8th Annual Fall Conference Report

October 29, 2009

The Kellogg Center at MSU in East Lansing


Over 160 conference registrants, speakers, exhibitors, award recipients, and conference team members participated in the 8th Annual IMA Michigan Fall Conference at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center at Michigan State University in East Lansing on Thursday, October 29, 2009.  Included were 19 students and faculty from St. Clair College who traveled by bus all the way from Windsor, Ontario in Canada to attend the conference. The 8th annual fall conference was sponsored by the IMA Michigan Council and Robert Half International, with additional support from Cleary University and CTS Telecom, Inc.
 

Chair-Elect of the IMA, Dr. Sandra Richtermeyer, CPA, CMA, kicked off the conference with an inspirational introduction. Then, Mr. Gregory A. Prost, CFA, Chief Investment Officer of Ambassador Capital Management, presented his latest view of current economic conditions. Next, came a panel of tax professionals from The Rehmann Group, who presented on Accounting for Income Taxes and MBT Update.  We wrapped up the morning session with a presentation by Mrs. Bobbe Barnes, CPA, CMA, CGFM , a Consultant and Educator, on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).


Michigan Council President Chris Mishler, CMA, CIA, presided over the luncheon awards and recognition ceremony.  Recognizing excellent performance, the following banners and awards were presented:

  • Detroit Chapter, Jeff Harrison, President; for 3rd place ICMA Regent Award
  • Michigan Upper Peninsula Chapter, Joel Thompson, President, 6th place in the Warner Division
  • Ann Arbor Chapter, Bill Ebright, President, 14th place in the Stevenson Division
  • Saginaw Valley Chapter, Julie Goldman, President, 14th place in the Warner Division
  • Kalamazoo Chapter, Dana Collins, President, 21st place in the Stevenson Division. 
  • Bob Maddox was recognized as the immediate past Council president, and for leading the council to earn a 12th consecutive IMA Council of Excellence Award. 

Dignitaries from Michigan State University’s accounting faculty were also recognized, as were several members with recent CMA and CPA certifications.
 

The luncheon portion of the meeting concluded with IMA Chair-Elect Dr. Sandy Richtermeyer’s presentation "Professional Development for Accounting and Finance Professionals: Strategies for Career Impact".

The afternoon session began with a case study by Mr. Glenn P. Barba, CPA, Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of CMS Energy and Consumers Energy.  The presentation demonstrated “Excellence in Financial Management”.

Finally, the afternoon was capped off with an ethics case study, expertly moderated by Ms. Julie A. Goldman, MBA, CMA, Associate Adjunct Faculty at Northwood University.

This year marked the fourth year that participants could register and pay for the conference on the Council website, and close to 56% of the registrations were made on-line. The proceeds from the conference are shared between the Michigan Council and Michigan participating chapters, which helps fund chapter and council projects, as well as mitigates the need for assessments to chapters to fund council operations.

The conference team of Sue Crane, CPA; Lynn Margulies, Sue Bos, CMA, CPA; Teresa DeBaeke, CMA; Bob Maddox; Lee Bennett; Chris Mishler, CMA, CIA; and Jim Horsch, CMA, CFM, CAE worked hard to make this 8th annual conference the best conference yet.  Planning is now underway for the 2010 conference, which will be Tuesday, October 28, 2010 at the MSU Kellogg Center in East Lansing.

See our Conference Agenda, Speaker Bios, Speaker Presentations, Photos, etc., from the sidebar.

If you attended, please take the time to complete our annual survey at  http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB229W2LQLT9Q . The link is also in our sidebar on this page.

Jim Horsch, CMA, CFM, CAE

Conference Chair, on behalf of the Committee


2009 Michigan Fall Conference Committee:

Jim Horsch, CMA, CFM, CAE—Conference Chair

Chris Mishler, CMA, CIA—Council President, Awards Luncheon

Lynn Margulies—Conference Sponsorships

Sue Bos, CMA, CPA—Registration and Speakers' Gifts

Sue Crane, CPA—Registration and PD Certificates

Teresa DeBaeke, CMA—Registration, Name Tags

Lee Bennett—Web site and on-line Registration

Bob Maddox—Photographer

See Archives of prior conferences:

8th Annual Michigan Fall Conference, October 29, 2009

7th Annual Michigan Fall Conference, October 29, 2008

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