Registration and Continental Breakfast
205-206 Foyer
Opening Remarks
Jeanette Hill, CPA Canada and Michael Burns, 180 Systems
Room 201-202
Jeanette Hill
;
Michael Burns
Opening Keynote - Alfredo Tan, Chief Digital & Innovation Officer, WestJet Airline
From the Interns to the CEO: Building a Cohesive Culture of Innovation
Sponsored by TD Insurance
Room 201-202
At WestJet Airlines, Alfredo C. Tan is responsible for building a culture of innovation—and, while he’s at it, transforming the customer experience across all digital channels and touch points. How does he tackle this massive responsibility? And what can you learn from his successes (and his failures)?
In this talk, Alfredo reveals the values your company needs to embody if it wants to truly embrace the future and stay ahead of change. He shares forward-thinking examples and methods you can start implementing right away. And he makes even the most high-tech concepts accessible for any audience. Focus on impact, says Alfredo—don’t get stuck doing business the way it was done 30 or 40 years ago. It’s time for your entire organization to champion innovation and welcome a new level of success.
Alfredo Tan
Session Change Break
Concurrent Sessions
Driving Digital Change through Finance - A Customer Journey Session
Sponsored by Workday
In this session, you’ll hear about success stories in the application of technology solutions specific to several industry sectors. Through a unique combination of interview questions, dialogue, and discussion featuring an independent moderator, a customer (your peer) and a vendor, you’ll hear about lessons learned, pain points, success in bringing transparency to a company’s ecosystem using innovative technology solutions.
Managing Change in a Cloud Accounting Journey
Sponsored by Intuit
Speaker: Grant Galbraith, Baker Tilly Nova Scotia Inc.
Whether you’ve already moved your firm to the cloud or are considering it, this session will offer useful information to help move your cloud journey forward for your organization, including your accounting system and other integrated applications. We’ll explore the benefits and efficiencies of moving your organization into the online world. We’ll also discuss proven strategies for executing a cloud accounting vision within a firm, including recommendations for creating a supportive environment and overcoming resistance to change.
Networking Coffee Break
Room 205-206
Concurrent Sessions
Enterprise Solutions – A Customer Journey Session
Sponsored by NOVIPRO/Infor
Informal Luncheon and Networking
Room 205-206
Take in the Vendor Exhibit while at NTF20 and benefit from a unique gathering of today’s key vendors and developers of technology solutions; products designed to help your organization and your client’s businesses remain at the top of your marketplace. Network with peers and exhibitors and assess leading edge technology solutions! Exchange ideas share knowledge and develop the right technology solution strategy that’s right for you.
Learning Lab by Adinovis
Room 205-206
Space is limited!
Concurrent Sessions
Enterprise Solutions – A Customer Journey Session
Sponsored by Illumiti/SAP
Networking Coffee Break
Concurrent Sessions
Today’s Business Issues & Solutions – Harnessing AI to Increase an Organization’s Value and Efficiency
Sponsored by Grant Thornton LLP
Speaker: Ashu Avasthi, Grant Thornton LLP
Digital transformation and AI adoption don’t happen overnight but is an important piece of a larger comprehensive and ongoing strategy to increase an organization’s value and efficiency.
Business leaders have an incredible opportunity to be visionary and to embrace AI. Doing so will allow them to focus more on innovation strategy, sales, and business development – key ingredients for growth and success that build strong companies for the future.
Ashu Avasthi
The Walmart Freight and Payment Network – A Blockchain Success Story
Sponsored by DLT Labs
Speaker: Sergei Beliaev, Chief Strategy Officer, DLT Labs
Until now, the freight invoice challenge has been a significant issue for both shippers and carriers. In 2019 DLT Labs solved this problem for Walmart Canada with a robust, scalable blockchain solution – the first of its kind in production. By using distributed ledger technology DLT Labs’ system can track deliveries, verify transactions, and automate invoices and reconciliation between Walmart Canada and all its 3rd party carriers, which deliver inventory to over 400 retail stores across Canada annually. A significant portion of this project included the onboarding of Bison Transport, Walmart’s largest carrier and one of the biggest in Canada, enabling them to view an immutable, single source of invoice and payment related information in real-time.
