I am inviting you to a feast—one that will stimulate, amaze, entertain and enlighten you. And it’s a feast for the good of our CPA profession.

This year, CalCPA and the American Accounting Association are offering a special opportunity for CalCPA members to attend AAA’s annual conference Aug. 3-5 in Las Vegas and step into the scholarly heart of our profession.

Why Practitioners and Academics Need Each Other

The AAA is the academic and scholarly backbone of the CPA profession. Over time, practitioners and academics have become less connected than they should be, yet both sides have much to learn from each other.

Scholars help us understand what works and why. Practitioners bring the real-world experience that makes research meaningful and relevant. And the profession is made stronger when it happens.

The AICPA-AAA Pathways Commission recognized this back in 2012, calling on the profession to: “… build a learned profession for the future by purposeful integration of accounting research, education, and practice for students, accounting practitioners, and educators.”

I’m a CPA generalist with 50 years of experience in accounting, auditing and tax. Throughout my years attending AAA events, I’ve found that practitioners’ perspectives are genuinely welcomed and valued. My own understanding of accounting, audit and tax has grown through these programs. I want that for you, too.

Special Access for CalCPA Members This Year

Through our collaboration with the AAA, CalCPA members can attend all three days or choose day passes without requiring AAA membership. You can find registration instructions at the AAA website, where you can also view the event’s agenda.

For first-time attendees, CalCPA and AAA are also planning a special networking and orientation gathering before conference sessions begin. This informal event will help you meet fellow practitioners and connect with AAA leaders.

AAA Global Connect offers an enormous scope and diversity. You’ll find keynote speeches from leading scholars and professionals, and of special value to me are the smaller moments: panel discussions, professors presenting their current research and sessions with Ph.D. students wrestling with the big questions in our field.

You’ll also have the chance to reconnect with professors who shaped your education, meet current graduate students from the schools you attended, and engage with scholars at every career stage about the emerging research and ideas shaping the future of our profession.

To give you a sense of the quality and range of conference topics, here are a few highlights from 2025:

• Updates from the FASB, IASB and SEC.

• “New Perspectives on Accounting for Business Combinations:” A stimulating discussion featuring FASB member Christine Botosan and Columbia accounting professor Stephen Penman.

• “Navigating the Future of Accounting and CPA Licensure: AICPA Insights.”

What is AAA?

The AAA’s sections span both the well-known and the niche, and cover every corner of the profession. Major sections include American Taxation Association; Auditing; Financial Accounting and Reporting; and Management Accounting.

Specialized sections include Academy of Accounting Historians; Accounting, Behavior and Organizations; Forensic Accounting; Public Interest; International Accounting; Strategic and Emerging Technologies; and Government and Nonprofit (the section I belong to and actively participate in).

Come Join Me

I urge you to attend AAA Global Connect and partake in the feast with me. And even more, by showing up, you will contribute to our learned profession; strengthen the connection between accounting practice, education and research; and expand your own professional perspective in ways that are hard to find anywhere else.