Empower fosters conversation and collaboration among accounting professionals, staff and top thought leaders on pain points and proven strategies for creating a future-proof firm
Denver, CO. Empower 2023 (May 10, 2023)—Right Networks, offering the only intelligent cloud purpose-built for accounting firms and professionals, held its inaugural Empower Conference, May 1-3, at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. Powered by Rootworks, a company owned by Right Networks, the conference drew more than 350 attendees and expert speakers with a focus on helping accounting professionals build high-performing, profitable and sustainable modern practices that support a rich client experience.
The conference featured presentations and educational breakouts on a range of industry topics like artificial intelligence (AI), outsourcing, cybersecurity, and creating a comprehensive customer experience and people-driven culture. Expert coaches offered onsite working sessions to help attendees create an actionable, intentional business model to support ongoing success.
As the accounting profession continues to undergo rapid change, firms find it challenging to adapt amid staff shortages, increased workloads and demanding tax seasons. In his keynote address, Darren Root, Chief Strategist at Right Networks, underscored the importance of identifying a clear and strategic roadmap that outlines new technologies and best practices required to gain a competitive advantage.
“The emergence of AI, its business applications and overall impact on the accounting profession can create anxiety among professionals. It’s more critical than ever to cut through the chaos and create clarity when moving forward with a modern accounting practice,” said Root. “Empower brought together leading industry resources and encouraged peer-to-peer collaboration to enable accounting professionals to take the critical first step toward Smart Firm Management and the adoption of a modern mindset so their firms can evolve to the next stage.”
Amy Slachta, CPA and founder of Slachta Accounting & Consulting attended Empower with her client relationship accountant, Kendra Quist, to network with fellow professionals, share ideas for best practices and identify next steps as she works to integrate a strategic new business model at her Minnesota-based firm.
“Transitioning legacy clients to a new business model is challenging. There are a lot of moving parts,” said Slachta. “The conference came at a good time because we’re revamping our firm and focusing on clients that are the right fit for our services and tech stack. Our goal is to maximize value for our clients while being fairly compensated for our work.”
“It’s been a very good conference with a good diversity of topics. There hasn’t been a single session I’ve attended that I didn’t want to keep going. It’s been great to talk to other firms, get their ideas and what’s working for their businesses. Simple takeaways can make a big difference,” said Quist. “There’s a lot of hope. Tax season can be hard and talking with our peers lets us know we’re not alone. It’s good to hear that it gets better each year.”
Right Networks is in the planning stage for Empower 2024. For information on Inspire, the company’s year-end conference for Rootworks members, click here.
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About Right Networks
Right Networks, a vertical cloud service provider, offers the only intelligent cloud purpose-built for accounting firms and professionals. In addition to fully managed IT and applications, we provide a curated software ecosystem and a nationwide community to make managing a modern, thriving and secure business easier. More than 10,000 accounting firms and 60,000 SMBs count on Right Networks to run their businesses every day.
Media contact:
Angel Flores
603-565-2194
aflores@rightnetworks.com