Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
CPA Ontario’s Industry Conference 2026 brings together senior finance leaders, decision makers, and industry experts to explore how CPAs can lead in an environment shaped by AI, economic volatility, and heightened governance expectations.
Early Bird Sale: Save $50 off this conference by registering before June 30, 2026. Promotions cannot be combined with other offers or Passport. Access the early bird sale by logging into your account.
Designed for CPAs working across industry, this one day conference focuses on the evolving role of finance from traditional stewardship to enterprise wide value creation. Through keynote sessions, expert panels, hands on workshops, and interactive breakouts, participants will gain practical insights into applying AI and emerging technologies, leading strategic transformation, strengthening governance and risk frameworks, and navigating capital markets, regulation, and public sector change.
Attendees will leave with concrete tools, forward looking perspectives, and peer connections to help them guide organizations through complexity, uncertainty, and transformation with confidence.
At this conference, you will:
- Harness AI and emerging technologies by translating practical AI and finance tools from concept to real world use cases that enhance decision making, efficiency, and competitive advantage.
- Lead strategic business transformation by understanding how finance leaders are shifting from scorekeepers to value creators through investment strategy, transformation initiatives, and enterprise wide collaboration.
- Strengthen governance, risk, and internal controls by gaining insight into ethical governance, enterprise risk management, and controls needed to manage system level risks in a digital economy.
- Navigate capital markets, regulation, and public sector change by staying current on market trends, M&A considerations, financial reporting, AML/FINTRAC updates, and public sector modernization.
- Equip yourself to lead through economic uncertainty by understanding policy influences, market outlooks, and leadership strategies shaped by high pressure environments.
If you prefer to join us in person, learn more here.
Agenda
CPA Ontario's Ethics Conference Agenda
Stream 1: AI & Finance Technology Lab (Hands-On): “Practical AI for Finance & Industry Leaders: From Concept to Use Case”
Speaker: Malik Datardina, CPA, CA, Assistant Professor at University of Waterloo - School of Accounting and Finance
Audience: CFOs, Controllers, Tax Leaders, Public Sector Finance
Stream 2: Public Sector Advancement & Modernization: Modernizing Public Sector Finance: Digital Reporting, Transparency & Accountability”
Speaker: TBD
Audience: Public Sector CFOs, Government Controllers
Stream 3: Finance Transformation & Internal Controls: Strengthening Internal Controls in a Digital & Volatile Economy
Speaker: TBD
Audience: CFOs, Audit Committee Members, Risk Leaders
Conference Opening Remarks with Host
Opening Keynote
Topic | AI: The New Business Superpower
Artificial Intelligence is a superpower every business can benefit from. Tech titan Michele Romanow will show you how.
As the co-founder of Clearco, the world’s largest ecommerce investor, Romanow revolutionized the venture capitalist game by leveraging AI and data to measure business success. Well-versed in the transformative impact of AI and new technologies, she dives into the latest tech innovations, including Alphabet, Metaverse, ChatGPT, and more, to explore the many opportunities ahead for business. Romanow will also walk audiences through the mindset required to drive innovation within an organization to help them jumpstart their AI transformation.
Topic | Strategic Business Investments & Transformation: From Scorekeeper to Value Creator
Fire-Side Chat Session
Topic | Pressure-Tested Leadership: Lessons from Baseball’s Biggest Stages
Mark Shapiro has spent over three decades navigating the high-stakes world of professional baseball — building championship-calibre organizations in both Cleveland and Toronto. Having led through both adversity and triumph under intense media and public scrutiny, including the Blue Jays’ dramatic 2025 run to the World Series, he’s learned what separates teams that crumble under pressure from those that rise to meet it.
In this candid fireside chat, Shapiro — currently the president and CEO of The Toronto Blue Jays — shares the hard-won lessons from a career spent leading in the spotlight, including how to:
- Build teams that endure: Why sustainable success starts with culture and leadership, not just talent.
- Turn adversity into momentum: How the best organizations transform setbacks into fuel for breakthrough performance.
- Lead when the outcome is uncertain: What it takes to make bold decisions, maintain conviction, and keep a team moving forward when doubt is loudest.
Shapiro offers a rare inside look at what pressure-tested leadership really looks like. This is a conversation about resilience, decision-making under fire, and what it takes to build something that lasts.
Stream 1: Capital Markets (M&A) & Financial Reporting Standards/AML/FINTRAC Updates
Speaker: TBD
Stream 2: Internal Controls & Enterprise Risk Management
Speaker: Marc Y. Tassé, MBA,FCPA,FCA,FCG, Trusted Advisor to CEOs & Chairs & Board Member
In today’s increasingly complex and fast-moving environment, internal controls and enterprise risk management are no longer simply compliance functions—they are strategic enablers of resilience, performance, and organizational trust. This session will explore how finance leaders can strengthen governance, enhance decision-making, and proactively identify, assess, and mitigate key risks across their organizations. Drawing on practical examples and leadership perspectives, the discussion will highlight how robust internal controls and an integrated ERM approach can help organizations navigate uncertainty, protect value, and support sustainable success.
Three Key Takeaways:
- How to align internal controls and enterprise risk management with organizational strategy and governance priorities.
- How to identify and respond to emerging operational, financial, technological, and reputational risks in a practical and proactive manner.
- How finance and risk leaders can foster a stronger culture of accountability, oversight, and resilience across the organization.
Stream 3: Best Governance Practice - Managing System‑Level Risks Through Ethical Governance
Speaker: TBD
Panelists: Sapna Malhotra, CPA, CMC, CPA, ICD.D, Principal & Founder at Digiruptor, Linda Williams, Managing Partner Clients & Industries and Executive Committee Member at EY Canada & Lewis Rose, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D, Strategic Advisor, Board Director and Investor; Former CEO Businesses in transition; Rapid scaling; Global growth
Topic | Enterprise Business Transformation: Lessons Learnt from the Field
Topic | Economic Outlook: Business and Policy (Policies affecting business, Interest rates, Tariffs) Narratives vs Realities
Speaker & Sponsor Forms
Are you interested in speaking at one of our conferences?
Click here for our speaking proposal form.
Are you interested in being a sponsor for one of our conferences?
How to Attend the Conference
This CPA Ontario PD conference is hosted on the innovative RingCentral (formerly Hopin) platform. An email invitation with a link to join the event on the RingCentral platform will be sent closer to the date.
Please check your Junk and Spam folders and ensure no-reply@events.ringcentral.com has been added to your safe addresses. We recommend you join five minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in the course are non-authoritative and have not been formally endorsed by CPA Ontario and do not reflect the views of CPA Ontario. The information included in the course is for general information purposes only.
CPA Ontario, the presenters and the authors do not accept any responsibility or liability that might occur directly or indirectly as a consequence of the use or application of or reliance on this material.