Keynote - Thomson Reuters Synergy 2015 Conference In this inspirational keynote, Tom will show practitioners how to explore new value-added services and position their practices for success in a rapidly changing world. He'll discuss the major "shift change" and the trends shaping business today, and give participants a framework to provide more proactive services and strategic advice—and a plan to get started. Tom Hood (Maryland Association of CPAs, Inc.)—Tom is passionate about three areas: leadership, learning, and technology. His recognition and awards reflect his leadership in helping CPAs "shape their future" through his work as the CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Business Learning Institute, a center for the development of leadership, strategic thinking, and collaboration skills for CPAs. In 2013, Accounting Today said about Tom, "If there is a conversation about the future of the profession, you're bound to hear Hood's name mentioned as one of the people leading the way. Hood is doing as much as anyone—and more than most- to lead public accounting forward." CPA Practice Advisor inducted Tom into the Accounting Hall of Fame in 2015. He was named the fourth most influential leader in Accounting Today’s 2014 list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting (his tenth time on the list). LinkedIn recruited Tom as one of their Top 150 Influencers, and he was named to the Top 25 Influencers in Learning by HR Examiner.

1. The$Future$Ready$CPA$
Moving''
From''Compliance''
to'Reliance$
Riding$the$waves$of$change!$

2. The'Future'Ready'CPA':'
Moving'from'Compliance'to'Reliance$
Tom$Hood,$CPA,$CITP,$CGMA$
@tomhood$

3. The # 1 Challenge

4. 0 2 4 6 8
Poor reputation
No personal relationship
Inadequate staff to meet needs
Not using state-of-the-art technology
Fees were too high
Expertise of former CPA was lacking
Referral to a new firm from someone
CPA had poor responsiveness
CPA didn’t give proactive advice, only
reactive service
Why SMBs Leave Their CPA / Accountant

6. www.blionline.org
Source: CPA.COM Insight into the CPA of the
Future Study 2014
Only 8% of CPAs are Future Ready
Future Ready is the capacity to be
aware, predictive, and adaptive of
emerging challenges, tech
innovations, and trends and changes
in business, population, and social
environment.

7. 5 Steps to be Future Ready
1. Context
2. Certainty
3. Capacity
4. Competence
5. Core Beliefs

8. Context

9. In the next five
years we will
TRANSFORM
How we market,
sell ,
communicate,
collaborate,
innovate, and
educate
– Dan Burrus

10. More Uber cars than yellow taxis on the road in NYC

12. Gradual then Sudden

14. Will your job be done by a machine?
Source: NPR Planet Money, May, 2015

15. Are you using the language
of the future or the past?
Is your office & technology
in the future or the past?
Will students feel they are
time traveling back in time?
Do you know what
your clients are facing
now and in the future?

16. Certainty

17. Can you predict the
future?

18. • Linear & Exponential Change
• Cyclical Change
• HardTrends vs SoftTrends
Certainty

19. HardTrends
Four HardTrends:
1. Government Regulation
2. Technology
3. Demographics
4. Globalization

20. 12,000 CPAs, 75,000
Comments over 15
years

21. Relationships & Collaboration

22. Disruption and RONI"
The gap is widening, faster!
Source: Clayton Christensen, “Innovation Killers”
We think this
is trade-off

23. Capacity

24. TheTop 6 Ways to Create Capacity in
your Firm
• Maximize software & tools you have
• Use the latest and most efficient technologies
• Workflow & Process Efficiency
• Focus on your best ‘A’ clients
• Communicate your services (cross-sell)
• Engage your people

25. Competency
Disrup>ons $ $ $before$they$disrupt$
Problems $ $ $before$you$have$them$
Customer'Needs$ &before&they$have$them$$
New'Opportuni>es $before$the$compeBBon$
AnBcipate$
Source:$Daniel$Burrus$

