AICPA Engage Conference Draws 3,500 Accounting Pros for Education, Networking

More than 3,500 accounting, tax and financial professionals convened in Las Vegas this week for the 2023 AICPA/CIMA Engage Conference, the largest annual educational and network event hosted by the American Institute of CPAs and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Following a welcome by AICPA CEO Barry Melancon in advance of the first keynote speaker, the conference chairman Martin Flynn announced the attendance figures, and added that an additional 750 professionals were joining online, making this “The biggest Engage event ever.”

Flynn was joined by co-chair Jim Boomer, CEO of Boomer Consulting, who has been involved with the technology and practice-focused educational tracks for several years.

“We are certainly excited that this year’s Engage is jam-packed and for the first time ever, all the tracks are going to be running over all four days,” said Boomer. “Which means more sessions, more networking with your peers, and it means more evenings out in Vegas.”

Boomer noted that the sessions include technological insights, economic trends, leadership development, and more. Other 2023 co-chairs include Greg Bedard, Michael Brand and Lindsay Stevenson.

“We’ve come a long way,” said Boomer. “I remember when I began attending the conferences, it was just the tech conference by itself and the practitioner’s conference by itself. We’ve brought these two, as well as other professional conference together into one place and to expand our community across the different specialties and focus areas.”

The featured keynote speaker for Engage 2023 was Michael C. Bush, the CEO of Great Place To Work, a global research and analytics firm that produces the annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, the World’s Best Workplaces list, the 100 Best Workplaces for Women list, and other workplace rankings.

Bush discussed recent data about how organizations thrive by prioritizing a culture of inclusiveness, as well as how it can help encourage innovation and game-changing ideas.

During the opening remarks, Melancon also introduced the morning’s conference attendees to the 2023 Outstanding Young CPA Award winners. On the evening prior to the conference opening, the AICPA hosted a special reception honoring award winners from various programs within the AICPA.