23rd Annual Catawba Valley Accounting and Management Conference
Thursday, October 10, 2024
8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Catawba Valley Community College and Technical Institute
Workforce Solutions Complex
2550 US Hwy 70 SE | Hickory, NC 28602
828.327.7000
Sponsored by: Catawba Valley Chapter IMA
8 Continuing Professional Education Credits
(**Including 2 Hours of qualifying Behavioral Ethics)
Conference Location Directions:
From I-40, traveling West toward Asheville, take exit 126 toward US 70/East toward McDonald Parkway. Turn left at the
light at the top of the exit ramp. At the third light, continue straight, crossing over US 70 onto Startown Rd. At the
first light take a left, then the first right at the roundabout. The parking lot will be on the left.
From I-40, traveling East toward Statesville, take exit 126 toward US 70 toward McDonald Parkway. Turn right at the light
at the top of the exit ramp. At the second light and continue straight, crossing over US 70 onto Startown Rd. At the first
light take a left, then the first right at the roundabout. The parking lot will be on the left.
Conference Registration Information:
Registration check-in begins at 8:00 a.m. and the first seminar begins at 8:30 a.m. The last session will end just before
5:00 p.m. Course fees are payable in advance.
All reservations must be received by Friday, October 4, 2024 by registering:
- ONLINE @: Chapter Events - Catawba Valley Chapter
- VIA EMAIL: by emailing Tim Reynolds or Kim Gales at catawbavalleyima@gmail.com.
- VIA MAIL: IMA Catawba Valley
P.O. Box 2132
Hickory, NC 28603
Registration fees include continental breakfast, refreshment breaks, lunch, and course materials.
**Registration will be available at the door provided space is available and lunch may not be included.
Prerequisites: None
Advance Preparation: Study Materials for Session 2 only.
Program Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group-live_____________________________________________________________
CPE Information
The Catawba Valley IMA is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors via its website: www.nasbaregistry.org. This program meets the ICMA guidelines for CPE credits for CMAs and CFMs
23rd Annual Catawba Valley Accounting and Management Conference
Thursday, October 10, 2024
8:00 am – 5:00 pm
***Registration/Coffee/Continental Breakfast***
8:00 am -8:30 am
Morning Session 8:30 am-10:15 am
(CPE Credit: 2 Hours in Information Technology)
Martin Brossman presents:
“AI Foundations: Understanding and Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Life”
This 105-minute introductory session aims to demystify Artificial Intelligence (AI) Large Language Model chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft CoPilot, and Google Gemini. Participants will gain a basic understanding of AI Chatbots that run off Large Language Models, their potential benefits, and associated risks. The course will focus on practical, hands-on experience with AI tools, related to everyday safe tasks to let you understand them without having to risk anything at work. You must learn to walk before you run. Attendees will learn how to safely and effectively use free AI Chatbots for personal tasks, from recipe suggestions to general life inquiries.
- Describe the basic concept of Artificial Intelligence related to Large Language Models / AI Chatbots.
- Identify potential benefits, utility, limitations, and risks associated with AI Chatbots.
- Download and safely use free AI Chatbot tools (e.g., ChatGPT) on personal devices.
- Demonstrate the ability to interact with an AI chatbot to solve simple, everyday problems.
- Identify reliable sources for staying informed about AI developments and best practices for their use to support your life and career.
This course is designed for beginners with little to no prior knowledge of AI. Participants are encouraged to bring their smartphones or tablets to engage in hands-on activities during the session.
Morning Session 10:30 am-12:15pm
(CPE Credit: 2 Hours in Behavioral Ethics)
RoyAllen Wiley Presents:
“People and Profitability in a Sustainable World”
This course is designed to help finance and accounting professionals understand their role regarding the ethical considerations given by a business to people and profit. An instructor will lead us through two case studies based on real life situations. The first case involves an individual employee who is feeling the effects of a vendor payment policy put in place by the CFO. The second case study involves an individual who discovers unethical behavior by a co-worker, but the behaviors are humanely understandable. This course allows participants the opportunity to think about how to best handle ethical dilemmas where the outcome of organizational decision making has a great impact on people.
· Identify the impact of organizational decisions on stakeholder groups such as customers, suppliers and employees.
· Evaluate the impact of controls within an organization to ensure ethical standards are met.
· Explain the impact of organizational decisions on a company’s reputation and bottom line.
· Apply the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice to ethical dilemmas when it isn’t only the bottom line at stake.
