Tom Hood, the longtime CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs, has joined the management team of the Affiliation of Intercontinental Accredited Specialist Accountants (the Association). As executive vice president of business development and engagement, Hood will report to Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, the Association’s CEO.
Hood has served as CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs (MACPA) considering the fact that 1997. Prior to MACPA, Hood, CPA/CITP, CGMA, labored as a chief financial officer. He has been a longtime believed chief and driver of improve amid state CPA societies.
Jackie Brown, MACPA’s chief operating officer for the earlier 23 a long time, will choose the helm of the condition culture.
The Affiliation also has acquired the Small business Discovering Institute (BLI) from MACPA. The acquisition of BLI’s discovering plans will enrich the Association’s choices to corporate businesses in upskilling and reskilling their personnel so they continue on to meet at any time-changing market demands. Jointly, the Association and BLI will accelerate the introduction of new content for accounting and finance pros globally. Hood will keep on to present management in supporting BLI’s customers, goods, and services through BLI’s integration with the Affiliation.
“Tom’s eyesight and mission to aid finance and accounting experts develop in a changing organization environment is nicely aligned with the Association’s aims of powering have faith in, possibility and prosperity for associates, college students, the career and individuals they provide. He delivers electrical power, perception, enthusiasm and a distinctive means to aid connections,” Melancon stated. “Tom will add price to our engagement with organizations and the accounting and finance professions, raising our comprehending of the troubles they deal with and how to greatest fulfill their needs.”
Melancon extra, “We are very pleased of our popularity as a critical supply for accounting and finance professionals’ studying requirements. BLI’s content material complements and enriches our present finding out resources, even more deepens our world offerings and can help broaden our benefit proposition. This growth is an critical phase in the Association’s motivation to creating a robust and vivid long term for the occupation and those people it serves.”
One concentrate of Hood’s purpose will be partnering with Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA, the Association’s chief government of management accounting, to even further professionalize administration accounting and aid experts in getting their Chartered World wide Management Accountant (CGMA) designation in the Americas. This incorporates the Finance Leadership Application, an on the internet finding out plan that teaches candidates the finance, business enterprise, individuals, and leadership skills desired to thrive in finance groups of the upcoming.
The pace of alter
Hood claimed his Association role and the BLI acquisition are opportunities to quicken and develop do the job to get ready enterprises and their advisers for change and disruption. The pandemic has heightened the will need for long term-centered skills.
“This pandemic really has been the greatest disruption that I’ve at any time noticed, and when I communicate to members, they would agree with that,” Hood stated. “On the other hand, I assume it is also the major prospect for our profession globally. If you think about what is transpired, the reduction offers that are coming out from really much all about the earth … and just about every one of all those aid packages is getting executed through accounting, tax, and payroll devices, which are the wheelhouse of our full career.”
Accountants have rallied amid uncertainty to assistance businesses survive any time achievable all through the economic downturn brought about by the pandemic, Hood claimed. Significantly, enterprises are searching for to forecast and strategize further than COVID-19.
“This is our chance now, as we search by way of the fog of COVID, we see the vaccines are on the horizon. No just one is aware accurately when we’ll be capable to get as a result of it,” Hood claimed. But now is the time for accountants and finance pros to transfer from “essential to indispensable.”
— Kim Nilsen (Kim.Nilsen@aicpa-cima.com) is the JofA‘s publisher.
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