Participant Benefits

Spark won't be exactly the same as meetings we've hosted before, and we're excited about that. This is an opportunity to leverage the power of digital gatherings and improve on the traditional conference model.

We've designed and built a presentation gallery and a conference platform that lets you participate in sessions in flexible and personalized ways. Presentations will be shared before the meeting – and available after it is held. Live sessions will be held within a professional conference platform, enabling dynamic conversations with the presenters and participants. With this design, Spark preserves the key elements of traditional AAA meetings, while augmenting it with more opportunities to engage with your colleagues.

The Spark Presentation Gallery

The Spark Presentation Gallery is the asynchronous, online home for the meeting's presentation content. Each Gallery presentation consists of an infographic of the key points of the presentation, a short video presentation, and an abstract. Additional materials, datasets, and handouts will also be available in the Gallery. With AAA's Presentation Gallery, innovations in accounting research and teaching presented at this and future virtual conferences can now be widely shared, advancing the pace of accounting scholarship and maximizing professional exposure. As a result, participants benefit from:

Access to a wider range of topics and sessions - 200 presentations that you can watch, in your own time
A broader set of content can be shared by the presenters – and the participants will have access to it for a longer period of time
Content is fully searchable, citable, and shareable

The Spark Sessions at the Meeting

After reviewing Gallery presentations, select the live sessions you most want to attend. All sessions will be recorded and posted after the meeting in the online Presentation Gallery, so you can enjoy the complete meeting.

The June 11-12 Spark Meeting will be held from 11:00 EDT to 6:15 EDT daily. Each day will conclude with opportunities to catch up with colleagues at Block Parties held 6:15 EDT-7:15 EDT.

After reviewing Gallery presentations, select the live sessions you most want to attend including keynotes, panels and research and education sessions with topic-grouped discussions and Q&A with the presenters.
All sessions will be recorded and posted after the meeting, so you won't have to miss a thing
Experience new ways to participate and contribute to the AAA's evolution
Up to 10 hours of CPE credits
And at the end of the day, Segment Block Parties to unwind and catch up with colleagues

Here are some Program Highlights:

Keynotes

Future Forward: Prepping Tomorrow's Leaders Today
Joni Wilson Ferguson, Managing Director of Leaders Amplify and Senior Leader of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts-Consumer Insights, Measurement & Analytics
Impact the Future: Integrating practice, teaching, and scholarship with design ideas from the far reaches of the accounting universe
William McCarthy, Michigan State University
Preparing for the New World: Facilitating 2020 Vision in Business Professionals
Nick McGuigan, Monash University
CPA Evolution: preparing for changes in the accounting profession and accounting education.
Moderator: Yvonne Hinson, AICPA and Panelists: Colleen Conrad, NASBA and Julia Woislaw, AICPA

Emerging Technologies

XBRL in the Classroom: How to Teach XBRL
Christine Tan, City University of New York-Hunter College and FASB Taxonomy (XBRL) Team Members
XBRL in Academic Research: Hands-on Experience with XBRL Data
Beth Blankespoor, University of Washington and FASB Taxonomy (XBRL) Team Members
Blockchain: Bridging the Profession-Education Gap with Instructional Scaffolding
Kimberly Swanson Church, Missouri State University and Pamela J Schmidt, Washburn University
Robotic Process Automation-What, How, When, and Where?
Ann Dzuranin , Northern Illinois University

Teaching Effectiveness

Practical Techniques for Course Management: Student Learning, Presentation and Facilitation Skills, and Your Questions
Karen Osterheld, Bentley University and Cassy Budd, Brigham Young University
The Changing Landscape of Accounting Education: Level Up Your Teaching Effectiveness with Technology
Markus Ahrens, St Louis Community College and Cathy Scott, University of North Texas-Dallas
Practical Guidelines for Designing Your Data Analytics Course/Curricula
Gail Hoover King, Washburn University and Guido Geerts, University of Delaware
Excel Tips and Tricks for Teaching Data Analytics
Tracie Miller-Nobles, Austin Community College, Jennifer Cainas, University of South Florida, and Wendy Tietz, Kent State University

Research Effectiveness

An Article Reviewing Exercise to Inform Your Own Manuscript Development
Kimberly Swanson Church, Missouri State University and Angela Spencer, Oklahoma State University
Tackling Reviewer Comments: How to Manage Your Revise and Resubmit
Kimberly Swanson Church, Missouri State University and Angela Spencer, Oklahoma State University

We're optimistic that Spark will strengthen our community and celebrate and elevate the practice we're so passionate about. We hope you will join us.