Breakout Sessions - 2026 Aprio Alliance Forum

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING

Who it's for: Those who own client relationships, drive revenue, or are responsible for building the firm's pipeline — including client-serving professionals at every stage of building their book, anyone who leads or contributes to a service area's growth, and those with formal responsibility for marketing or business development.

The demand creation track. In an intentional firm, business development is not just a marketing team function. It is a discipline practiced by anyone who owns a client relationship. This track focuses on building institutional growth infrastructure that is repeatable and does not depend on any one person's network. It is equally relevant whether you are growing your own book of business, building a service area's market presence, or designing the firm's go-to-market strategy.

CLIENT SERVICE & GROWTH

Who it's for: Those who own client relationships; partners and professionals responsible for a service area or line of business, whether as a named leader or as the person who effectively drives how that discipline grows; and anyone who is actively managing and expanding a portfolio of client work.

The portfolio and revenue optimization track. The most immediate growth opportunity for most firms sits inside their existing client base, with the people who already serve it. This track is for everyone whose growth challenge is: how do I deepen these relationships, expand into adjacent services, protect what I have, and position my service area for what comes next? AI-driven changes to service delivery, pricing, and staffing are an explicit part of this conversation, not a separate topic.

LEADERSHIP, CULTURE & TALENT

Who it's for: All partners and professionals who hire, develop, lead, or retain people — whether as a primary responsibility or as part of a broader practice. This includes anyone with accountability for the human infrastructure of firm growth.

Growth strategies fail not because the strategy is wrong but because the culture, leadership behaviors, and talent infrastructure can't carry them. This track addresses the human operating system of the firm: partner alignment, talent development, culture, and succession, all through the lens of growth enablement. AI's impact on how firms develop talent and build advisory capacity is an explicit thread throughout.

STRATEGY, VISION & FUTURE

Who it's for: Those who set direction for the firm — owners, partners with firm-level responsibility, and anyone who shapes where the firm is going and what it is building toward. In smaller firms, this may include partners who play multiple roles simultaneously.

The direction-setting track, where strategy meets legacy. This is the integrated track for decisions about where the firm is going, what it will be worth when it gets there, and how to navigate the external forces reshaping the profession: PE, AI, consolidation, and demographic change. Content covers both near-term execution discipline and long-term positioning, because for most firm owners and partners, these decisions are made together, not in separate conversations.

Peer Forum: Building the Infrastructure of Growth ($5–20M)
Track: Strategy, Vision & Future
Audience: Partners and owners of firms in the $5–20M range — or any firm where the primary challenge is building the systems, team, and operating model to sustain growth you are already experiencing or actively pursuing.

A peer forum for $5–20M firms at the inflection point where growth breaks things. Discuss building infrastructure that lets growth stick: hiring ahead of revenue, formalizing processes, and making expansion decisions without spreading thin.

Peer Forum: Growing at Scale — When Complexity Becomes the Challenge ($20M+)
Track: Strategy, Vision & Future
Audience: Partners and owners of firms above $20M in revenue — or any firm where the dominant challenge is not building growth infrastructure, but navigating the organizational, strategic, and market complexity that comes with operating at scale

A peer forum for $20M+ firms facing strategic complexity. Discuss deliberate investment in new markets, M&A as a real option, managing the partner group, and positioning on the PE question with peers who've solved the infrastructure problem.

RISE2040 Workshop
Track: Strategy, Vision & Future
Audience: All attendees

As we close out the Forum, join us for a unique opportunity to help shape what comes next for the accounting and advisory profession. In collaboration with AICPA® & CIMA®, attendees will contribute to the development of the profession's first-ever global vision for 2040. Together, we'll examine the trends reshaping our industry—from AI and innovation to workforce and client transformation—and identify the opportunities that will define the next generation of firms. Don't miss your chance to leave a lasting impact on the future of the profession.