CPA Island

Leading Knowledge Workers - Human Capital - Not Cattle

Join us as bestselling author Ron Baker, CPA, Founder and Principal at the Verasage Institute discusses Leading Knowledge Workers - Human Capital - Not Cattle.

The number one MAP issue facing firms across the country is the challenge of recruiting and inspiring team members.  This program will provide insights and methodologies enabling firm leaders to develop their human capital program into a competitive advantage.

• Transitioning from a Human Resources to a Human Capital Model
• Explore the motivating forces that propel knowledge workers to success
• Build a repertoire of Key Predictive Indicators that measure the right things, thereby facilitating the performance and success of knowledge workers    
• Becoming a lightning rod to attract human capital to your business, and how to develop that human capital
• Current developments in leading, developing, and motivating knowledge workers

Date: Monday, February 23, 2009 12:00 noon - 1:00 pm (EST) 9:00 am - 10:00 am (PDT/SLT)

Location: BLI Conference Center on CPA Island in Second LIfe

CPE Credit - 1 Hour if you register by clicking this link

Check back to this post for updates and materials

New to Second Life? Follow these easy steps:

Use the new Direct SLURL feature by clicking on our link http://slurl.com/secondlife/CPA%20Island/149/159/23 to go to the Second Life URL. On that page, click “sign up” and quickly register, download and login to the viewer, and arrive at their originally intended destination. A quick tutorial will open upon their initial arrival.

Already have a Second Life presence?

Just click our SLURL http://slurl.com/secondlife/CPA%20Island/149/159/23 and login and you will be teleported right to the BLI Conference Center on CPA Island in Second Life.

Steps to Qualify for CPE:

1. Register via this link - sponsored by the Maryland Association of CPAs
2. Login and attend the virtual session in Second Life - use this SLURL
3. Join the Group - SLACPA (Second Life Association of CPAs) in SL
4. Answer questions via chat during the session
5. Complete the post-session evaluation for on-line at this link

Resources:

Business Learning Institute - Knowledge, Innovation, Leadership

Journal of Accountancy article - Accounting for Second Life

Check out the latest developments in the virtual world at our blog www.slacpa.org

Want to learn more about Web 2.0  & CPAs- try our free on-line self-directed learning program "15 minutes a day" www.cpalearning2.com

A Second LIfe for Training - Chief Learning Officer Magazine

2008 Year in Review - CPAs start adopting Second Life for training

2008 was a big year for CPAs and Second Life!

We held over a dozen events, 13hours of free CPE (Continuing Professional Education), had demos at 4 colleges & universities and did a presentation to the AACSB International conference. We had thought leaders from all segmentsof the CPA profession speaking from the podium in our BLI Conference Center on CPA Island.

We were featured on the Metanomics show with Beyers Sellers, interviewed by the Mike O'Hara of the iinternational Virtual Worlds Business Cast, and even made the Journal of Accountancy.

We had Bob Laux of Microsoft, John Zdanowski of Linden Labs, Chris Newman of Restoration Hardware. We covered hot topics like Fair Value, XBRL, Enhanced Business Reporting, using social media for job searches, and more. Who could forget the Maryland Business & Accounting Expo where Intuit came and did the Future of Small Business session live and in Second Life, followed by John Zdanowski projected to the EXPO floor from his office in Silicon Valley.

The biggest highlight for me gets to the whole point of social media. It is not about the technology at all, it's all about the relationships!

We met lots of new friends and built new relationships with cool people. There ie the San Francisco Financial Executives Networking Group, the Bay Area chapter of the Financial Executives International who worked to hold several "mixed reality" sessions. Mixed reality is an event that is both live (in the real world) and live in the virtual world (see our recap here). Special thanks to Gladys Lam (SF FENG & SF FEI) and Richard Acton-Maher of Linden Labs.

We met three innovative accounting educatorsand CPAs, students, accounting educators from all over the world. We even connected with CPA Australia as they held their inaugural event in Second Life this past October and all of our friends that took the risks and ventured into the virtual world with us.

2008 was indeed a great year and we are already making plans for an even better 2009. Check back for updates and special events.

Mark your calendar now for the Maryland Business & Accounting Expo on June 16th & 17th, 2009 where we will feature more Second Life and social media sessions.

Hot Topics in Financial Reporting - Fair Value, M&A & Consolidations

Join us for our next session in conjunction with the SF Bay Chapter of Financial Executives International and the SF FENG on the hottest topics in Financial Reporting. Fair Value (FAS 157), M&A and Consolidations (FAS 141R & 160) will be covered by a panel fo experts from industry and a Big 4 firm.

