2013 Accounting Solutions Conference
Leading Change in Small Business Technology

Join us this November to learn how connected, mobile, and cloud solutions can dramatically improve business processes for your small business clients. We'll show you not just what is possible, but also why the new-world solutions are important, and how to leverage them today and in the future. We'll focus in on how social media technologies can dramatically grow your practice and deepen your client relationships. You'll also learn about innovative practice development strategies such as pricing models, outsourcing models, web-based delivery models, and marketing strategies. And most importantly, we'll show you how to turn your firm into one clients desperately want.

We guarantee that you’ll leave with a ton of new actionable ideas for you and your clients, along with many new contacts to add to your resources network.

Conference Highlights Include

• Over 800 attendees, speakers, exhibitor attendees, and partners
• Up to 32 units of high quality CPE
• 9 keynote sessions including Intuit CEO Brad Smith
• More than 70 educational sessions categorized into 8 specific tracks (attend any session from any track)
• Facilitated Discussion and "Ignite" Sessions
• Networking opportunities with industry experts and colleagues
• Conference Mobile App
• CPE Walking Tours
• Prizes, Prizes, Prizes!
• Chance to win the Conference Grand Prize
• Special events for attendees, such as an Ice Cream Social, Roman theme reception, Members' Banquet, Cardio Boot Camp, Yoga
• Solutions Expo showcasing more than 60 exhibitors

Your Conference Hosts

Doug Sleeter	Sherrill Sleeter

Hotel Reservations

Caesars Palace Las Vegas
3570 Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89109
866-227-5944

The Conference will be held at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Nevada. Conference attendees who book before October 18th (or before our room block sells out) will receive a discounted rate of $159/night. Please click here to book your room online or call Caesars Palace Las Vegas reservations number at 866-227-5944 and use the discount code "SCAAS3" to reserve your room. Caesars Palace Las Vegas will charge one night's stay and tax to your credit card when a room is booked. If you would like to cancel your room reservations please call the hotel 72 hours prior to your arrival date. The discount rate will end when our block is full or on October 18th, whichever happens first.

Please Note:
The $25 Resort Fee at Caesars Palace Las Vegas is waived for The Sleeter Group's Accounting Solutions Conference attendees who book their rooms under our room block.

Note to Exhibitors:
If you receive a phone call from any "Convention Housing Services" please do not book rooms through them. They are not affiliated with us. These companies are "housing poachers" and cost conference hosts hundreds to thousands of dollars in attrition fees and lost commission. Some of these companies are actually running scams: they scan trade show web sites for exhibitor lists and call each company looking for people going to the show. Then they take credit card numbers from unsuspecting customers and run. If you book your room with one of these companies, we cannot act as your advocate with the hotel should service issues arise.

Track K: Keynotes & General Sessions

With the increasing pace of change and the growing adoption of cloud technologies, our keynote sessions will focus on the big picture. You'll hear Intuit's perspective directly from its CEO, Brad Smith, and from other top executives, as well as from several thought leaders from across the accounting profession about where the trends are heading and how small business accounting and business processes will develop in the coming years.

Track P: In-Depth Pre-Conference Training and Certification Sessions

The best consultants invest in themselves and in their knowledge of a broad range of products and solutions. This year, we've added pre-conference training and certification sessions. These sessions, taught by expert instructors, will help you streamline your clients' business processes and earn valuable certifications that make you eligible for leads and commissions from vendors. Bring your laptop (wireless internet provided).

Track 100: Cloud Applications

As accounting software technologies move to the cloud and remote access technologies thrive, accountants and clients can now work more collaboratively than ever before. In these sessions, you'll learn why it makes sense to embrace these new ways of working with your clients. We'll cover topics on internet security, hosted desktop accounting applications, cloud accounting, and hybrid approaches that combine desktop and cloud solutions.

Track 200: Mobile Solutions

Mobile devices keep improving and users depend on them for more things every day. According to Pew Research, over 85% of adults own a cell phone, and over 45% own a smartphone. According to Cisco, mobile data traffic grew by 70% in 2012. In 2011, tablets entered the enterprise and tablet adoption is expected to grow at 50% per year. These trends make it clear that mobile devices are not only here to stay, but are the new medium for much of how business gets done. At the conference this year, you'll learn about the best mobile apps and how to incorporate them into your business.

