Last month, a colleague and I attended the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Real Estate and Construction Conference in Las Vegas. Although I don’t attend every year, I have attended this conference a few times before. That said, this one proved different. A couple of years ago, the AICPA combined the real estate and construction conferences into one bigger conference. Having only attended the AICPA Real Estate Conference in the past, there was much more to absorb and take in this year. Combining the two similar industries into one conference proved to be beneficial for all who attended.
Surrounded by over 1,000 other professionals ranging from fellow public accountants to CFOs to bankers, there was an abundance of suits everywhere you turned. Topics ranged from beginner-level classes (e.g., Fundamentals of Construction Accounting and Auditing) to more advanced classes (e.g., Negotiating Your Way Through Joint Venture Agreements – Tax Implications and Opportunities). As this was a joint conference with the construction and real estate industries, topics ranged from how to effectively perform a review of a contractor’s financial statement to changes in real estate lending. Finally, while there were an abundance of classes geared toward traditional tax and accounting topics, there were also sessions geared toward information technology and cybersecurity topics.
Overall, there was great content and insight offered in each course I attended, and each speaker I heard was engaging and quite informative. One of the classes I attended focused on common audit failures and strategies to overcome them. This course walked attendees through problems with internal controls, over/under billings, risk assessment and testing for revenue. These best practices have now been incorporated into our audits at Skoda Minotti.
And who doesn’t go to Vegas without having a little fun? In between conference sessions, my colleague and I visited the newly opened Topgolf venue—think golf driving range-meets-Las Vegas night club. Topgolf features four levels, multiple bars, pools and a mechanical bull. I highly recommend visiting this during your next Vegas trip!
Do you have questions about real estate and construction tax matters? Contact Denny Murphy at 440-449-6800 or email Denny.
