2018 BKR International Americas Regional Meeting
La Romana, Dominican Republic

ARM was among the more than 50 global accounting firms gathered in the Dominican Republic for BKR International’s Americas Regional Meeting, May 19-22. ARM is an independent member of BKR International, a leading international association of accounting and business advisory firms. For more than 25 years, BKR has connected members and their clients with global experts and resources.

Focused on the theme of “Driving Change and Innovation,” the Americas Conference featured renowned speakers on cutting edge topics and trends, including technology disruption and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, creating a team culture, and managing multiple generations. Monday kicked off with keynote speaker Tim Kight, a top leadership consultant, who shared what it takes to have a high-performance culture. Jeremy Wortman, PhD, led a workshop on building and implementing practical solutions that create high-functioning, multi-generational teams. On the international front, Economist Fernando Freijedo, from The Economist Intelligence Unit in New York City, provided insights on identifying the best global business environments for clients. The final keynote speaker, Milton Bartley, provided an insider’s view of ransomware and its evolution as one of the most dangerous cyber-crime operations today.

Marketing Director Delene Taylor at BKR member firm DMLO in Louisville, Kentucky, shared successful strategies for firm growth, and IT Expert Donny Shimamoto, with IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC in Houston, emphasized ways that human innovation can leverage the broad field of technology available to accounting firms today — and tomorrow. As part of afternoon breakout sessions, life strategies coach and consultant to CPAs, Lisa Tierney, presented strategies to facilitate the promotion of women leaders in accounting firms.

“We attend BKR events not only to keep up with the latest trends in accounting and technology, but to develop and expand relationships with our colleagues,” noted Eric Mulchaey. “Accounting is a people business; we’re continually interacting with our partners and our teams in the office as well as our clients out in the field. Meeting people face-to-face is critical in building strong relationships.”

BKR Americas Chair Karen Brenneman, CPA, MT, and managing partner of Hall, Kistler & Company LLP in Canton, Ohio, noted that meeting venues such as the Dominican Republic demonstrate the breadth of opportunity in the accounting profession. “We build connections across borders that expand our knowledge of technical competence and innovation. We’re part of a profession that is poised to drive change and influence prosperity on a global basis.”

About BKR
BKR International is the sixth largest global association of independent accounting and business advisory firms, representing the expertise of more than 160 firms in over 500 offices and 80 countries. For more information, visit www.bkr.com or follow BKR on LinkedIn.