23rd Annual Catawba Valley Accounting and Management Conference
Thursday, October 10, 2024
8:00 am – 5:00 pm
***Lunch 12:15 pm – 1:00 pm***
Afternoon Session 1:00 pm – 2:45 pm
(CPE Credit: 2 Hours in Information Technology)
Jacob Guffey Presents:
"Cybercrime Trends"
This presentation will focus on common cybercrimes that the FBI investigates.
- Learn about cybercrimes affecting your family.
- Learn about cybercrimes affecting your community.
- Learn about cybercrimes affecting your profession.
Afternoon Session 3:00 pm – 4:45 pm
(CPE Credit: 2 Hours in Personal Development)
Michael Hefner Presents:
“Communication Skills”
This topic will discuss the 5 elements of communication and how to apply specific techniques to enhance our communication skills. We will take a closer look at giving and receiving feedback. In addition, we will discuss the cause of noise and how to address those causes.
· Learn the 5 elements of communication.
· Learn to apply specific techniques to enhance communication.
· Learn about giving and receiving feedback.
· Discuss the cause of noise.
23rd Annual Catawba Valley Accounting and Management Conference
Guest Speaker Biographies
Martin Brossman
Martin Brossman grew up in Washington DC, where he learned a lot about human behavior in his early retail experience with Radio Shack. His aptitude for sales and interest in new technologies sparked his success in management and evolved into marketing and computer engineering. During 7 years as a “Customer Engineer” for IBM he was awarded the prestigious IBM Means Service Award. After much reflection, he launched out on his own with Martin Brossman & Associates LLC. and is now a top trainer on business topics, including podcasting, AI, and Cryptocurrency. His certificate course at NC State, Social Media Management and Marketing, is highly popular, with over 450 professionals completing this program over the past 8 years. Martin now has 30+ years of experience, a collective social media following of 10,000, and regularly posts valuable information on YouTube channels. He holds a B.A. degree in Math & Computer Science from St. Andrews University.
Royallen Wiley, MBA, CMA
Royallen Wiley has extensive experience in progressively more responsible positions in Finance and Accounting for Fortune 500 companies. Among others, he has worked for Domtar, Sea-Land Corporation, Clariant Corporation and BASF.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Northern Kentucky University. His MBA is from Queens University in Charlotte where he was named a Blumenthal Fellow. He is a Certified Management Accountant. He served two consecutive terms on the ICMA Board of Regents and currently is a member of the CMA Exam Review Committee. Royallen is a past president of the Charlotte IMA Chapter and has also served on various IMA national committees.
In 2003, Royallen was named “Financial Executive of the Year” by the IMA Carolinas Council. Royallen was named Charlotte Chapter IMA Member of the Year in 2009, 2014 and 2015. He was a Finalist for the 2013 Charlotte Business Journal CFO of the Year Award. Allegro Foundation recently named Royallen as Volunteer of the Year for 2023.
Royallen is active in Carolina’s international community. He served a five-year term as President of the Carolinas World Trade Association and currently is a board member. While at Domtar, Royallen took an ex-patriate assignment serving as Head of Finance for a startup operation in Guangzhou, PRC for a year and a half and he remains well connected with the Chinese community in the Carolinas. He devotes a lot of time these days in assisting Afghan refugee families in Charlotte.
Royallen and his wife Cynthia, have a thriving real estate business working for Better Homes and Gardens Realty in the Charlotte Metro area. Royallen does consulting work for the Pulp and Paper industry and does angel investing holding minority stakes in Hylaine, LLC (Charlotte based) and Dart Innovation LLC (Raleigh based).
Jacob Guffey
Jacob Guffey is a Supervisory Special Agent over the Cyber Intrusion Squad with the Charlotte division of the FBI.
Michael Ray Hefner
Michael Hefner served 23 years in the US Navy as a Master Training Specialist and Quality Consultant. Over the span of his career, he has conducted countless seminars for companies throughout the country in all areas of training and organizational development. He is the current CEO of High-Impact-Solutions, where he leads organizations in change management, culture development, communication skills, team development, project management, and behavioral based safety. Mike has advised and worked with organizations such as BASF, Caterpillar, John Deere, United Airlines, Sheraton Resorts, Blue Ridge Healthcare, Henredon, Hickory Springs, ITT, Jack Daniels Industries and SAFT. Mike holds a degree in Business Administration and Master Training Specialist from George Washington University and is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt.