DFW Student Extravaganza

When:  Sep 27, 2019 from 09:00 AM to 04:30 PM (CT)
Associated with  Dallas Fort Worth Area Chapter

September 27, 2019, Hosted by the Dallas Fort Worth Area Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)

Location: Texas Wesleyan University, 1201 Wesleyan St, Fort Worth, TX 76105

Sponsors - Plan to visit their booths, talk to them about  their career and internship opportunities
BNSF Railway
Becker Professional Education
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Gleim Publications
Occidental Petroleum
Ryan, LLC
Siemens
Texas Instruments
Trinity Industries

Session Locations (Campus Map): Sessions I, II, IV, V will be in the Nick and Lou Martin University Center; Session III will be in the Armstrong-Mabee Business Center

Parking (free):
Visitors can park in parking lots B (Moritz Drive), C, E, and U (see Campus Map). All of these are in close proximity to the Martin University Center (Building 1 on map) and the School of Business (Building 10 on the map) which is where all of the meeting events will be held. These lots will not be closed off exclusively for the event but rather will be open to visitors. Signage will be put out to help people identify the lots.

Program:
This one-day event provides you a unique opportunity to participate in a wide range of exceptional sessions packed with the information you need to jump start your career and grow professionally. Expect to be challenged. Expect to be motivated. Expect to leave the event with new knowledge and new ideas. You will also get to spend invaluable time with peers, educators, employers, and accounting/finance professionals. It’s a great way to “Power Your Future!". 

Agenda – at – a- Glance (session summaries and speaker bios are shown below)

08:45 - 09:15 AM        Onsite Registration and Sign-in (including Continental Breakfast) 
09:15 - 09:25 AM        Welcome
09:25 - 10:50 AM        Session I – Insights to Corporate Management Accounting Opportunities by Julie Knecht (Vice President, Worldwide Accounting, Texas Instruments Incorporated)
11:00 - 11:50 AM        Session II – LinkedIn by Terry Sullivan (founder and CEO of BuzzPro)
11:50 - 12:05 PM        IMA Student and Academic Resources by Jimmie Smith, CPA (Former IMA Global Board Member)
12:05 - 02:15 PM        Session III (lunch will be available during this time) - Networking, Employer/Sponsor/IMA Booths, Resume Reviews
02:15 – 03:05 PM       Session IV –Future-Proofing Your Career with RPA by Loreal R. Jiles (RPA Product Owner, Upstream Finance, BP America, IMA Global Board Member)
03:15 – 04:05 PM       Session V – Digital Controllership Trends by Ashley Gibson, CMA, CPA (Manager, Deloitte Advisory, IMA Global Board Member)
04:15 – 04:30 PM       Drawings and Closing Remarks

Cost - Early Bird $20 if register and pay by 9/10, Normal $25 9/11 – 9/20, $30 after 9/20 deadline or at door 

Special thanks to Texas Wesleyan University for hosting this event.

Session summaries and speaker bios:
Session I -  Insights to Corporate Management Accounting Opportunities by Julie Knecht (Vice President, Worldwide Accounting, Texas Instruments Incorporated)

Summary: This presentation will address management accounting careers and opportunities at Texas Instruments, including various roles that are included.  While the presentation is Texas Instruments specific, it should serve as a proxy for accounting and finance opportunities that are available at other medium to large corporations.
Bio: Julie Knecht is the Vice President of Worldwide Accounting at Texas Instruments.  In this role, she presents to the Audit Committee of the TI Board of Directors five times per year, and travels to TI’s major sites annually for accounting reviews.  She also serves on TI’s Corporate Compliance Council.

Prior roles at Texas Instruments include financial planning and accounting for the Embedded Processing, Analog, IT Services and TI Financial Planning and Analysis organizations.

Julie joined Texas Instruments in 1999 and earned an Accounting degree from Texas A&M University, a MBA from the University of Texas, and is a licensed CPA.  Prior to working at TI, she held positions in finance at Nortel, and in real estate accounting at the Dallas Galleria and at The Archon Group.

In addition to her role at TI, Julie is actively involved in several non-profit organizations in her local community, including the following:
High-Tech High Heels - Committed to increasing the number of North Texas girls graduating from high school who are entering a college-level degree program in STEM.  She has been a guest speaker at the summer physics camps, and has served as a member of the Development Committee.  She currently serves on the board and on the Finance Committee.
University of Texas at Dallas – One of four external members on the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. 

