Opening Keynote: Leslie Preston, Managing Director, Senior Economist at TD Bank

Topic: 2025 Economic Update

Key Takeaways:

• What are the potential impacts of the new Trump administration on the U.S. and global economy?
• What is the outlook for Canada's economy as we head into a Federal election campaign?
• What does all this mean for the outlook for interest rates and Canada's housing market?

Speaker: Barbara Palmegiani, FCPA, FCMA, Partner and National CFO Services Leader

Topic: 2025 CFO Update

Key Takeaways: To come. 

Speaker: Bill Richardson, President, The Perdix Group Inc.

Topic: Unlocking Multigenerational Synergy: Essential Communication Tools for Financial Leaders

In today’s rapidly evolving workplace, financial professionals are faced with a unique challenge: how to effectively communicate across a multigenerational workforce. With Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z all working side by side, the ability to adapt your communication style and bridge generational gaps is more critical than ever. Join us to learn about the strategies and insights needed to thrive in today’s current and emerging multigenerational environment. Whether you’re delivering financial reports, collaborating on strategic initiatives, or guiding stakeholders through complex decisions, mastering communication with impact is the key to building trust, driving results, and enhancing your influence as a financial professional.

Key Takeaways:

1. Bridging Generational Gaps for Stronger Collaboration
   Learn how to tailor your communication to engage and collaborate with team members across all generations, fostering an inclusive environment that leads to innovative financial solutions.
    
2. Enhancing Stakeholder Engagement and Building Trust
   Discover how effective communication builds credibility and trust across a diverse workforce, empowering you to influence decisions and create long-lasting professional relationships.
    
3. Navigating Change and Securing Buy-In for Financial Strategies
   Gain the tools to communicate financial strategies clearly and persuasively, ensuring buy-in and alignment across generations during periods of change or transition.

Speaker: Alex Garber, CPA, CA, MTax & Adjunct Professor Schulich School of Business 

Topic: 2025 Tax Update

This session will provide an overview of recent changes in the area of income taxation for corporations. The topics will be geared towards small and medium enterprises.

Speaker: Stuart Rudner, Employment Lawyer and Mediator

Topic: Employment Law 2025: Navigating the Shifting Landscape

Staying ahead of the curve in employment law is crucial in today's rapidly changing workplace. This dynamic session, led by an employment lawyer with over 25 years of experience, will equip you with the knowledge and strategies to effectively manage your organization's legal responsibilities and protect your interests.

Key Focus Areas:

• The Pendulum Swing: Discover how the current legal environment heavily favors employees, particularly in termination situations. Learn how to draft enforceable contracts that withstand scrutiny and safeguard your business.
• The Evolving Landscape: Stay up-to-date with the latest legal developments, including critical changes in 2024 that may render older contracts obsolete. Ensure your employment practices are compliant and future-proof.  
• The Duty to Accommodate: Understand the nuances of accommodation obligations and how to navigate the complexities of medical documentation and employee cooperation.
• Off-Duty Conduct: Gain insights into managing employee behavior outside of work hours and learn when discipline or dismissal is warranted.
• The Independent Contractor Conundrum: Avoid costly misclassification errors and learn how to properly distinguish between employees and independent contractors.

Key Takeaways:  

• Master the Art of Drafting Enforceable Termination Clauses
• Develop Best Practices for Managing Accommodation Requests
• Navigate the Complexities of Off-Duty Conduct
• Avoid Costly Worker Misclassification Mistakes

Speaker: Narbe Alexandrian, CPA, Founder & CEO @ Define Capital | President & CEO @ Realtax | Software Private Equity | Adjunct Professor Schulich

Topic: Navigating Private Equity Trends: Value Creation and Ethical Challenges

In today’s shifting economic landscape, private equity plays a pivotal role in driving business transformation and value creation. This session will cover the latest trends, exploring how private equity firms strategically deploy capital, use leverage, and aim for optimized returns. A real-world case study will shed light on effective acquisition strategies, growth-focused management, and the ethical considerations that arise when balancing profit with long-term stakeholder impact.

Key Takeaways:

• Gain insights into the latest private equity strategies for generating value, including operational improvements, platform roll-ups, and leveraging strategic partnerships to drive growth.
• Understand the decision-making process through a detailed case study, highlighting how firms identify opportunities, assess risks, and create value in acquired companies.
• Learn about the ethical implications in private equity, such as aligning with stakeholder interests, transparency in reporting, and the ethical handling of potential conflicts in leveraged acquisitions.

Tax, Law & HR Experts Closing Q&A Panel Moderated by the Host.

Panelist: Alex Garber, CPA, CA, MTax & Adjunct Professor Schulich School of Business, Stuart Rudner, Employment Lawyer and Mediator and Bill Richardson, President, The Perdix Group Inc.