Date: Tuesday, December 4th 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm (EST) 11:30 am - 1:30 pm (PDT/SLT)

Location: BLI Conference Centeron CPA Island in Second LIfe & Live at Carnelian Room on top of the Bank of America building in San Francisco

Register: by clicking this link - qualifies for 2 hours of CPE

Speakers:Allen Plyler - VP of Accounting Policy - Wells Fargo Bank, Alex Bender, Matt Banks, & Tim Wilcox of E&Y

Materials: Download Statement 157 FEI Presentation Ver C [Compatibility Mode]

Download Slides for FEI Presentation - 11.24

New to Second Life? Follow these easy steps:

Use the new Direct SLURL feature by clicking on our link http://slurl.com/secondlife/CPA%20Island/149/159/23 to go to the Second Life URL. On that page, click “sign up” and quickly register, download and login to the viewer, and arrive at their originally intended destination. A quick tutorial will open upon their initial arrival.

Already have a Second Life presence?

Just click our SLURL http://slurl.com/secondlife/CPA%20Island/149/159/23and login and you will be teleported right to the BLI Conference Center on CPA Island in Second Life.

Steps to Qualify for CPE:

1. Register via this link - sponsored by the Maryland Association of CPAs
2. Login and attend the virtual session in Second Life - use this SLURL
3. Join the Group - SLACPA (Second Life Association of CPAs) in SL
4. Answer questions via chat during the session
5. Complete the post-session evaluation for on-line at this link

Resources:

Business Learning Institute - Knowledge, Innovation, Leadership

Journal of Accountancy article - Accounting for Second Life

Check out the latest developments in the virtual world at our blog www.slacpa.org

Want to learn more about Web 2.0  & CPAs- try our free on-line self-directed learning program "15 minutes a day" www.cpalearning2.com

A Second LIfe for Training - Chief Learning Officer Magazine

Cash is King - Powerful Ways to Drive Cashflow

Join us on September 16th at 7:00 pm PDT/SLT (10:00 pm EST) for our second group hosted by the San Francisco FENG (Financial Executives Networking Group) as V Rory Jones, author of the "Executive Guide to Boosting Cash Flow and Shareholder Value", A Wiley publication, joined by Jerry Iwata of Commerica will show you the various ways of funding in today's tough market. The session will qualify for one hour of CPE and last about an hour plus time for Q & A.

Check back for registration link and materials...

Registration is now fixed and working - click on this to Register for CPE Credit

Here is a copy of the materials Download acg_pres.pdf

and the Instructor BIOs Download Sept16SFFENG.docx

 

XBRL and the International Future of Financial Reporting (SF FENG) - UPDATE!

XBRL in Second LIfe update!

Last night's event was a success - read the post on the CPA Success blog.

Check out the archived video here

Pictures from the event are here

Stay tuned for the archived CPE event where we will have Greg and/or Eric back for discussion and questions and answers and CPE for those who missed this session.

Our next event is scheduled for Tuesday, July 15th at 6:45 pm - 8:15 pm (PDT/SLT) 9:45 pm - 11:15pm (EST). Special Thanks to the SF/Bay Area FENG (Financial Executives Networking Group) for hosting this event and Linden Lab for helping bring this to you in SL. Here are the details:

XBRL and the International Future of Financial Reporting

You will learn the following:

• What is XBRL and How does it work?
• Implications of the Proposed SEC mandate
• How do companies prepare for XBRL adoption?
• What is the ROI of XBRL?
• How can you leverage XBRL technology for business operations
• How does XBRL interface with IFRS?
• Where can you learn more?

Where: BLI Conference Center on CPA Island http://slurl.com/secondlife/CPA%20Island/145/115/22/

Speakers: Greg Zegarowski, President of the Financial Leadership Corporation and a member of the XBRL US steering committee will be presenting live from the SF FENG session at the offices of Protiviti in San Francisco, CA and Eric E. Cohen, PricewaterhouseCoopers and a founding member of XBRL International will be in-world to bring you the latest information on XBRL and International Financial Reporting

This session qualifies for CPE (there will be no charge) and you will need to do the following steps:

1. Register by using this link: http://www.macpa.org/Public/Catalog/CourseDetails.aspx?courseID=0819SL04
2. Answer questions in Second Life to verify attendance during the session
3. Completing the post event evaluation by clicking this link

Course Materials : Download feng_xbrl_sl_71508.pdf

Speaker Bios :

Greg Zegarowski, President of Financial Leadership Corporation, and member of the Communications Steering Committee of XBRL-US 

Eric Cohen, Global Technical Leader,PriceWaterhouseCoopers and founding member of XBRL International

More Resources on XBRL:

Contact Pam Devine at the Business Learning Institute for information on IFRS, XBRL training brought to your company or firm.