Track 300: Enhancing Business Processes

Small businesses often suffer from inefficient processes, duplicate data sets, and manual systems that significantly hamper their growth and productivity. In these sessions, you'll learn about "chunkification: of the business process, and about products and services such as AR, AP, Payroll, Inventory Management, Document Management, Travel and Expense Management, E-Commerce, Time and Project Tracking, Online Payments, CRM, and Sales Tax. You'll learn best practices for evaluating, planning, and connecting these chunks to back-end accounting systems.

Track 400: Connecting the Pieces using the Cloud

By combining the trends of chunkification and zero entry, we believe the role of accounting professionals will change in dramatic ways. The bookkeeper role will change from being the expert on how to enter transactions efficiently to how to manage "data flows" between "chunks" of the system. In addition to the bookkeeper, the accounting software consultant's role will be less about teaching data entry to bookkeepers and more about connecting chunks of business process systems together to create full-featured, customized systems for their clients. You'll learn new skills for evaluating, planning, connecting, and maintaining multiple chunks in your clients' business systems.

Track 500: Vertical Market Solutions

As mobile and cloud applications proliferate, each vertical industry has unique challenges for how to incorporate new technologies and meet new customer expectations. They need help with implementing eCommerce solutions, mobile payment solutions, and web-based support programs. You'll learn how to help clients in several vertical industries by guiding them through what's new in cloud-based time and project tracking, inventory control, manufacturing solutions, point of sale, and mobile payments.

Track 600: Growing and Marketing Your Practice

Whether you are just launching a practice or are ready to move to the next level, these sessions will help you set the stage for success. As technologies emerge and business processes evolve, the opportunities are endless. These sessions will help you qualify and quantify various opportunities for developing your practice, maximizing your client acquisition. Learn about new services you can add to your practice such as real-time client dashboards, business coaching services, outsourced Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, CFO, or Payroll services.

Track 700: Product-Specific Solutions

To help you research the top products in the marketplace, several product-specific sessions will be presented where you can see these products in action. You'll learn about several products and services that can help you streamline your clients' business processes, as well as make your consulting practice more efficient. Learn directly from the product developers about their solutions.

Track 800: Learn From Your Peers

Would you like to attend sessions that are more than just an instructor presentation? We've carved out several facilitated discussion sessions during the conference. These discussions present an ideal way to connect with colleagues and delve deeper into challenges you are facing in your practice and with your clients. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences and provide other audience members with a better understanding of the leading edge tools, apps, and systems.

Track 900: Ignite Sessions

In the Ignite sessions, we'll have a series of Sleeter Group experts each present a 5-minute talk on something they're passionate about. They'll each get 20 slides, which advance every 15 seconds whether they're ready or not. You can learn great tips from our experts in small presentations covering a variety of topics. Great fun, and great tips!

Note: The agenda, speakers, and CPE credits are all subject to change. The presentations and materials provided during the Accounting Solutions Conference are not intended to be, and should not be relied on as tax, accounting, legal, or other professional advice.

2013 Sponsors and Exhibitors

View All Exhibitors

Keynote Speakers

Brad Smith was named Intuit’s president and chief executive officer in January 2008, culminating a five-year rise through the company where he successfully led several of its major businesses. Intuit simplifies the business of life for more than 60 million consumers, small businesses, financial institutions and accounting professionals around the world.
Under Smith’s leadership, Intuit has maintained a startup mentality, despite being a 30-year-old Silicon Valley company. That mindset, combined with the ability to reinvent and transform itself along the way, helps establish Intuit as an innovative company with more than $4 billion in annual revenue and 8,500 employees around the world.
Facing the challenges of the Great Recession and dramatic technological changes, Smith pursued a three-point growth strategy to accelerate growth and transform Intuit to a connected services provider in an increasingly social, mobile and global world.
Before being named CEO, Smith was senior vice president and general manager of Intuit's Small Business Division, which included the portfolio of QuickBooks, Quicken and Payroll products. Previously he led the company's Consumer Tax Group, which produces TurboTax, the nation's leading consumer tax preparation software.
Smith earned his master's degree in management from Aquinas College in Michigan and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Marshall University in West Virginia.