Session Change Break
Lessons Learned from Fast Adopters of Emerging Technology in the Accounting Function
By Dennis Gannon, Gartner
Room: 201-202
Digital technology holds incredible promise for transforming finance and accounting, but too many organizations approach digital investments with an outdated playbook, old assumptions about technology, and insufficient understanding of key terms and distinctions. Learn how and where accounting teams are using Robotic Process Automation to lay the groundwork for a fully digitized future, and hear what they’ve learned about quickly and fully realizing the benefits of RPA and other emerging technologies.
Dennis Gannon
Networking Reception
Room 205-206
Take in the Vendor Exhibit while at NTF20 and benefit from a unique gathering of today’s key vendors and developers of technology solutions; products designed to help your organization and your client’s businesses remain at the top of your marketplace. Network with peers and exhibitors and assess leading edge technology solutions! Exchange ideas share knowledge and develop the right technology solution strategy that’s right for you.
Note: Food and Beverage Service ends at 7:00 pm
Learning Lab by Sage
Room 205-206
Space is limited!
Learning Lab by Receipt Bank
Room 205-206
Space is limited!
Learning Lab by Workday
Room 205-206
Space is limited!
Learning Lab by NOVIPRO/Infor
Room 205-206
Space is limited!
Registration and Continental Breakfast
205-206 Foyer
The Digital Economy and New Business Imperatives – Competing in 2020 and Beyond
By IDC
Speaker: Lars Goransson, Managing Director, IDC Canada
Room 201-202
Join IDC Canada’s Lars Goransson as he shares some of IDC’s technology industry predictions for Canada. Lars will highlight a few key trends that will impact every Canadian organization’s ability to grow and compete in 2020 and beyond. From digital transformation and the future of work to artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, IoT, Cloud and Edge technologies continue to shape business in every sector of the Canadian economy.
Lars Goransson
Session Change Break
Concurrent Sessions
Navigate the Future of Your Firm
Speaker: Todd Eyolfson, CaseWare
Sponsored by CaseWare
Note: You will need to bring your own laptop for this session.
New technologies are emerging fast and the need to embrace them with the mindset to learn, adapt and shift, will ultimately prepare your firm for the future. Technology and its drivers empower teams to do what they were meant to do - move from standard engagement processes to a more strategic advisory role. This shift will lead to greater efficiencies in your workflow and high-quality engagements, resulting in added value for your clients. The challenge the industry now faces is how to begin making the shift today.
Todd will guide you through a real-world case study that illustrates a complete workflow using a new approach. CaseWare will get your firm moving in the right direction today, and will continue to support all firms during this time of change.
Key Learnings:
● How to incorporate cloud technologies into your practice
● How to be more efficient in your A&A practice
● Embracing Artificial Intelligence in our engagements
● Collaborating in real-time from anywhere with anyone (Staff and contacts)
Todd Eyolfson
Financial Reporting and Analytics: A Look Forward
Sponsored by Workday
Note: You will need to bring your own laptop for this session.
It’s been said that data is the new oil, but what if your business is built on top of a gushing geyser? As the sheer volume, velocity, and variety of your data grows, how can you take full advantage of data providing real-time, actionable analytics to the business?
Join this hands-on session and learn how leading financial customers use Workday to master their data management capabilities and deliver financial reports and insights for CFOs, controllers, FP&A, and executive teams. Test drive Workday during this hands-on session and learn how Workday uses technology like augmented analytics, machine learning and AI to help drive greater value to the Finance organization.
Networking Coffee Break
Room 205-206
Concurrent Sessions
Enterprise Solutions – A Manufacturing Customer Journey Session
Sponsored by Epicor/SixS
In this session, you’ll hear about success stories in the application of technology solutions specific to several industry sectors. Through a unique combination of interview questions, dialogue, and discussion featuring an independent moderator, a customer (your peer) and a vendor, you’ll hear about lessons learned, pain points, success in bringing transparency to a company’s ecosystem using innovative technology solutions.
Ready, Fire…Aim? Why Technology-Based Cybersecurity Solutions are Failing Small Business
Sponsored by Cybersecurity Compliance Corp.
Speaker: Jeff Dawley, President, Cybersecurity Compliance Corp.
It’s 2020 and by now you have had any number of companies call, email or accost you in an elevator, championing their latest and/or greatest firewall, detection software, virus protection or other equally impressive piece of technology designed to protect your online assets from the very real threat of a cyberattack.
