Top Ten – Conference Edition

I just survived my very first professional conference.  For the past three days I have been attending the ELFA 2016 Lease and Finance Accountants Conference in Baltimore, MD.  Some parts I enjoyed, some parts not so much.  Here are the top ten things I discovered at the conference.

10) I love the white noise machine provided by the hotel.  I want one of my own.

9) Eleven hours a day is too long to hold conference presentations.

8) My boss talks a lot, including during other people’s presentations.

7) Some of the conference presenters are really good and some are not.  My favorite was Tim Kolber of Deloitte due to his visible excitement to be presenting and discussing the topic Identifying a Lease Under ASC 842.

6) A few months after the release of ASC 842, none of the key players even agree on what the standard says, let alone know how to apply it.

5) Direct Finance Leases are now called Sales Type Leases.  Sales Type Leases are still called Sales Type Leases, except for a very particular type of Sales Type Lease which is now called a Direct Finance Lease.  How confusing can you get?

4) I now know two restaurants to enjoy in Baltimore, Dalesio’s of Little Italy and Sobo Café.

3) I found learning the nuances of the standard really interesting.  Maybe I should look into a job that is more policy analysis, less general ledger and reporting.

2) Kevin Kallaugher (cartoonist for The Economist and The Baltimore Sun) is a wonderful keynote speaker.  He made everyone laugh with his quirky representations of our current political players.

1) Although I am rather pleased with how my Donald Trump cartoon turned out, I definitely should not give up my day job to become a cartoonist.

Now it is time to get ready for next year’s conference.  I am really looking forward to enjoying Charlotte, NC.  It should be more lease accounting fun, but in a better location.

See you next week!