26. www.blionline.org

27. ANTICIPATION'
Strategic$Thinking$
External$Awareness$
Vision$
ConBnuous$Learning$
InnovaBon$
CreaBvity$
Problem$Solving$
PrioriBzaBon$
Business$Acumen$
Decisiveness$
Influencing/Persuading$
EmoBonal$Intelligence$
Consensus$Building$
CollaboraBon$
InspiraBon$
Risk$Management$
Anticipation –The Critical Competency
• Anticipating and reacting to the
nature and speed of change.
• Acting decisively without always
having clear direction and
certainty.
• Navigating through complexity,
chaos, and confusion.
• Maintaining effectiveness despite
constant surprises and a lack of
predictability.
Source: Conference Board Global Leadership Forecast 2015

28. Trust
Integrity
Objectivity
Excellence
Lifelong Learning
Core Beliefs &Values
Protect the Core & Stimulate Progress

29. 5 Steps to be Future Ready
1. Context
2. Certainty
3. Capacity
4. Competence
5. Core Beliefs

30. V
A
L
U
E
Adding Insight forAction
Information
Wisdom
Knowledge
Data
Compliance
Reliance
Source: CGMA & DIKW Pyramid
V
A
L
U
E

32. Calendar -The No. 1 App
Spend just one hour per week in the future…

33. If there is a conversation about the future of the
profession, you're bound to hear Hood's name
mentioned as one of the people leading the way.
– Accounting Today
Tom Hood, CPA, CITP, CGMA
$
• CPA$PracBce$Adviser$AccounBng$Hall$of$Fame$$
• Named$the$Second$Most$InfluenBal$in$AccounBng$by$AccounBng$
Today$Magazine$2015$
• Top$150$Influencer$by$LinkedVIn$
• Top$25$Influencers$in$Learning$&$HR$by$HR$Examiner$
• Top$25$Public$AccounBng$Thought$Leaders$by$CPA$PracBce$Adviser$
• Working$on$$Learning$Management$with$AICPA/CPA2Biz,$$Cloud$
Curriculum,$Performance$Management$/XBRL,$Leadership$&$
GeneraBons$$
CEO
Maryland Association of CPAs
(MACPA) www.macpa.org
Business Learning Institute (BLI)
www.blionline.org
http://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhood/

34. “Identifying future trends and seizing the opportunities in the
present is the key to our success – and it’s a skill we can learn.”
DANIEL BURRUS
Watch the Product Demo at
BLIonline.org/AO
Learn the skill of
anticipation
with Daniel Burrus.
New York Times Bestseller, Futurist, and Fortune 500 Consultant

35. The Anticipatory Organization™ Model
The Anticipatory Organization™ Model is a powerful tool for leaders, emerging leaders,
managers, planners, and sales teams.
MODULE 1: KNOW WHAT’S NEXT
HARD TRENDS are certainties. They will happen, regardless of your actions.
SOFT TRENDS might happen—and you can influence them. An organization that
can identify certainties and future disruptions will be better poised for success.
MODULE 2: DEVELOP OPPORTUNITIES
Every HARD TREND provides an opportunity. The question is whether you’ll
be there to capitalize on it. The Anticipatory Organization™ Model helps you
pre-solve predictable problems in order to identify and act on game-changing
opportunities.
MODULE 3: SHAPE THE FUTURE
Your view of the future shapes the decisions you make today. And, the
decisions you make will shape your future. This is your FUTUREVIEW® and it is a
powerful force in shaping the future of both organizations and individuals. The
Anticipatory Organization™ Model reveals the power of your FUTUREVIEW and
teaches you to use HARD TRENDS to elevate your plans and realize the business
you envision.
MODULE 4: ACCELERATE SUCCESS
When your entire team shares a common FUTUREVIEW that’s based around the
certainty of HARD TRENDS, it drives your organization’s strategic velocity and
accelerates success.
A NEW TYPE OF LEARNING FOR A
NEW TYPE OF SKILL
The Anticipatory Organization™ Learning
System is an accelerated learning platform.
Each video is:
Fast
There is just one concept in each video,
featuring instruction by Daniel Burrus.
Short
We are entering the age of micro-learning to
align with the latest learning research. Each
video only takes minutes.
Reinforced
Each video is followed by a Job Aid and Rapid
Application Activities that teach the learner
to apply the concept to everyday activities.
LEARNING SYSTEM OVERVIEW
Above is an example of the online learning
interface, available on any device.
SEE MORE AT BLIONLINE.ORG/AO
Learn More and View the Product
Demo at BLIonline.org/AO.