Technology is an important piece of your cybersecurity defenses, but it is only one of several important elements of a complete cybersecurity environment.
It is important for small businesses to look at their entire cybersecurity environment, including awareness, education, compliance, gap-identification, along with technology risks and solutions. Using one of a number of globally-accepted cybersecurity frameworks, you can quickly and easily identify the best first steps for increasing your cybersecurity defenses, and creating a roadmap for improving those defenses over time.
Jeff Dawley
Informal Luncheon and Networking
Room 205-206
Take in the Vendor Exhibit while at NTF20 and benefit from a unique gathering of today’s key vendors and developers of technology solutions; products designed to help your organization and your client’s businesses remain at the top of your marketplace. Network with peers and exhibitors and assess leading edge technology solutions! Exchange ideas share knowledge and develop the right technology solution strategy that’s right for you.
Technology Perspectives – The Forum Thought Leaders Panel
Moderated by Michael Burns, 180 Systems
Featuring Michael Johnson, Multiview Financial Software
Room 201-202
Michael Burns
Networking Coffee Break
Room 205-206
Concurrent Sessions
Understanding the Real Impact of What a Cybersecurity Incident Can Cost an Organization
Sponsored by Grant Thornton
Speaker: Sandy Boucher, Grant Thornton LLP
Cybersecurity isn’t just a technology issue, it’s about business risk and organizational culture. It’s not just about buying a specific bit of hardware or software for protection, it’s also about education and taking simple, sensible precautions to be diligent about security.
Session Change Break
Closing Keynote Address: Amy Vetter, CEO, The B3 Method Institute
The Connected Leader: Creating an engaged culture one employee at a time
Room 201-202
In this age of technology disruption, everything is changing around us. We sometimes can feel like we don’t know where our anchor is - what will stay the same, what will change, and what we can depend on.
We can find that when implementing change in our organization, individual patterns of behavior can show up in ways that prevent the business from making progress and embracing the opportunities ahead. While we are focusing on change management in our organizations and what the future of our work will look like, we should also be spending an equal amount of time creating stronger human connections.
With time and dedication, you can learn to become a connected leader and employee who contributes to cultivating an engaging and fulfilling work-life culture for yourself, your team and colleagues. During this talk, Amy will take you on an emotional journey of self reflection. You will discover more compassion for yourself and others, be more mindful at work and in your personal life, and improve how you communicate to achieve the desired outcomes together as a team.
Amy Vetter
Closing Remarks
Jeanette Hill, CPA Canada and Michael Burns, 180 Systems
Room 201-202
Jeanette Hill
;
Michael Burns
The Hitchhikers Guide to Technology Solutions
Led by Michael Burns, 180 Systems
This workshop is an ideal way to top off your Forum experience. Whether you are in industry or in a professional services firm, this workshop will help you prepare for your organization’s investment or your upcoming client technology investment engagement.
In this full-day session, you will benefit from insights gathered over many years by a team of leading experts who will provide you with guidance based on their extensive experience and real-life engagements.
Learn today’s best practices; what works well and what doesn’t:
- The Business Case
- Software Selection
- Contract Negotiation
- Software Selection
- Software Implementation
- Lean Primer
- Project Management and Change Management
Workshop Location: CPA Canada Office (277 Wellington St West, Toronto)
Michael Burns
Thank you to our advisory committee members
Natalia Ameline, Cryptochicks
Dwayne Bragonier, BAI Bragonier & Associates Inc.
Michael Burns, 180 Systems
Frank Colantonio, FC Associates
Geoff Cronin, Grant Thornton
Behram Faroogh, Technology Consultant
Craig Fookes, Qtrade Financial Group
Shawn Ford, Ontario SPCA and Humane Society
Jeanette Hill, CPA Canada
Anne-Marie Laderoute, CPA Canada
Diane Lee Sousa, EIC Shared Service
Tarak Saha, FICANEX
Peter Tingling, Simon Fraser University
Rolandi Treska, PwC
Natalia Ameline
;
Dwayne Bragonier
;
Michael Burns
;
Frank Colantonio
;
Geoffrey Cronin
;
Craig Fookes
;
Jeanette Hill
;
Tarak Saha
;
Peter Tingling
;
Rolandi Treska