August 1999

FAE Offers New Consulting Conference

By Lori Pendleton

In response to the professional demands faced by CPAs, David Rauch and Peter Frank have developed FAE's first Consulting Services Conference, to be held October 20 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New York City.

"Since consulting encompasses so many specialized service areas--information technology, personal financial planning, business valuation, to name a few--we put together a conference to address the issues and challenges for CPAs both in public practice and in industry," said Frank, a conference speaker and chair of the sponsoring committee, the General Committee on Management Consulting Services.

Other speakers include Steven Sacks, the AICPA's senior technical manager for consulting services, who will open the conference with a national view of CPAs in consulting services; Dan Weinfurer, founder and president of the Parson Group, who will discuss alternatives to internal finance and accounting functions; and Eric Cohen, who will host a session on conducting business electronically. A panel of consulting experts will examine the costs of evaluating and training consultants.

"The conference will appeal to all CPAs who want to expand their horizons in consulting: CPAs in public practice who want to advise their clients in areas other than traditional accounting and tax services; CPAs who already provide consulting services and want to expand and embrace new concepts and methodologies; and CPAs in industry, who are in effect internal consultants or portable executives and want to provide more efficient services," said Rauch. "The conference will provide tools to help CPAs stay one step ahead of the competition."