Are Accounting Conferences Worth It?
In case you missed it last week, the Life First Accounting Firm podcast is coming this spring. You can check out the trailer on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts!
Once in a while, I’ll get a DM conversation like this:
Accountant: I want to go to an accounting conference this year! Which one is the best?
Me: Depends. What do you want to get out of it?
Accountant: Um…accounting conference…stuff?
I love accounting conferences - really - especially as the kids have gotten older and I feel less mom-guilt for leaving.
(1) I think there’s so much invisible benefit of getting outside your normal environment, whether that be a home office or just sitting at your kitchen table. When I step away, my brain thinks of things that it wouldn’t have, had I not stepped away. (Ever notice when you take your toddler on vacation, their vocabulary grows exponentially? I think we’re just grown up toddlers.)
(2) I don’t know what I don’t know until someone tells me I don’t know it. Accounting conferences are a great place for that.
(3) Nothing beats a real life handshake or lunch conversation in person. 1000x better than LinkedIn connections.
(4) I absolutely love my husband and kids, but tax-deductible take out Chinese food for dinner with a can of wine from the hotel store, eaten on a hotel room bed feels like a pretty good vacation, at this point in life.
All that to say, I budget for 1 accounting conference per year now. :o)
Before you decide to jump into the conference arena, know what you want to get out of an accounting conference before you decide which one to spend money on.
>> Want to load up on CPEs, tech, and workflow sessions? > go for the big conferences with lots of sessions and lots of vendors (good reviews from Aligned members who went to Scaling New Heights last year for this purpose)
>> Want to connect with firm owners? > go for the smaller, more intimate ones; less sessions, but more conversations with people in your shoes
>> Want to do it on a budget? > pick the one (any one) you can drive to and stay in a budget-friendly hotel; you’ll at least get some exposure as cheap as you can
HELPFUL CONFERENCE RESOURCES
Find Your Accounting People in ‘26 - phenomenal article from Seth Fineberg that includes almost every accounting conference in the US this year
Accounting Cornerstone Foundation - Non-profit that provides scholarships to accounting conferences. In 2025, multiple people from this newsletter list told me they got scholarships from the foundation (please tell me if you get one this year!). Also…Aligned Accountants is a proud donor to this foundation!
Where Will I Be in 2026?
I’ll be speaking at AICPA ENGAGE (Vegas) in June and then attending Bridging the Gap (Charlotte, NC) in July (though I did apply to speak and am waiting to hear back). If you’ll be at either, please let me know so we can have a coffee or lunch together!
Hope this helps,
Erica
What’s Happening in Aligned
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