The latest edition of the MACPA’s Quarterly Download made one thing abundantly clear: In a profession facing rapid technological change, talent shortages, evolving regulations, and shifting career expectations, one thing still matters most — people.
Throughout the May 27 conversation, speakers returned again and again to the power of community, connections, and professional relationships. One theme tied everything together: The MACPA plays a critical role in helping members build meaningful networks and stay connected to opportunities, ideas, and one another.
Here are three key takeaways from the conversation.
1. Strong professional networks don’t just advance careers — they transform them.
Former MACPA Chairs Tami Bensky and Tom White both described the association as a career-defining force in their professional lives.
Bensky, a Myers and Stauffer partner who served as MACPA chair in 2006-07, said getting involved with the MACPA provided early leadership opportunities that helped shape the leader she would eventually become. She described the organization as a place where members could “practice leadership” in a supportive environment while learning from experienced professionals. More importantly, she emphasized the value of knowing your network is always there when you need it.
White, assistant controller with Prime Therapeutics who chaired the MACPA board in 2024-25, shared a similar experience. An introvert by nature, he said the MACPA helped him learn how to embrace leadership, connect with peers, and find mentors and sounding boards throughout his career. What began as a mentorship opportunity after passing the CPA Exam eventually became something much bigger — a lasting professional community.
Their stories served as an important reminder: Professional development isn’t just about technical skills. It’s also about relationships, confidence, mentorship, and finding the people who help push you forward.
2. Community may matter today more than ever.
One of the strongest themes from the discussion was the growing importance of human connection in an increasingly hybrid and digital world.
Bensky said that need for connection is even greater today than it was earlier in her career because remote and hybrid work environments can make relationship-building more difficult. White added that technology has dramatically expanded the profession’s reach and connectivity, allowing CPAs to collaborate and learn from peers across the country.
But while technology is changing how professionals connect, the need for connection itself hasn’t changed at all.
That reality also came through clearly in a student panel featuring University of Maryland undergrad Sofia Volkov and Ariana Dabner, who recently received her master’s degree in audit analytics from UMD. Both described how professional communities and relationships changed their perceptions of accounting and helped them see the profession’s possibilities more clearly.
Volkov admitted she initially viewed accounting as isolated and behind-the-scenes work. That changed after attending MACPA’s Student Leadership Academy, where she discovered a welcoming community, diverse career opportunities, and a network of professionals eager to help young CPAs succeed.
Her takeaway was powerful: The profession becomes far more appealing when students experience the community behind it.
3. The future of the profession will depend on more than technical expertise.
The meeting also highlighted an important shift taking place across the profession: Success increasingly depends on skills that go beyond technical accounting knowledge.
That idea surfaced repeatedly as AICPA Vice Chair Lindsay Stevenson explored the AICPA’s Profession Ready Initiative, a research-backed effort to identify and develop the skills early-career CPAs will need to succeed in a rapidly changing environment. The initiative emphasizes competency-building, emerging technologies, immersive learning experiences, and adaptability. The project’s key outputs will include a skills framework to guide training, learning solutions that will use emerging technology to help professionals build their skills, and teaching resources.
Interestingly, the students echoed many of the same ideas when discussing artificial intelligence. Neither viewed AI as a threat to the profession. Instead, they described it as a tool that can help eliminate repetitive tasks and allow professionals to focus on higher-value work — provided it’s used ethically and thoughtfully.
That perspective reinforces an important point: The future CPA will need both technical expertise and human skills. The ability to communicate, collaborate, adapt, lead, and build trusted relationships may matter more than ever.
Recap from Annapolis
MACPA CEO Rebekah Olson offered a brief recap of the association’s advocacy efforts during the Maryland General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session.
Those efforts were topped by the approval of a new pathway to CPA licensure, which modernizes Maryland’s licensure options by adding an option for candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in accounting and at least two years of professional experience. The new pathway takes effect on Oct. 1.
Other advocacy wins for Maryland CPAs include:
- Tax administration modernization for the Maryland Comptroller’s Office, with the MACPA supporting the comptroller’s request for 25 additional staff positions to maintain services during major tax system modernization.
- Technical amendments for pass-through entities. The MACPA helped shape pass-through entity tax provisions by supporting delays in changes to 2027 and preserving an optional apportionment-based calculation method.
In all, the MACPA actively monitored nearly 200 of the 2,654 bills that were introduced this year.
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