The Prime Global 2023 Tax and Assurance Summit took place between January 8th – 10th 2023, in Palm Springs California, USA. After three years of delay, attendees were excited to finally be able to gather in person and reconnect. A welcome breath of fresh air.

Throughout the reception dinner, there was exciting energy all around. Not only were past attendees reconnecting with one another, but a record number of new attendees brought an added level of enthusiasm to the evening.

The conference began with opening comments from North American Executive Director, Maureen Dillmore who commemorated all that has happened since our last opportunity to be together. PrimeGlobal shared news of growth within our community as we continue to gain new members, and paid tribute to the late Estefy Pantoja with help from Latin American member Juan Rivero.

After reflecting on all that has changed since we last gathered, both within member firms and the industry at large, members were able to set their sights forward on the year to come with the reminder of our collective strength. Members were excited to make new connections, learn about new services, and hone their skillsets throughout the rest of the summit.

Summit highlights included presentations from Traci Brown, a Top Fraud Detection Expert, about how to detect lies from truth, read body language, and prevent fraud. David Emmerman of Xero discussed navigating change within ourselves, within our firms, and within the industry at large.

After an afternoon of technical breakout sessions, it was time to have some fun. Members gathered to participate in a CSR and teambuilding activity in which they separated into teams to decorate shoes. Team themes included Rock & Roll, Disney, USA, and Travel. Teams competed to have the best collection of designs, and the best presentation of their collections to the judges. After some creative encouragement from the bar, members got to work collaborating and preparing their pitch to the judges, with the USA team taking home first place. At the end of this event PrimeGlobal was able to donate 95 pairs of new shoes to the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission.

Finally, members attended the Afterglow Party complete with glow sticks, arcade games, carnival style refreshments, and fun until late into the evening.

The next morning, although moving a little slower, members were as engaged as ever. During Tuesday’s Offshoring Panel, attendees heard from a combination of member firms and outsourcing providers about relevant trends; best practices for success with clients, in-house staff and offshore talent; addressing security concerns; where to find outsource resources for a variety of practice and more.

With the rest of the day made up of various break out sessions, members were able to connect with speakers to discuss critical insights brought forward during presentations. All in all, members left with new friends, new insights, and new drive to tackle the upcoming busy season.