Randolph P. (Randy) Johnston, MCS has been a top rated speaker in the technology industry for over 30 years. He was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame in 2011, and was selected as a Top 25 Thought Leader in Accounting in 2011 and 2012. His influence throughout the accounting industry is highlighted once again this year by being a recipient of the 2011 Accounting Today Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting award for the 8th consecutive year. Among his many other awards, he holds the honor of being one of Nine Technology Stars in the U.S. by Accounting Technology Magazine. Randy writes a monthly column for The CPA Practice Advisor, articles for the Journal of Accountancy, and pens articles for both accounting and technology publications, as well as being the author of numerous books. He has started and owns multiple businesses including K2 Enterprises in Hammond, Louisiana and Network Management Group, Inc. in Hutchinson, Kansas. In 2010, NMGI announced their national support of CPA firms. His wife and four children enjoy many experiences together including theatre, music, travel, golf, skiing, snorkeling and model trains. His experience as a college instructor, management and technology consultant, and advisor to the industry will be obvious to you in today's presentation.

Rick Richardson is managing partner of Richardson Media & Technologies LLC, a multi-media and strategic technology consulting company. Prior to forming his current company, he had a 28-year career in technology with Ernst & Young, the last twelve years of which he served as National Director of Technology. Rick has been named to the “Technology 100” – the annual honors list of the 100 key achievers in technology in America and honored by the American Institute of CPAs with two lifetime achievement awards for his contributions to the profession in the field of technology. He has been named as one of the “Top 100 Influential People in Accounting” by Accounting Today magazine. In 2012, he was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame by CPA Practice Advisor magazine. He is a sought-after speaker around the world, providing his annual forecast of future technology trends to thousands of business executives, professionals, community leaders, educators and students.

Doug Sleeter is Founder and President of The Sleeter Group, Inc.  His Doug Sleeter’s in-depth knowledge of accounting software solutions and his "systems" approach to solving accounting problems for the SMB market have earned him the reputation of being one of the nation's leading small business accounting software experts. He has been named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting" by Accounting Today magazine and he was recently recognized by The CPA Practice Advisor magazine as one of the accounting profession’s “Top 25 Thought Leaders.”

Additional Speakers Coming Soon

Message from the Conference Hosts

Dear Accounting Professional,

The Sleeter Group’s Accounting Solutions Conference has a continuing mission: To arm accountants and consultants serving the small- to medium-sized business market with the knowledge, skills and tools that drive success.

Attend this event to learn how connected, mobile, and cloud solutions can dramatically improve business processes for your small business clients. We’ll show you not just what is possible, but also why the new-world solutions are important, and how to leverage them today and in the future. And most importantly, we’ll show you how to turn your firm into one that clients desperately want. That is, a firm that drives client success, as opposed to focusing on recording transactions and compliance. We’ll show you how to become not only the most trusted, but also the most indispensable advisor.

The Accounting Solutions Conference focuses on the evolving and accelerating trends driving the small business accounting marketplace. We see a complete paradigm shift in accounting technology that includes "Chunkification" of Business Processes, Zero Data Entry, and Collaborative Accounting Solutions that will change nearly everything about the accountant-client relationship.

In 2013, these trends have created a broad range of new solutions that serve an ever-increasing range of small businesses. But with this explosion of new solutions, comes increasing complexities for accounting software consultants. We believe your success depends on becoming a change leader for your firm and your clients. Your clients need your leadership and expertise in evaluating and implementing the right business process solutions.

This annual event is attended by hundreds of accountants, bookkeepers, consultants, and IT professionals, as well as leading software companies such as Intuit, Sage, CPA2Biz, and dozens of up-and-coming innovative vendors in the market. We guarantee that you’ll leave with a ton of new actionable ideas for you and your clients, along with many new contacts to add to your resources network.

This year’s event will be even bigger, better and more fun than ever. We look forward to meeting you in Las Vegas.

Sincerely,
Doug & Sherrill Sleeter

Darren Root and Doug Sleeter Discuss the Sleeter Conference