_{Please note: Woodard’s Call for Speakers is not open to individuals or companies that sell products or services to accounting professionals, including software providers and coaching programs. Paid sponsor/vendor speaking opportunities are available through our Power Breakfast sessions. Please contact Rick Mayfield at rmayfield@woodard.com for details.}

Submission Guidelines:

Scaling New Heights sessions are renowned for their deep, actionable training designed to provide immediate value to attendees. We seek proposals from experts capable of delivering intermediate and advanced-level training, ensuring participants leave equipped with practical skills and knowledge to implement in their practices right away. Please indicate the learning level of your session in your submission.

• Submissions must be original and not previously presented at another conference.

• Submissions should be relevant to the theme and the chosen topic.

• Instructors new to Scaling New Heights must submit a video of themselves presenting an educational topic.

Presentation formats and durations:

Presentations can take on one of the following formats:

Keynote (25 or 45 minutes): A high-level main-stage presentation designed to set the tone and provide a unified theme for the conference.

Breakout (50 or 100 minutes): A lecture format presentation on a specific topic.

Workshop (100 minutes): An interactive, hands-on session where participants learn by doing. 

Panel Discussion (50 minutes): A moderated discussion with a group of experts on a particular topic.

Woodard Theater (20 minutes): Presented from the theater areas in the Woodard Booth, these are micro-sessions meant to introduce new ideas and/or tips and tricks to attendees. Please note that these sessions can only accommodate presentation slides and embedded video; no live demo is permitted.

Topics:

Artificial Intelligence & Automation

• GPTs, agents, and prompt engineering
• CoPilot, Google AI, Anthropic, and emerging tools
• Practical AI use in GLs, A/P, A/R, workflows, and tax
• Programming agents and solution stacking
• MCP (Model Context Protocol) and future tech infrastructure

Practice Advancement 

Each session should be rooted in application. How does your topic empower firms to evolve?

• Ideal Brand: Purpose, positioning, and identity
• Ideal Technology: Tech stack design, vetting, and implementation
• Ideal Services: CAS, advisory, CFO, tax planning, compliance
• Ideal Client: Niche strategy, onboarding, pricing models
• Ideal Engagement: Policy, boundaries, and delivery
• Ideal Team: Culture, hiring, leadership, upskilling, and well-being
• Ideal Process: Workflow design, automation, and optimization

Leadership, Human-Centered Strategy, and Change

• Navigating disruption with empathy and resilience
• Building team cultures in AI-first firms
• Coaching displaced professionals or disrupted clients
• Ethics, inclusion, and trust in the age of automation

1 night hotel covered for the night before each presented session.