Opening Keynote: Misha Glouberman, Negotiation Expert, Speaker & Couch

Topic: Communication Secrets from Expert Negotiators: How To Talk To Clients

Negotiation is all about reaching decisions with people who want something different than you, which is to say: pretty much everyone. It’s more than a skill, negotiation is about developing a new perspective on relationships with other people. We can all learn how to become better at forging agreements, creating mutual gain, and resolving conflicts, in all areas of our lives. But how?

Misha Glouberman will help you transform the way you view negotiation, and the reasons people disagree in the first place. His talk will help you get past the roadblocks that prevent agreement and recognize the traps and misunderstandings that people fall into, especially when emotions run high. By understanding someone else’s perspective, yours will grow. Glouberman draws on research from many sources, including Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, and uses storytelling and humour to illustrate how to talk to people when it seems like you are speaking in two different languages. These are life-changing skills that can transform how you see the world and the people around you.

Speaker: Dishan Ratnajothi, CPA, Head of Corporate Development @ Auto Trader | Instructor | CPA Emerging Leader

Topic: Mastering Mergers & Acquisitions - Building Process, Teams and Value

Financial leaders are often tasked with the responsibility to take leadership of strategic initiatives at their organization, most importantly, M&A. This presentation will guide financial leaders through the key elements of a successful M&A process, from initial due diligence to post-merger integration (PMI). We’ll cover strategies for building a solid, repeatable M&A process that aligns with strategic goals and explore how to create and lead high-performing teams to drive success. The discussion will provide insights on balancing strategic fit with financial metrics, conducting efficient due diligence, and implementing integration best practices to capture value.

Key Takeaways: 

• Understand how to build a robust, repeatable M&A process that supports strategic growth objectives. 
• Learn strategies for forming and managing high-performing M&A teams to ensure efficient execution and value creation. 
• Discover best practices for balancing strategic fit with financial metrics, conducting due diligence, and capturing synergies in post-merger integration. 

Speaker: Claudiu Popa, Certified Cybersecurity Expert & Privacy Advocate | Author & Educator

Topic: Cybersecurity Trends Affecting the Corporate Space

This year, the corporate landscape is seeing seismic shifts involving cybersecurity, risk and compliance that every business leader needs to know about. The next two years will demand more than just defensive postures; dynamic strategies that embrace new industry standards, regulatory breakthroughs, and cutting-edge technology to counter emerging risks. 
Explosive advances in AI bring incredible opportunities for streamlined operations and insight but simultaneously introduce new attack vectors that can outpace traditional defenses. Coupled with this, the critical need to secure the supply chain means that every link in an organization’s network—every vendor, partner, and data exchange—must be fortified. Industry expert Claudiu Popa delves into these transformative trends, urging corporate leaders to elevate their cybersecurity strategy and safeguard not just their company, but the very ecosystem in which they operate.

Key Takeaways:

• Data Protection Compliance: New regulations and standards are re-defining risk. Adopting these isn’t just compliance; it’s competitive advantage and reputational armor.
• AI Risk and Opportunity: While AI transforms threat detection, attackers leverage it, too. Leaders must anticipate, outsmart, and adapt, making AI a shield, not a vulnerability.
• Boosting Supply Chain Security: The supply chain is now the corporate nerve center. Ensuring the security of every connection, every interaction, means actively preventing threats before they emerge.

Fire-Side Chat: Erin Kelly, CPA, CEO ASI & Tomas Milo, CPA, Ph.D. Candidate at McGill University | XBRL expert

Topic: Copilot in the Workplace, Power Automate (Practical applications of AI)

Speaker: Michael Kulbak, MBA, CPA, CMA, Trust and Estate Professional 

Topic: Building Legacies: Trusts and Succession Planning for Accountants and Advisors 

Effective estate and succession planning is critical for preserving wealth, managing tax liabilities, and ensuring the smooth transfer of assets to the next generation. Trusts play a pivotal role in this process, offering a versatile solution for addressing complex family dynamics, protecting assets, and achieving employers and clients’ long-term financial goals. This session is designed for accountants and financial professionals seeking to enhance their knowledge of trusts and succession planning strategies to provide more comprehensive advice to their employers and clients. This session will cover the fundamentals of trusts, their tax implications, and their role in succession planning. Participants will also learn how to identify opportunities to introduce trusts into an organization and an estate plan.

Key Takeaways:

• Understand the Basics and benefits of Trusts: Learn about different types of trusts, their key components, and the tax considerations. Specific emphasis on employee ownership trusts and when to recommend a trust.
• Enhance Succession Plans: Discover how trusts can address common estate planning challenges, such as equalizing inheritances and reducing tax liabilities. Key considerations for wills, powers of attorney and other essential documents.
• Case Study – Overview of a professional services firm incorporating a trust in their contingency planning and buy-sell agreement that protected employees and the financial future of their families.

Closing Keynote: Jessica Holmes, Celebrated Comedian | Author | Mental Health Advocate

Topic: Mental Health: The Good, the Bad, and the Funny