Menu
Our two-day annual leadership conference for CPAs includes top firm leaders and consultants to help develop dynamic and successful firm leaders. Join us each July!
Thank you to everyone who made HeadWaters 2023 a huge success! We are planning for 2024, so check back soon!
We’ll hold a one-day Choosing Your Focus Workshop on July 12, 2023 (prior to our HeadWaters Conference in Denver Colorado).
Many firms are feeling a capacity crisis, and many individuals report high levels of work-related stress. During this one-day workshop we’ll cover the essential points of the Choosing Your Focus program and help individuals create a proactive plan to take control of their time, energy and focus.
The one-day workshop is $975 per registrant ($825 for UAN members).
HeadWaters is attended by managing partners, shareholders, firm administrators, and current and future leaders.
We’re confident that the HeadWaters Leadership Conference will be of immeasurable value to you. Like everything we do at Upstream Academy, this program is unconditionally guaranteed to your full satisfaction. If you’re not completely satisfied, we will, at your option, either waive your fee or accept that portion of the fee that reflects your level of satisfaction.
Full breakfast
Jeremy will open the conference, make introductions and explain logistics.
Jeremy Clopton, Director at Upstream Academy
If you don’t know where you’re going, it’s not going to much matter how you get there – yet individuals, teams and firms often start making plans and setting strategy before they’ve clearly identified (and articulated) their vision. Join Jeremy as he discusses how to craft and communicate a compelling vision that will help you and your team find the excitement, energy and motivation to work at making that vision a reality.
Joey Havens, Managing Partner of Strategic Growth at HORNE
Most firms list people as a priority, but too often firm members don’t feel the impact of this philosophy. Don’t settle for a “good enough” culture. Join Joey as he shares some of the innovative ways they are creating a people-first culture that makes firm members reluctant to leave: transitioning away from traditional firm metrics, implementing fearless flexibility, using full-potential coaching and following through on a goal of over-recruiting by 10%.
Bethmara Kessler, Former Head of Integrated Global Services, Campbell Soup Company
When you show up at work do you keep it real or do you morph into an alternate version of yourself? Leadership can be a tenuous balancing act between managing the personas that you project to others and meeting the challenges of the moment. The masks and armor that you wear as a leader can erode the authenticity of the person beneath the facade, directly impacting your effectiveness and how your teams show up in the workplace.
Marty Brown, President and CEO of PYA
As firms trend toward more business consulting and less traditional accounting, effective hiring and business development becomes even more challenging. The skills required for non-traditional niches may not be as easily defined and firms may need to reassess traditional processes. Marty leads a firm with a successful advisory practice which annually produces over 55% of firm revenues. Join Marty as he shares his insights on how to pinpoint skills, locate candidates, develop business, and adapt to help your firm find success.
Heath Alloway, Director at Upstream Academy
When business is scarce, most firms list growth as a priority. But, when times are good and work is rolling in, this focus often becomes fuzzy – with opportunities ignored, referral sources allowed to dry up, and proactive growth put on the back burner. A growth mindset is more than bringing in business, it’s ensuring you have the right business and holding the door open for opportunity. Join Heath to discuss how to develop a long-term growth mindset.
Bruce Zicari, CEO at The Bonadio Group
Potentially a great way to grow your firm, mergers and acquisitions are also minefields for the poorly prepared. So, why do some succeed while others crash and burn? How can you determine if a potential opportunity is a good fit for your firm? And, how can you increase the likelihood of successful culture integration post-acquisition? Although, no one’s found a magic formula for ensuring success, Bruce will discuss some key components and best practices.
Harry Plack, Managing Member at Plack Group, LLC
Client relationships matter. But if you can’t provide value, your clients may tell you how much they’ll miss you and take their business elsewhere. The ability to successfully envision, vet, build and launch new services provides a huge competitive advantage. Join Harry for a discussion of proven principles, best practices, and hints and tips to help you successfully brainstorm new ideas, evaluate their viability, and create the value your clients crave.
Sam Allred, Heath Alloway, Marty Brown, Jeremy Clopton, Courtney DeRonde and John Sensiba
Always one of the most popular features of Upstream conferences, our afternoon discussion forums provide an unmatched opportunity to share your firm's greatest challenges and learn how other firm leaders have successfully dealt with the same difficulties. Bring your most vexing issues and a notepad, and be ready to return to the office with great new ideas for solving your firm's challenges!
Full breakfast
Randy Crabtree, Partner at Tri-Merit, and Jeremy Clopton, Director at Upstream Academy
Mental health has become a more pressing (and publicly-discussed) issue in accounting firms. Join Randy and Jeremy for a candid discussion about their efforts to safeguard their own mental health, the signs you or a team member may be struggling, and what you can do to address similar issues. They’ll also discuss how Randy’s experiences led him to reevaluate his strengths and role in the business in a way that positively impacted both him and his firm.
Courtney DeRonde, CEO at Forge Financial & Management Consulting
Persistence has its virtues, but sometimes changing course ensures a better outcome than doggedly pursuing a vision that no longer fits your career, team or firm. But, when should you zig? And, how do you the weigh pros and cons to ensure you’re making the right choice? Join Courtney for a candid discussion of lessons learned from her career- and firm-changing decision to split her firm to pursue a different vision and how those lessons can benefit your firm.
John Sensiba, Managing Partner at Sensiba San Filippo, LLP
When the strategy meetings are finished and everyone understands the plan, it can be feel like you’re done. But plans often meet a slow death when operational objectives are (intentionally or unintentionally) aimed in a different direction. Join John as he discusses what to consider, who to include and how to ensure that plans are aligned across departments, projects and roles to help increase collaboration, optimize resources and make sure everyone’s moving in the same direction.
Sam Allred, Director at Upstream Academy
Sam has spent his career providing value and thought leadership to the industry, individual firms and our team. Join us as he shares insights from the last 40 years of changes he has witnessed, participated in and helped drive. He’ll share some of the hinge points that have made the biggest impacts on the profession, how firms’ approaches have shaped their response and their success, and how these same strategies can be applied to future problems.
