"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf." -- Jon Kabat-Zinn

That is how I am starting today's first professional issues update for our CPAs in business, education, industry, government, and not-for-profits in Towson.

The pace of change, proliferation of standards and regulations, and the permanent whitewater economy are calling for new skills and new approaches.

We have been on the lookout for resources, tools, and tips to help give our members the edge on the latest ways to ride these waves of change.

Here are some things to think about:

 As we look out into the future, we think the five key skills you must have (think surfing techniques!) are:

1. Broader and longer line of sight
2. Network leadership
3. Strong analysis skills
4. Communication skills
5. Global perspective

Read more about this in our post, The 5 skills of the post-recession leader.

Here are some of our resources we are sharing with our members:

MACPA PIU 2011 - Special B&I edition View more presentations from Tom Hood

Here are details about RFTF: Report From The Future -- research about the 15 years into the future we used in the MACPA's Board Planning:

• Deloitte's Measuring the Forces of Long Term Change: The Shift Index.
• Intuit's report is profiled in Bill's post Business in 2020: Opportunities abound.
• AICPA Horizon's Project has some great resources (video and reports) on future trends here.

Then there are a series of reports about the changing role of the CFO that just came out:

• Grant Thornton's study on "The Evolving Accounting Talent Profile"
• IBM's global CFO survey and report, "The New Value Integrator"
• E&Y's latest report, The DNA of the CFO (registration required to get report)

And here are several upcoming events that you won't want to miss:

• Our Business and Industry Conference on May 20, 2011 at Turf Valley (Ellicott City, Md.), featuring the latest accounting updates and a special keynote session with Ian MacMillan, co-author of Discovery-Driven Growth: A Breakthrough Process to reduce Risk and Seize Opportunities. (Listen to Bill's interview with Ian's co-author, Rita McGrath on Business Growth in Uncertain Times), followed by the latest economic update by Anirban Basu.
• The MACPA Summit will be held on June 2-3 at the BWI Hilton with our reception for the profession to welcome newly licensed CPAs in our swearing-in ceremony. The event will feature special sessions on social media, XBRL and strategic planning, along with the latest updates on accounting, tax, and auditing.
• And don't forget to put CPA Day in Annapolis on your calendar -- Jan. 18, 2012!

Learn about the latest trends facing CPAs and participate in shaping the future of the CPA profesison by signing up for our spring future forums (and free CPE!) and don't forget to take the online survey from the Horizons Project.

And don't miss these related resources:

• Business solutions for MACPA members.
• MACPA's podcasts for staying on top of the breaking issues in the CPA profession.
• See our upcoming BLI courses for the "hard edge of soft skills."