An accountant seminar may be the best way to educate and motivate staff to institute effective practices that maximize their abilities. An attitude of lifelong learning must be adopted by employees as trends, objectives and laws are changing constantly in the accounting field. Depending on the occupation, a certain number of continuing education hours may also be required.

Accounting seminar information can be gleaned in a variety of ways, whether by attending a conference, hosting an in-house training session or providing other learning alternatives. Depending on individual learning styles and your budget, you may want to consider a combination of all three seminar options.

Consider the following accounting seminar information:

1. Attending an accountant seminar can broaden your staff's knowledge, thus increasing the services your firm offers to clients.

2. An accounting seminar list of topics may include information on state compliance issues as well as national trends.

3. Make sure you know what you're getting into. Accounting seminar information can range from very basic to in-depth and may not be suitable for all employees, depending on their position in the firm.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find an accounting seminar to attend

A seminar in a distant city may seem like the most costly option when you figure in all of the traveling costs, conference fee, lodging and meals. But be sure to weigh the costs with the potential benefits. If you can only send a few key employees, do it. Those individuals can then come back and share information they've learned from the seminar with others.

I recommend: Search for a seminar near you at CPE or browse a list of seminar topics. American Management Association offers finance and accounting seminars on a wide variety of topics.

Look for an accounting seminar provider for in-house training

Another option would be to invite educators to your business for an on-site visit. The costs to you would include the speaker's fee and most likely any travel arrangements made for him or her. An on-site seminar would be a good option to boost employee attendance. You could even make the training mandatory if necessary.

I recommend: Practitioners Publishing Company and Lorman Education Services can customize an in-house training for your staff's educational needs.

Consider other accounting seminar options

If you don't have the funds to send employees to a conference or to bring a speaker to you, consider supplying books, audio tapes and other materials for your employees to utilize. There are other options, too, such as teleconferences, coaching and webinars that may be helpful for different learning styles.

I recommend: The National Business Institute offers web on-demand seminars, and some content is state specific. Check out the self-study materials on accounting available from PESI.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Find an inclusive accounting seminar list and make it available to your staff. Let them know which trainings are required and then encourage them to participate in other offerings.