CFOs and Management Accountants Share Top Issues, Outlook on Economy

What are the top five issues facing Maryland CFOs, Controllers and management accountants? What is their outlook on their businesses? Maryland’s economy? The US economy? How future ready are they?

These questions were answered by over one hundred CPAs, CFOs, Controllers and management accountants using our interactive conference participation app by conferences.

On March 20th in Towson, Maryland, the Maryland Association of CPAs hosted their annual Professional Issues Update / Town Hall for its business and industry members, More than one hundred CPAs responded to an interactive poll at MACPA’s recent town hall for Business & Industry members.

This group comprised of predominately CFOs, Controllers, management accountants with 23.6 years of experience.

44% had the CGMA designation, six percent had the CITP designation, three percent had the IIA (Internal Audit) and three percent had the CMA designation. Forty-four percent had other designations as well. Eighty percent were in business, industry and non-profit areas of Maryland.
Only 6% identified themselves as 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.
48% said they are “getting stuck in the day to day” and 46% said they are spending more time on future and strategic work.
56% of them said they spend less than 50% on traditional accounting and financial reporting functions.
54% are very optimistic or somewhat optimistic about their business’ economic outlook.
While fewer, 45%, are optimistic about the Maryland economic outlook.
Yet Only 35% were optimistic about the US economy citing health care, government debt, and uncertain regulatory climate as major issues.

The Top 5 Issues they identified are:

Information Overload
Doing More with Less
Being Reactive vs. Proactive
Managing Change
Managing Technology

On May 4th, MACPA and BLI (Business Learning Institute) will be hosting Daniel Burrus to talk about how CPAs, CFOs, Controllers and management accountants can be more future ready by learning the competency of “anticipation”. For more information go to http://www.blionline.org/burrus.

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Tom Hood, CPA.CITP, CGMA is the CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Business Learning Institute.