Webcast IFRS: An Overview of the Looming Change to Global Standards July 18th 12:30 - 2:15pm (EST)

2008 IFRS Taxonomy Now Available - article in MACPA's Statement

SEC Proposes XBRL Mandate - article in MACPA's Statement

The Road to XBRL - a podcast by Mike Willis, CPA - PWC and founding member of XBRL International

XBRL article by Mike Willis Download FE05008_BuisnesReporting.pdf

First CPE in Second Life - Update

First some apologies - we had a brief regsitration malfunction yesterday which is now fixed. IN case you wer blocked from registering - try the links again today.

This post will house all of the materials and process to get qualified for CPE. In the event Second LIfe crashes or you cannot get in to the event (capacity restraints), try the second link to CPA Island 2 below first and then use this link to watch the sesison live from the web.

http://www.macpa.org/content/expowebcast.aspx

Intuit's Future of Small Business Report and What it means to CPAs: June 18 8:10  to 10 a.m. EST, 5:10 to 7 a.m. SLT / PST.

Presenters: Steve Blundell, CPA and Catherine Harrell of Intuit

Registration (necessary for CPE credits) http://www.macpa.org/Public/Conference/Description.aspx?courseID=0819SL01

Course Materials Download future_of_small_business_keynote_macpa_2008_06_10.pdf

Post Course Evaluation Form - click here

SLURL Location for meeting on CPA Island http://slurl.com/secondlife/CPA%20Island/151/116/23

Backup Location on CPA Island 2 http://slurl.com/secondlife/CPA%20Island%202/195/117/29

The Virtual World of Second Life: June 18, 2:15 to 3:05 p.m. EST, 11:15 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. SLT  / PST.

Presenters: John Zdanowski, CFO of Linden Lab and Sue Singer, Manager of Internal Tools

Registration (necessary for CPE credits) http://www.macpa.org/Public/Conference/Description.aspx?courseID=0819SL01

Course Materials Download CPA_20080618_2.pdf 

Post Course Evaluation Form - click here

SLURL Location for meeting on CPA Island http://slurl.com/secondlife/CPA%20Island/151/116/23

Backup Location on CPA Island 2 http://slurl.com/secondlife/CPA%20Island%202/195/117/29

If there are any breaking developments (literally & figuratively), don't panic, we will post updates on this blog with instructions. We are very excited about both of these events and hope you will enjoy the real visrtual world experience, but it is still early with this technology and we are pushing it - so I hope you will give us your patience and suggesstions as we learn our way into this.

Registration Information - June 18th Sessions

First CPE in Second LIfe will be held in conjunction with the Maryland Business & Accounting EXPO in two "mixed reality" sessions (live at EXPO and virtually in SL).

Intuit's Future of Small Business Report and What it means to CPAs: June 18 8:10  to 10 a.m. EST, 5:10 to 7 a.m. SLT / PST.

Steve Blundell, CPA, and Catherine Harrell will present Intuit's three-part study authored by the Institute for the Future. The presentation will look at the significant trends and forces affecting entrepreneurship over the next decade, including the changing face of small business, technology trends and their impact on small business formation and operation, and how these concepts are shaping an environment where small businesses can thrive, benefiting from collaboration with big business, access to enhanced computing power and a global marketplace. In order to get CPE - please register using the attached link (it is free but you will need to register) http://www.macpa.org/Public/Conference/Description.aspx?courseID=0819SL01

The Virtual World of Second Life: June 18, 2:15 to 3:05 p.m. EST, 11:15 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. SLT  / PST.

Sue Singer, Linden's Manager of Internal Tools will be on stage at the EXPO joined by John Zdanowski, CFO of Linden Lab (the company that created of Second Life), will present from in-world to take you into a future that is already here, where real business gets done in virtual worlds like Second Life. If you think you have enough to do in this life, you may need to step out of your comfort zone and find out how real money is being made in virtual worlds.

In order to get CPE - please register using the attached link (it is free but you will need to register) http://www.macpa.org/Public/Conference/Description.aspx?courseID=0819SL01

Space is limited to the first 40 attendees but we will be streaming live to a website and recording the session for archive.

