WORKSHEET 1

Developing a 360 Degree View of the Future

The goal of this exercise is to document the most important trends and issues facing the CPA profession in the future (year 2025) in four major categories. Consider the trends and issues that you believe are the most important and/or will have the greatest impact on you, your firm and the CPA profession. Then categorize them in the four categories below (three to five per category). Be prepared to discuss your responses.

Social (What are the significant social and demographic changes you see in the future? What changes can you foresee in the way people will work? What changes will you see in client demands and expectations? How will changing demographics affect you?)

Political (What are the future political/regulatory trends that will impact your firm and businesses that you serve?)

Economic (What do you see in the future economically? What changes in the future do you see? What is likely to remain the same?)

Technological (What significant technology trends do you see in the future? What is happening technologically that is likely to impact you and your firm?)

WORKSHEET 2

Insight: Top Trends to Watch

The first step of insight is pursuing it, the second step of insight is filtering out which ones matter right now, and the third step of insight is translating the relevant ones to action. Looking at the Top Trends we have just prioritized with our “dot votes,” answer the following questions:

What makes these trends so interesting?

Why does it seem important that we address these trends right now?

What else should we be thinking about?

How might these trends affect you, your firm, and the CPA profession as a whole?

Now think about whether these trends affect, just you, just the CPA profession, or both you and the CPA profession and record them below:

Individual Profession Both

WORKSHEET 3

Insight: CPA Horizons 2025

Now that you have seen and discussed the CPA Horizons 2025 initiative and identified the major trends for the future, we want to see how your predicted future trends might align with the CPA Horizons 2025 insights. Please complete the following questions.

Scan all of our work so far, are there any patterns emerging?

What stands out for you?

What seems most relevant today for the future?

What has stayed the same?

What has changed?

What do we want to make sure we bring forward into the future?