By Stephen W. Christian, CPA

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Big news! PICPA’s 122nd Annual Meeting is coming to Philadelphia. The meeting will take place on Monday, June 3, 2019, at The Logan Philadelphia Hotel and is poised to set record attendance.

In addition to our traditional continuing education offerings and the opportunity to meet the 2019-2020 PICPA leadership team, we have three special speakers: Eric Hansen, current chair of the AICPA, will provide his perspective on the state of the profession; Joe Conklin, The Man of a Thousand Voices, will join us for lunch and some laughs; and Don Smolenski, president of the Philadelphia Eagles, will deliver our keynote address. Don is a CPA and a member of the PICPA, and will share with us some thoughts on his 20-year career with the Eagles, including the team’s recent Super Bowl win. The day will wrap up with drinks and food as you spend some time chatting with friends new and old.

Historically, PICPA’s Annual Meeting has been held outside of Pennsylvania at a wonderful resort. I have fond memories of regularly attending the event with my family. Although fun, only a small number of members would be able to attend. The PICPA leadership team decided there had to be a better way to embrace more of our 22,000 members with our Annual Meeting. Last year, we made some fundamental changes by shifting to a one-day meeting and moving the event back to Pennsylvania. The 2018 event in Hershey was a resounding success in many ways, and provided a firm foundation for this year’s meeting in Philadelphia.

For the past 35 years, the Annual Meeting has proved a very rewarding experience for me, and has been important to my personal and professional development. The benefits have varied based on where I was in my career and in my life, and have included:

• Learning to network with others early in my career in a safe and friendly setting.
• Establishing relationships with people from other parts of Pennsylvania and in other firms or companies that I could network with throughout the year.
• Getting to know the leaders in our profession and receiving updates on trends affecting the accounting/tax world.
• Hearing interesting speakers and attending quality CPE.
• Connecting with new and old friends.
• Showing support for the profession.
• Enjoying good food, drinks, and laughs!

Needless to say, I highly encourage you to attend this year’s event on Monday, June 3. I am confident that you will find it rewarding, fun, and a great use of your time. Plus, you cannot beat the price: just $50 for members. If you reside outside of the Philadelphia area, bring the family for the weekend to see all Philadelphia has to offer—historical sites, museums, the zoo, great restaurants, and more. Visit the 122nd Annual Meeting webpage for registration and details.  See you on June 3 for a fun, informative day.

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Stephen W. Christian, CPA, is a director with Kreischer Miller in Horsham, and is the 2018-2019 PICPA president.

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