Accounting practice leaders need breakthroughs to stay ahead.
But they’re often too busy, too caught up in the demands of running a business, to make those breakthroughs possible.
When TOA Global hosted TOAcon 2025, the challenge was to inspire those breakthroughs and also do better than our previous exclusive client conferences. Those had earned glowing reviews, especially about our inspirational speakers, so that was a tall order.
We are delighted by our participants’ feedback. They found the stories, research, and advice that our speakers shared both moving and useful.
It helped that TOAcon took place in the beautiful Shangri-la Boracay Resort and Spa. From November 30 to December 2, our participants stepped back from their everyday routines and environments and reflected on their own growth.
Here is a glimpse of their TOAcon experience.
TOAcon: It’s unlike other accounting events
“Who you believe you are is the blueprint for your entire life.” It’s essential to shift your mindset and free yourself from self-doubt, especially when you lead others.
Remember: “The better you get at something, the more invisible your expertise becomes to others and to yourself.”
Remind yourself of the value of what you’ve already done—this is part of having a sense of agency—so you can lead in a way that inspires your team.
Remember: “The better you get at something, the more invisible your expertise becomes to others and to yourself.”
Remind yourself of the value of what you’ve already done—this is part of having a sense of agency—so you can lead in a way that inspires your team.
Dr. Shade Zahrai,
leadership alchemist, author and executive coach
"All problems are opportunities to be innovative.”
So, the next time you observe a process that isn’t working, or you learn about one in your interactions with people, or your customers or team get frustrated, recognize that opportunity.
Give yourself at least five minutes a day to think about what you can do better. (And break out of habitual thinking!)
So, the next time you observe a process that isn’t working, or you learn about one in your interactions with people, or your customers or team get frustrated, recognize that opportunity.
Give yourself at least five minutes a day to think about what you can do better. (And break out of habitual thinking!)
James O’ Loghlin
TOAcon 2025 emcee and speaker
JC thanked our clients for a transformative year and for growing with TOA Global.
The year had its challenges, which included protecting both business continuity and employee wellbeing after three quakes and two typhoons in just six weeks in Q4.
But the year offered more wins, from industry awards to investments in IT and security, as well as improvements in learning and community-building within TOA.
The year had its challenges, which included protecting both business continuity and employee wellbeing after three quakes and two typhoons in just six weeks in Q4.
But the year offered more wins, from industry awards to investments in IT and security, as well as improvements in learning and community-building within TOA.
Jeremy Clements
TOA Global CEO
The corporate athlete’s world has an equivalent to overtraining. It’s burnout.
“If you went and grabbed a polar bear and put them in the desert, they wouldn’t do well. We are that polar bear. We don't do well when we sit down all day, eat energy-dense food, don’t interact with real people, don’t see any natural light, and don’t move our bodies.”
Whenever you spend five minutes a day thinking about challenges in your business and innovative ways you can solve them, "do it moving, do it walking in nature, even better with someone. When we move our bodies, oxygenated blood gets to our brains, and we just become smarter. We get dumber the more we just sit down and ruminate about a problem.”
“If you went and grabbed a polar bear and put them in the desert, they wouldn’t do well. We are that polar bear. We don't do well when we sit down all day, eat energy-dense food, don’t interact with real people, don’t see any natural light, and don’t move our bodies.”
Whenever you spend five minutes a day thinking about challenges in your business and innovative ways you can solve them, "do it moving, do it walking in nature, even better with someone. When we move our bodies, oxygenated blood gets to our brains, and we just become smarter. We get dumber the more we just sit down and ruminate about a problem.”
Olly Bridge
peak performance specialist
Advice for leaders: ‘Tell the truth’
Dom began his presentation with the story of how one of the world’s biggest pizza chains went from near-bankruptcy to massive success, by committing to being honest and telling the truth.
“The single most important conversation we can have in any organization anywhere in the world right now is how we harness the power of making truth happen. Telling the truth is a behavior. You're either doing it or not.”
"When you get this right, it fundamentally transforms the quality of your individual life. It massively and sustainably improves the performance of organizations, and it gives us the best chance of building societies that work.”
“The single most important conversation we can have in any organization anywhere in the world right now is how we harness the power of making truth happen. Telling the truth is a behavior. You're either doing it or not.”
"When you get this right, it fundamentally transforms the quality of your individual life. It massively and sustainably improves the performance of organizations, and it gives us the best chance of building societies that work.”
Dom Thurbon
change resilience strategist and author of the upcoming book “To Be Honest...” (2026)
Building the life and business of your dreams requires intention and a decision to change. You can’t just drift.
"I always looked so far ahead. Has anyone ever set a five-year goal and then achieved it in two or three years? I was always running this race, always trying to do better. But I didn’t actually design the life I wanted."
He challenged attendees to think clearly about their goals, how they want to feel, and why it all matters.
"I always looked so far ahead. Has anyone ever set a five-year goal and then achieved it in two or three years? I was always running this race, always trying to do better. But I didn’t actually design the life I wanted."
He challenged attendees to think clearly about their goals, how they want to feel, and why it all matters.
Nick Sinclair
business coach and TOA Global Founder
To turn simple interactions into lasting relationships, leaders need to be consistent, look after team members, and give their team clarity (e.g. “This is what we’re promising to deliver to our customers”).
“Your next breakthrough doesn’t start when you look externally. It starts internally. Your team cannot deliver what they don’t live themselves. If your team has a terrible experience at work, how are they going to show up for your customers? How are they going to show up for each other?”
“Your next breakthrough doesn’t start when you look externally. It starts internally. Your team cannot deliver what they don’t live themselves. If your team has a terrible experience at work, how are they going to show up for your customers? How are they going to show up for each other?”
Jason S. Bradshaw
customer experience (or CEX) transformation expert
Emma talked about how her skydiving accident in June 2013 in Switzerland became “the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”
After being told she would never walk again, among her many achievements since then are writing a best-selling memoir in 2022, “The Girl Who Fell from the Sky”, and walking the 2025 New York City Marathon, where she raised $100,000 for the Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation.
Her challenge to everyone: “You don’t have to wait until you nearly die to start living.”
After being told she would never walk again, among her many achievements since then are writing a best-selling memoir in 2022, “The Girl Who Fell from the Sky”, and walking the 2025 New York City Marathon, where she raised $100,000 for the Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation.
Her challenge to everyone: “You don’t have to wait until you nearly die to start living.”
Emma Carey
author
A community for global accounting leaders
Since 2013, TOA Global has helped more than 1,200 accounting practices and teams drive growth on their own terms.
We’ve found and trained the experienced accounting talent they’d been struggling to hire on their own—and connected them to a community of accounting and business leaders with whom they can exchange practical advice.
If you’ve been meaning to build your global accounting team and have the time and headspace to unleash more of your breakthroughs as a leader, we can help. Book a call today.