We will be attempting to broadcast web streams live from the EXPO floor at our virtual show in-world at the BLI Conference Center on CPA Island (note you must join the SL group - SLACPA in order to visit CPA Island)

First CPE in the Virtual World of Second Life

Join us on June 18th at the Maryland Business & Accounting Expo to experience two "mixed reality" educational sessions. "Mixed reality" means there is a real life component (which will be at the Baltimore Convention Center) and a virtual component (which will be held at the BLI Conference Center on CPA Island in Second Life). The sessions are as follows:

Intuit's Future of Small Business Report and What it means to CPAs: June 18 8:10  to 10 a.m. EST, 5:10 to 7 a.m. SLT / PST.

Steve Blundell, CPA, and Catherine Harrell will present Intuit's three-part study authored by the Institute for the Future. The presentation will look at the significant trends and forces affecting entrepreneurship over the next decade, including the changing face of small business, technology trends and their impact on small business formation and operation, and how these concepts are shaping an environment where small businesses can thrive, benefiting from collaboration with big business, access to enhanced computing power and a global marketplace.

The Virtual World of Second Life: June 18, 2:15 to 3:05 p.m. EST, 11:15 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. SLT  / PST.

Johns Zdanowski, CFO of Linden Lab (the company that created of Second Life), will present from in-world to take you into a future that is already here, where real business gets done in virtual worlds like Second Life. If you think you have enough to do in this life, you may need to step out of your comfort zone and find out how real money is being made in virtual worlds.

Plans are already under way to host a session on XBRL in the next month.

The Expo has several sessions that focus on Web 2.0 and Second Life (see session 150 on Tuesday and 231 on Wednesday), if you want to learn about these exciting technologies and how to use them as a CPA. Download a conference brochure here

Join us in-world at CPA Island for the first virtual tradeshow for accounting and business and the first CPE in Second Life on June 18 at the BLI Conference Center on CPA Island.  To visit CPA Island, you must be a member of the SLACPA in Second Life. Once you have created your avatar, join the group "SLACPA" (it is free) and you will get announcements and instructions to sign up for the virtual sessions.

How to attend the virtual CPA session on June 18

The sessions from within Second Life will qualify for three hours of CPE

1.Login to Second Life.

2.Select Edit -> Groups from the top menu, then click the "Search" button and enter SLACPA (short for Second Life Association of CPAs).

3.When the SLACPA group appears, click the "Join" button. This will give you permission to visit CPA Island.

4.Enter the following URL into the address bar of your Internet browser:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/CPA%20Island/145/115/22/

It will teleport you directly to the conference.

5.Alternatively, you can select "Map" button at the bottom of the Second Life screen, then enter "CPA Island" in the search box and click the "Search" button. Double-click "CPA Island" in the search results box and you will be teleported to the welcome center on CPA Island.

6.Look for a wall of signs and select the BLI Conference Center picture with your mouse. Right-click and select "Teleport," and you will be placed at the entrance to the conference center.

7.Proceed through the lobby and follow the signs to the conference center.

I hope to see you in-world...

Resources:

Second Life Association of CPAs www.slacpa.org

CPA Success blog posting about Second Life

Registration for the EXPO (in real life)

CPA Island hosts "Mixed Reality" event with CFO Rising Conference

Linden Lab's CFO John Zdanowski addresses SLACPA members on CPA Island in Second Life while speaking to a "live" audience of four hundred CFOs at the CFO Rising Conference in Orlando, Florida. This is what is known as a mixed reality event when you mix a traditional "live" conference event with a virtual reality event.

                      

Using a microphone and hooked up to the conference sound system, both audiences were able to interact via voice and chat. John Z's alter ego, Zee Linden is shown in the pictures (he's the buff blonde guy) speaking to almost thirty SLACPA members who came to see his presentation in Second Life. The virtual audience was able to interact with John and the audience in Florida could actually hear the questions from our SL audience.

CPAs, Accounting Educator's, CPA firm administrators, a CPA Firm COO, and several MACPA staffers were among the SLACPA attendees in the virtual world.

The feedback from the SL audience was great, despite some technical sound difficulties for some of our attendees. We learned that you have to play with the voice and sound preferences - clicking on the voice icons on bottom right of your screen and then adjusting the volume slider to hear, a well as checking the voice preferences in your setup.

I thought Zee's presentation was great and we will be offering the update to this event during the Maryland Business Expo on June 18th at 2:15pm - 3:05 pm (EST) 11:15 am - 12:05 pm (PST /SLT).

This will be another "mixed reality" event with Zee broadcasting to our "live" audience from inside Second Life, and of course to our virtual participants. The CPE credit will be possible thru the use of Web 2.0 technologies using our blog to host the materials, bio, and other required content and a post session survey.

For a recap of the presentation see our post Here's a Look at Second Life's Business Potential