08/01/2008 - Praxity International Conference 2007
Praxity held its inaugural international conference in Barcelona between 27th October and 30th October 2007. A total of 218 delegates from 75 participating firms attended. These came from a total of 45 countries.
On the eve of the Conference, a number of interest groups met to plan their strategy and running alongside these, meetings took place of the Management Board and Governing Council.
The theme of the conference was ‘Charting the Future – the impact of the next generation alliance’
Bill Fingland, Chair of Praxity, gave a welcome speech and presented an update on developments in the first few months of the alliance.
The keynote speech was given by Bob Bunting.
Bob Bunting is the past-chair of the AICPA Board of Directors, having recently completed his term as Chairman in October 2005. On June 30, 2004 Bunting stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer of Moss Adams LLP, a member firm of Praxity ranking 11th largest in the United States. He continues to be an active partner and he serves as chair of the firm’s International Services Group. In November of 2006 Bunting became Deputy President of the International Federation of Accountants. He also serves on the IFAC Board, Planning and Finance Committee and International Liaison with Regulatory Bodies Committee and he sits on the Membership Committee of Praxity. His unique insight allowed him to speak with authority on Praxity’s role in the International Accounting Community.
This was followed by a series of breakout sessions attended by participants sharing information on a variety of topical subjects.
One particular session, “It’s your turn”, gave the opportunity for all participants to provide input as to the priorities for the alliance going forward.
The other plenary sessions included such topics as ‘The Praxity Experience – A Commitment to Excellence’ and ‘How to Maximise Personal Performance’.
Additionally, 5 regional meetings were held to discuss the particular issues in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, Europe and North America. The Chair of each reported back to the meeting.
The positive mood of the conference fulfilled the objectives set by Bill Fingland which were:
- learn something new
- challenge and inspire
- share where we have been and seek your input on where we should go next
- renew old friendships and make new ones
- enjoy some serious fun
- leave mutually committed to making tomorrow better than today