Chapter & Council Toolkit for Conferences & Events 

Thank you for your commitment to building a strong community and advancing the accounting and finance profession. Your work planning local conferences and events is essential to building community, fostering professional growth, and advancing the accounting and finance profession.

This toolkit is designed to make your planning process easier and more effective. Below, you’ll find a recommended timeline—outlining key milestones and tasks—along with supporting resources, templates, and documents to guide you every step of the way. While the timeline is built with a conference in mind, the tools included here are flexible and can be adapted for events of any size. 

If you’re part of a newer chapter or just getting started with planning education and networking functions, we encourage you to start small. A small, well-run event can build momentum.  As your experience and community grow, so can your events.

We appreciate all that you do to bring professionals together and create spaces for learning, networking, and inspiration. This toolkit is here to support you—so you can focus on delivering impactful experiences for your community. 

Let’s get planning!

Below is a categorized list of event types chapters can plan to engage members, build community, and advance the profession.

Professional Development 

  • Workshops (e.g., Excel skills, data analytics, leadership) 
  • 1-Day or Multi-Day Conference 
  • Women’s Leadership Events 
  • Executive Roundtables 
  • Book Clubs or Article Discussion Groups 

Networking & Community Building 

  • Happy Hours / Social Mixers 
  • Mentorship Match Events 
  • Young Professionals Nights
  • Member Appreciation Nights 
  • Game/Activities (Bowling, Arcade or Game Meetups, Mini-Golf or Topgolf, Trivia Nights, Escape Rooms) 

 Volunteerism & Service 

  • Community Service Projects 
  • Nonprofit Fundraisers 
  • Donation Drives (e.g., for local schools or shelters) 

Timeline & Resources

1. Pre-Planning Phase (10-12 months before)

IMA Headquarters Notification

Notify your IMA global chapter contact of your plans to host an event or conference

If applicable, email sponsor/exhibitor support form to your global chapter contact

Form Planning Committee

Identify key roles and responsibilities

Recruit other volunteers if additional help is needed

Set regular meeting schedule / communication preference (email, Zoom, Google Drive, WhatsApp)

Budget Development

Create a budget - Expenses & Revenue 

Review previous conference financials

Set ticket pricing tiers and group discounts

Identify potential sponsorship opportunities

Venue Selection

Create RFP

Send RFP to venues

Collect and Evaluate Proposals

Schedule site visits / Confirm ADA compliant

Review and negotiate contracts

Secure insurance certificates - through Chapter Services contact

2. Program Development (10-12 months before)

Content Planning

Establish agenda outline

Locate and confirm speakers

Draft session title, description, learning objectives and collect speaker bios

Networking Opportunitites

Design icebreaker activities

Plan networking events

Speaker Communications

Email deadlines and deliverables

Presentation templates

Review presentations (content, grammar, spelling)

3. Branding & Marketing (6-8 months before)

Content Planning

Set up event website and online registration

Create promotional schedule

Create social media assets

Review branding guidelines

Write email campaign

Identify other marketing opportunities

Identify onsite signage and branding needs

4. Logistics Management (3-4 months before)

Vendor Coordination

Audio/visual requirements

Order food and beverage

Signage production

Create venue room set-up sheet

Review venue provided room diagrams for accuracy

Schedule networking events

Volunteer Management

Create volunteer roles

Develop schedule

Create volunteer guides and schedule training

Create conference procedures for onsite volunteers

Set up communication system

Develop emergency procedures

5. Attendee Experience (1-2 months before)

Communication Plan

Draft Know Before You Go Email (Send 1 week prior)

Make event agenda available through a QR code

6. Event Execution (0-2 months before)

Prepare Onsite Materials

Print badges and put in plastic holders

Print necessary materials (agenda, session handouts)

Order and ship speaker gifts and/or honorarium

Order and ship necessary materials

Give all speaker presentations to the AV team

Day-Before Checklist

Complete venue walkthrough

Check room set-ups

Brief all volunteers

Set up registration area

Check all boxes arrived and organize staff office

Precon with hotel, if applicable

Day-Of Management

Oversee volunteer tasks

CPE tracking

Manage real-time issues

Oversee vendor activities (i.e. F&B, AV, etc.)

Greet speakers and introduce to your AV team

7. Post-Event (Within 2 weeks)

Immediate Follow-up (1-3 days after)

Send attendee thank you email with event survey and speaker evaluations

Send thank you and post event survey to speakers

Send thank you and post event survey to sponsors

Share presentation materials

Process and email CPE certificates

Reporting & Analysis

Process vendor payments

Complete financial reconciliation

Compare budget vs. actual expenses

Collect team feedback

Analyze attendee feedback

Document lessons learned

Submit excel CPE spreadsheet

8. Additional instructions and resources

Chapter Handbook

IMA's Data Privacy Policy and GDPR

NASBA Application and Resource Links

ICMA CPE Requirements