Julie and her husband have 2 sons ages 13 and 15.

Session II -  LinkedIn by Terry Sullivan (founder and CEO of BuzzPro)
Summary: Terry will walk you through the key branding and strategies, tips and secrets you need to create a well-branded LinkedIn profile that gets results.
Bio: Terry Sullivan is the founder of BuzzPro, a nationally recognized Integrated Marketing and Social Media training company that helps companies and professionals get better results with LinkedIn. Terry shows his clients how to fill their sales funnels with better leads, schedule more appointments and close more sales using advanced LinkedIn branding and Social Selling strategies.

Widely considered to be a Guru of LinkedIn, Terry has trained more than 6,200 business leaders, owners and individuals across the nation on how to create a unique online brand that gets results. His inspiring training programs focus on keyword optimization, branding, and Social Selling strategies that help his clients tap into the unlimited world of Social Media to get more prospects, leads and clients.

Session IV - Future-Proofing Your Career with RPA by Loreal R. Jiles (RPA Product Owner, Upstream Finance, BP America and Control organization, IMA Global Board of Directors)
Summary: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is transforming the way organizations approach Finance and Accounting processes. User-friendly platforms and embedded advanced digital services such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning make RPA a relatively inexpensive option for companies; the majority of which, begin implementation with Finance and Accounting processes. Boasting end user development functionality that requires no IT expertise, RPA should be on each Finance and Accounting professionals’ radar. Join us as Loreal Jiles walks through the power of RPA, its impact on our profession and how we can become leaders in this space.
Bio - Loreal Jiles is RPA Product Owner in BP’s Upstream Finance organization – leading implementation of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) across Upstream Finance globally. In this role, Loreal plays a critical part in fostering ideation as well as defining and operationalizing an automation governance and operational framework and designing and executing a digital upskilling agenda. Prior to accepting this position, Loreal held a host of roles covering financial reporting, change management, joint venture and revenue auditing and planning & performance management across BP’s Integrated Supply & Trading, Corporate & Functions and Upstream segments.

Her passion for the development of future accountants and current accounting & finance professionals shines through in the choices she makes outside of work. Loreal currently sits on the Accounting Advisory Board for LoneStar College, has facilitated sessions at multiple Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) Annual Student Leadership Conferences, recently joined the IMA Global Board of Directors and published an article in Strategic Finance (August 2014 edition) entitled “Management Accounting Career Readiness: Shaping YOUR Curriculum.”  Loreal holds a B.S. in accounting from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA. and MBA from Tulane University.

Session V - Digital Controllership Trends by Ashley Gibson, CMA, CPA (Manager, Deloitte Advisory, IMA Global Board Member)
Summary: A Manager from Deloitte’s Center for Controllership™ share how “Digital Controllership” can harness innovation and technology to fundamentally transform the controllership role and add value to organizations. She will discuss controllership trends in the marketplace.
Bio - Ashley Gibson is a Manager from the Houston, Texas office in Deloitte Advisory, specifically in Financial Transactions. Ashley is from the Accounting & Reporting Transformation group and focuses on a variety of key issues faced by the Controllership function. Ashley has experience with assisting companies to transform their organization into being more proficient, effective, and insightful. This has been achieved through strategic projects devoted to finance transformation assessments, financial close acceleration, IPO readiness, activity analysis, and controls & process improvement.

Previously, Ashley served many clients throughout both internal and external audits. Ashley has served over 60 clients across a variety of industries, including consumer products; process and industrial products; and oil and gas. Ashley focuses on developing optimal and strategic business solutions that align with each client's specific needs.

Ashley graduated from Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and a Master of Accountancy with a concentration in Auditing & Accounting Information Systems. Ashley received her MBA from Texas A&M University. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) as well as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

Ashley is a member of IMA and serves on the Global Board of Directors, Board Volunteer Leadership Committee (Chair), and the Technology Solution & Practices Committee. Ashley is also a member of the Stuart Cameron McLeod Society within IMA and serves on its Board of Governors

Location

Texas Wesleyan University
1201 Wesleyan St.
Fort Worth, TX 76105