of Practice Monitoring by Susan Coffey, CPA, CGMA, AICPA and G. Alan Long, CPA, CITP, CGMA, Baldwin CPAs
• Bringing More Diversity into the Boards of Accountancy by Tyrone Dickerson, CPA, Founding Partner, Dennis, Dickerson, & Wilkins, Management Associates
• Education: Implementing the Pathways Project by Melanie Thompson, CPA, Texas Lutheran University
• The Future of Learning is Here by Maria Caldwell, Esq., NASBA
• Legal Heads Up by Noel Allen, Esq., Allen, Pinnix & Nichols, P.A.
• The Uniform CPA Exam by Frederick Niswander, Ph.D., CPA, East Carolina University and Colleen Conrad, CPA, NASBA

Along with the presentations were updates and Q&As from NASBA’s executive leadership, as well as panel discussions and breakout sessions for the regions on various topics.

“NASBA seeks to be a key resource for the Boards, helping them better serve and regulate their jurisdictions,” said Tom Kenny, NASBA Director of Communications. “Our Regional Meetings are consistently one of the best places for everyone to share and discuss the latest trends and issues affecting that effort.”

The meetings also featured a panel presentation from recent NASBA Accounting Education Research Grant recipients, including Dennis Bline, Ph.D., Bryant University; H. Fred Mittelstaedt, Ph.D., Deloitte Foundation Professor of Accountancy at the University of Notre Dame; and Bradley Steven Trinkle, Ph.D., Mississippi State University.

For new members of the Boards of Accountancy, a one-day orientation and networking reception was held to help them become familiar with NASBA and their new Board roles.

“It’s always a great time getting together with our members,” said NASBA President & CEO Ken Bishop of this year’s meetings. “It feels like a family reunion.”

Take a look at NASBA’s YouTube channel to watch presentations from the 2014 Regional Meetings.