Last year we held AcuityCon as a way to bring together all of our employees and partners for two jam-packed days of connecting and learning. To our delight (but not surprise!), AcuityCon 2019 was so popular that everyone asked us to make it an annual event. So we planned to give the people what they wanted, and started conspiring for 2020 as soon as our OG event wrapped.  

You can probably guess where this is going… 

Like all other events in this crazy year, we made a pivot to go virtual. But! We still got to do the one thing that was most important: Connect with our community. 

Even though we were all on video (and more than a few of us were in pajama bottoms), we reengaged with our partners, explored more ways to serve our clients better, and, most importantly, just had some fun with the very best team in the world (ours!). 

So how did everything shake-up? Check out all the shenanigans below. 

AcuityCon 2020 Highlights

We welcomed 35 new attendees.

Between team members and partners, we had 35 new faces this year. In fact, November 2020 will mark a major milestone for Acuity: 100 employees! We also added some cool new technologies to our tech stack, including Helm, CollBox, and NetSuite. 

We had six different countries represented. 

Yes, you read that right! One of the perks of having a virtual event was that it meant we could have team members, partners, and thought leaders join from all over the globe for the first time.  

We announced the latest MITCH Award recipient.

We introduced the MITCH Award last year as a way to acknowledge and celebrate employees who exhibit our core values: 

Measured

Independent

Transparent

Curious

Happy

The award is given monthly, and the Acuity team decides the recipient. This month the incredible Kelli Spanjers was chosen, and we can’t say we’re surprised. Kelli is always awesome, but she was especially deserving of this award this month for organizing AcuityCon 2020! 

We held thought-provoking discussions. 

Our breakout sessions were awesome — and really challenged us to think differently.  

• “Diversity & Inclusion In Our Profession” with Nayo Carter-Gray (Founder of 1st Step Accounting)
• “What Works When Selling Accounting Services” with Joel Lacayo (Lead Channel Account Executive at Rippling)
• “Expanding Your Skillset Through People Advisory” with Will Lopez (Head of Accountant Community at Gusto) and Jaclyn Anku (Marketing at Gusto)
• “KPIs In The Time Of Covid” – Blake Oliver (Director of Marketing at Jirav) and Evan Wells (VP at Jirav)

We explored the latest technologies. 

We held a partner exhibition with 20 different tech stack partners. A little fact about us — we’re committed to finding the best and most innovative technologies available to bring to our clients. And we are the most certified cloud accounting firm in the nation with over 100 certifications. Our partner network is a big deal to us and the businesses we work with, so this portion of the event is always important, because it allows our team to learn about the latest updates that they can then use to serve our clients better. 

• ADP
• Avalara
• A2X
• Bill.com
• Brex
• Clarus R+D
• CollBox
• Gusto
• Helm
• Intuit QuickBooks
• InvoiceSherpa
• Jirav
• Justworks
• OnPay
• Rippling
• SaaSOptics
• Salesforce (via Marketwake)
• Veem
• VerifyIQ
• Xero

We looked into the future.

The future of accounting that is. We ended Day 1 with “The Future of the Accounting Profession” panel, and this was a fan-favorite! We chatted about things like the permanence of advisory services, what it will take to solve the US check problem, and how to reimagine the very idea of accounting firms. You can watch the full discussion here.

We witnessed literal magic. 

Our Co-Founder Matthew May was in charge of the entertainment — so devilish tricks ensued! We concluded our event with the Digital Deception magic show, and we’re honestly still scratching our heads at how they pulled off some of these stunts. 

Pro Tip: If you’re throwing a virtual event, and you’re looking for a way to surprise and delight your audience, hire these guys.  

A New Way of Connecting

Holding our event remotely wasn’t the only thing that made AcuityCon 2020 unique. This year, AcuityCon was all about different kinds of connections — ones that challenged our worldviews, improved our processes, and opened us up to new tools and ways of working. 

We saw firsthand how experiencing true connection with each other fosters breakthrough growth and builds a network of support that helps us stand strong together through challenging times. Connections help us not only survive but thrive as a profession (and as people who are just trying to make it through the Zoom age with our sanity). 

So thank you, AcuityCon 2020, for reminding us that accounting is more than just connecting the numbers. It’s also about connecting people in a time when it’s needed more than ever. 

Last but not least, three cheers to AcuityCon 2021. We don’t really know what it will look like yet, but we know it’s going to be awe-inspiring because that’s just the way life is with a team and a network as incredible as ours.