MGI North America Western Circle Meeting & Wine tasting tour

MGI North America members from the western region and the International Executive Committee gathered earlier this month on the 8 & 9 January in Sacramento, California, USA.  Hosted by member firm RINA accountancy corporation, the group looked at possible new ways to engage with each other, heard about new MGI initiatives and discussed issues facing them in their market. 

Delegates also enjoyed a wine tasting tour at a Californian based winery, which produces Nello Olivo award winning boutique wines.

Topics discussed:

• MGI Worldwide and MGI North America new initiatives
• Issues facing the profession and sharing of ideas
• Member recruitment and incentive for existing members
• Updates on MGI North America marketing initiatives
• Updates from MGI North America International Tax Group

Highlights

• Wine tasting tour of the Shenandoah Valley of California
• Sampling of award-winning boutique wines and dinner
• Mentoring session on the principles of marketing from venue proprietor Nello Olivo
• Lessons learnt, ideas shared and genuinely a great time

Initiatives from MGI Worldwide

Clive Bennett talked through efforts MGI Worldwide is making with delivering value to members, member recruitment and where network implementation is going next.  Plans to deliver greater value include enhanced marketing materials, a webinar series and continued development of MGI website's knowledge hub. A re-orientation video will also be produced that members can share with staff to increase the reach of MGI beyond delegates.

Issues facing the profession and sharing of ideas

Joe Tarasco and Nancy Damato talked through initiatives for MGI North America, as well as the state of the profession. They spoke about the fact that the continuing consolidation of firms is having an impact on all associations. This can make recruiting new firms more difficult, and so members should keep an eye out for any quality firms that can be approached - especially as referring new members can reduce your annual fees.  Nancy also went through the initiatives coming through the North American marketing committee, which you will hear more about soon.

The group also discussed current staffing concerns, sharing ideas that many firms found interesting. One of the regular themes during this discussion was the idea of continuous recruiting instead of just hiring when the need arises - allowing firms to grab talent as soon as it becomes available.

Mentoring session from Nello Olivo

We also enjoyed a ten-minute lesson on marketing that translates to professional service providers by the venue's proprietor, Nello Olivo, while enjoying dinner. He let us in on some stories about his wine and his business that translate into some great lessons.

To hear more about the lessons learnt from Nello Olivo read the Marketing Tips leant by Ed Fahey, MGI Chairman and President at host firm RINA accountancy corporation - to be shared with members soon.

Thank you to our delegates who attended:

RINA accountancy corporation
Kirsch Kohn & Bridge LLP
Hellam Varon
McLean Bartok Edwards
Wright Ford Young
RLT
Milsted Langdon
Midgley Snelling

MGI North America is part of MGI Worldwide a global network of accounting firms with over 5,000 professionals in 321 locations worldwide. 

For more information about this meeting email [email protected]