36. How The Anticipatory Organization™
Online Learning Program
Will Impact Your Organization
BE PROACTIVE,
NOT REACTIONARY
The simplicity of the Anticipatory
Organization™ model enables your
organizaion to get out from under the
weight of uncertainty and disruption;
understand and apply compolex ideas;
and engage the future head on.
“Our world has gotten so complex and so rapidly changing that the issues
get cloudy. [Gleaning] the certainty out of all that fog is critical.”
—MICHAEL MANSPEAKER, Partner, Smith Elliott Kearns & Company, LLC
“Your business will be better able to adapt to today’s environment.”
—KEN KELLY, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Association of International CPAs
“This is a set of strategies for making your firm work better in the future.”
—DANIEL HOOD, Editor-in-Chief, Accounting Today
“If you want to be ahead, if you want to best-in-class, anticipation is a must.”
—TYSHEBA MORGAN, President, NABA Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter
Contact Pam Devine to purchase for your group
pam@blionline.org | 443.632.2321

37. See What the Profession is Saying About
The Anticipatory Organization™
“Reacting to change is no longer enough. Clients are starving for anticipatory guidance. In order to stay
relevant to our clients, our firm must learn to anticipate change and help prepare for the opportunities
before they arrive. We are thrilled to be able to offer our team the opportunity to learn anticipatory skills
that make them future-ready and ensure that our firm will become more relevant as a trusted business
advisor to our clients. The status quo of reporting as historians or simply reacting to change will only
lead to the commoditization of our services, skills and knowledge.”
JOEY HAVENS, CPA, CGMA, executive partner of HORNE LLP
A TOP 50 FIRM
RICHARD STANG, CPA, CGMA, Founding Parnter of DeLeon & Stang
JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTANCY
CPA PRACTICE ADVISOR
CGMA MAGAZINE
“These learning activities have significantly changed the way our team members think. “It’s no longer
good enough to react to change and disruption. Our goal now is to adopt a ‘future view’ and help our
clients take advantage of the opportunities that change and disruption provide.” Richard Stang, CPA,
CGMA, Founding Partner of DeLeon & Stang.”
“His prescription for getting started is surprisingly low-tech for a futurist who peppers his speeches with
references to disruptive companies such as Netflix and Uber. His call to action for accountants? Give the
future one hour a week. Block out your calendar for a weekly retreat of at least an hour from putting out
fires and getting the day-to-day work done. Be religious about protecting that time.”
“This transformative learning approach will help CPAs be proactive and anticipatory in less time than
traditional professional development programs. The result is a powerful tool that will help everyone on
your team know what’s next, develop opportunities, shape the future of the organization, and accelerate
its success.”
Accountants can find certainty in an uncertain world by separating hard trends from soft trends—the
things that might happen and can still be influenced. ‘When you know what will happen, when you have
that level of certainty, you have the confidence to make bold moves,’ Burrus said. ‘Strategy based on
certainty has low risk and high reward.’
Contact Pam Devine to purchase for your group
pam@blionline.org | 443.632.2321

38. Module 1: Know What’s Next
Lesson Topics Objectives
LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION
Program and Training Process Overview • Introduce the terms of the Anticipatory
Organization™
• Overview of the learning process and the
four modules
LESSON 2: ANTICIPATORY ORGANIZATION™ MODEL DEFINED
The Anticipatory Organization™ Model Imperative
The Advantage of having an Anticipatory Mindset
Why Strategic Foresight is more powerful than Hindsight
• Define what an Anticipatory Organization™ looks
like and why it’s important
• Describe the missing competency: The
ability to Anticipate (Disruptions, Problems,
Opportunities)
• Describe why Foresight is more powerful
that Hindsight
LESSON 3: PREDICTING CHANGE
Finding Certainty in an uncertain world
Certainty provides the confidence to make bold moves
Certainty provides a new way to manage risk
• Distinguish between Cyclical vs. Linear
Change
• Describe why strategy based on certainty
produces low risk and strategy based on
uncertainty produces high risk
LESSON 4: IDENTIFYING HARD TRENDS
Hard Trends represent future facts, they cannot be changed
Three primary categories of Hard Trends
• Distinguish between Hard Trends and Soft
Trends
• Create a list of Hard Trends that will shape
your industry
LESSON 5: IDENTIFYING SOFT TRENDS
Soft Trend might happen and can be influenced
Soft Trends are based on either Hard or Soft Assumptions
• Distinguish Soft Trends from Hard Trends
• Create a list of Soft Trends you can
influence
• Distinguish between Hard and Soft
Assumptions
LESSON 6: TRANSFORMATION INFLUENCERS
Seeing the future by thinking Both/And
Three Digital Accelerators provide future timeframes
• Apply the Both/And Principle
• Identify three digital change accelerators
to see the exponential, predictable rate of
change
LESSON 7: FROM CHANGE TO TRANSFORMATION
The shift from change to transformation • Differentiate between Change and
Transformation
• What are the processes that need to be
changed?
• What are the processes that need to be
transformed?
Learn More and View the Product
Demo at BLIonline.org/AO.

39. Module 2: Develop Opportunities
Lesson Topics Objectives
LESSON 1: EIGHT HARD TREND PATHWAYS TO INNOVATION
Part 1: Intro to the Eight Hard Trend Pathways to
Innovation
Part 2: Dematerialization and Virtualization
Part 3: Mobility, Product Intelligence, and Networking
Part 4: Interactivity, Globalization and Convergence
• Identify Eight Hard Trend Pathways that can
be used to drive everyday innovation
• Apply the Pathways to identify new
opportunities to innovate in your
organization
LESSON 2: REDEFINING AND REINVENTING
Identifying predictable problems and pre-solving them
Redefining and Re-inventing products and services
• Identify predictable problems based on
Hard Trends
• Focus on re-defining and re-inventing;
processes, products, and services
LESSON 3: APPLYING THE LAW OF OPPOSITES
Applying the ‘Law of Opposites’ to drive everyday
innovation
• Apply the ‘Law of Opposites’ to find
inventive solutions and game-changing
innovations
LESSON 4: TAKE YOUR BIGGEST PROBLEM AND SKIP IT
Big problems are incorrectly defined • Describe the process for identifying the real
problem
LESSON 5: ANTICIPATING CUSTOMER NEEDS
Anticipate customers future needs based on Hard Trends • Match opportunities to Hard and Soft
Trends
• Anticipate customer needs based on Hard
Trends
LESSON 6: IDENTIFYING AND DEVELOPING OPPORTUNITIES
Certainty provides low risk opportunities
Finding opportunities based on Hard Trend Certainties
Identify Business Process transformations
• Develop a list of low risk opportunities
based on the Certainty of Hard Trends
• Identify predictable business process
transformations that will impact your
organization
LESSON 7: BECOMING AN OPPORTUNITY MANAGER
Ranking and Refining Hard and Soft Trend opportunities • Rank and Refine opportunities by size,
speed, and degree of risk
• Identify and pre-solve predictable problems
Learn More and View the Product
Demo at BLIonline.org/AO.

40. Module 3: Shape the Future
Lesson Topics Objectives
LESSON 1: THE POWER OF FUTUREVIEW
Futureview® Part 1: Developing and Aligning
Developing a compelling Futureview
Aligning Futureview with current plans
•Explain the components and characteristics of a
Futureview mindset
• Describe the importance of aligning your
Futureview with current internal plans
• Create a compelling Futureview inclusive of
Hard Trends
LESSON 2: USING HARD TREND TO ELEVATE AND ACCELERATE
Elevate and Accelerate the organization’s current plan with
Hard Trends
• Describe key factors that impact current plans
using the Hard Trend Methodology
• Describe how Hard trends can elevate a current
plan
LESSON 3: FAIL FAST TO LEARN FASTER
The Importance of Failing Fast
The Advantage of Learning Faster
• State the importance of setting success and
failure points
• State the importance of failing fast
• Describe how to use a pre-mortem to accelerate
success
LESSON 4: DISRUPTOR OR DISRUPTED: YOU HAVE A CHOICE
Disruptor or Disrupted: You Have a Choice • Describe how to choose between being the
disruptor or the disrupted
LESSON 5: USE CERTAINTY TO SELL YOUR IDEAS
Use Certainty to Sell Your Ideas • Define a strategy to use Hard Trend Certainties
to sell your ideas
• Describe how to use Certainty to close a sale
LESSON 6: INFORMING VS. COMMUNICATING
The Communication Age Imperative • Differentiate between communicating and
informing
• Describe the Communication Age Tools
LESSON 7: COOPERATING VS. COLLABORATING
The Collaboration Imperative
The tools of collaboration and communication
• Differentiate between collaborating and
cooperating
• Differentiate between a Protect and Defend
Strategy versus an Embrace and Extend Strategy
Learn More and View the Product
Demo at BLIonline.org/AO.

41. Module 4: Accelerate Success
Lesson Topics Objectives
LESSON 1: CONDUCTING A TIME TRAVEL AUDIT
An assessment of Past, Present, Future mindsets to
Elevate
Communication, Collaboration, and Action
• Explain the components and characteristics of a
Futureview mindset
• Describe the importance of aligning your
Futureview with current internal plans
• Create a compelling Futureview inclusive of Hard
Trends
LESSON 2: ENDING THE WAR BETWEEN THE YOUNG AND OLD
Combining experience and wisdom with new ways of
communicating and thinking
• Describe key factors that impact current plans
using the Hard Trend Methodology
• Describe how Hard trends can elevate a current
plan
LESSON 3: REWARDING DESIRED BEHAVIORS
You get the behaviors you reward
Rewards that reward desired new behaviors and
eliminate negative behaviors
• State the importance of setting success and
failure points
• State the importance of failing fast
• Describe how to use a pre-mortem to accelerate
success
LESSON 4: SKIPPING BARRIERS TO ACCELERATE SUCCESS
Skipping parts of a current plan to accelerate success
Skipping barriers to accelerate success
• Describe a way to apply the ‘Skip It’ Principle to
current plans to accelerate success
LESSON 5: ELEVATING TRUST
Good Relationships are based on trust and trust is
earned.
Alter how you implement change to maintain or elevate
trust
• Describe how you could change how you
implement a new process, procedure, product
or service to maintain trust.
• Describe how you could elevate trust.
LESSON 6: DIRECT YOUR FUTURE OR SOMEONE ELSE WILL
The Communication Age Imperative • Develop refined Futureview, share it with others
• Apply Certainty to accelerate success
• Correlate your products and services to the Hard
Trends that will impact your customers future
LESSON 7: CHOOSE TO BE EXTRAORDINARY
The Collaboration Imperative
The tools of collaboration and communication
• Identify choices and strategies anyone can make
everyday to become extraordinary
• Demonstrate how to be extraordinary everyday
Learn More and View the Product
Demo at BLIonline.org/AO.