The Practice Connection brings together accounting firm owners, industry specialists and experienced leaders to share practical ideas, real-world experience and different perspectives on building stronger firms.
Throughout the retreat, speakers and facilitators will lead sessions, share experiences, facilitate conversations and help create opportunities to learn from both their expertise and the people in the room.
Kim Mintenko
Founder, Kim Mintenko Coaching | Executive Leadership Coach & Speaker
Kim Mintenko is a leadership coach and former executive director who helps founders, executives, and senior leaders see clearly enough to move forward with conviction. Whether they’re navigating growth, transition, difficult decisions, or the everyday complexity of leadership, Kim helps leaders strengthen how they lead themselves so they can create stronger teams, healthier organizations, and more sustainable results.
Drawing on neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and practical leadership experience, Kim brings a practical, human-centered approach to leadership. She uncovers the invisible patterns that shape how leaders think, communicate, and lead. From there, leaders gain the clarity to make better decisions, navigate difficult conversations, and lead with greater intention.
Her core message is simple: You are the strategy. How you lead yourself shapes everything else.
Session: Clear Decisions, Stronger Teams, Better Results
Michael Anderson
Director | Founder & CEO at 365 Technologies Inc.
Michael Anderson is the founder and CEO of 365 Technologies, a Canadian-owned managed IT services provider based in Winnipeg. He works with small and mid-sized firms across Manitoba and Saskatchewan to keep their technology secure and reliable so their teams can focus on the work that matters. He speaks regularly on the technology risks facing professional services firms, from AI and cybersecurity to the practical decisions that land on a partner’s desk.
Session: 5 Things Every Accounting Firm Owner Should Be Thinking About
Jean-Guy Talbot, FCPA, FCGA
Founder and CEO, RêveNew Practice Management | Founder, Talbot & Associates Chartered Professional Accountants
Jean-Guy believes that happiness is a choice you make every morning. With over 30 years of experience in public accounting, he helps firm owners work less, increase profits, and build more fulfilling businesses.
He founded Talbot & Associates in 1991, growing it from a one-person basement operation into a firm with nearly 90 team members and offices across Manitoba and Ontario. After stepping down as CEO, he now leads RêveNew Practice Management, mentoring accounting firms, drawing from his own experience, leadership lessons, and proven strategies for running a profitable and balanced business.
Session: Improving Practice Profitability: A Case Study
Session: Practice Benchmarking and Practice Health
Mike McLenehan, CPA, CGA
Founder and Owner, McLenehan and Associates Chartered Professional Accountants
Mike helps accounting firm owners balance practice management with strategic growth. With firsthand experience growing his own firm from a one-person startup into a multi-seven-figure business with two Winnipeg locations, he provides practical guidance that combines business strategy, technology, and content marketing to drive client engagement.
Session: Growth For Accounting Firms
Session: The AI-Augmented Accounting Firm
Tamara Koreker, IEA Cert., B.Ed/Music
Coach, Educator, and Speaker | Enneagram Specialist | TEDx Speaker
Tamara helps professionals and teams uncover the “why” behind their behaviours, improve interpersonal dynamics, and develop stronger leadership. With a background as an elementary music teacher, she spent over a decade motivating students, parents, and colleagues, discovering that self-awareness is the foundation of every successful leader.
Now specializing in the Enneagram, Tamara equips individuals and teams with practical tools to understand what drives behaviour, foster healthier relationships, and unlock their full potential.
Session: What’s Really Driving The Decision?
Jane Helbrecht, CPHR
Leadership Development and People and Culture Expert | Certified Leadership Coach | TEDx Speaker
Jane helps leaders and HR professionals thrive by providing practical tools and strategies that inspire long-term change. With over 15 years of experience across tech, finance, manufacturing, and consulting, she brings real-world insight to leadership, engagement, and organizational culture. Jane is also a TEDx speaker, sharing her expertise with audiences on a global platform.
Her sessions focus on helping leaders build habits for lasting impact, navigate evolving workplace dynamics, and foster inclusive, high-performing teams. Jane’s practical strategies and engaging approach ensure attendees leave with actionable tools they can implement immediately.
Session: Building Your Employee Experience & Future of Work Philosophy
Eric Robert, FCPA, FCGA
Partner, Rawluk & Robert Chartered Professional Accountants Inc.
Eric helps clients and organizations achieve financial clarity and confidence. With 20 years of experience in public practice, he has served clients throughout Western Canada and specializes in working with not-for-profits and charities in Winnipeg and Manitoba, providing auditing services and guidance on bookkeeping and software systems to make operations more streamlined and effective.
With a talent for explaining complex concepts clearly, Eric combines his accounting expertise and passion for education to help individuals and businesses make informed decisions and achieve financial success.
Session: AI Didn’t Sign the Engagement Letter. You Did. Ethics, Professional Skepticism and Accountability in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Howard Wirch, FCGA, FCPA
Managing Partner, Accent Chartered Professional Accountants
As Managing Partner at Accent, Howard is a firm believer in taking care of not just your own mind and body, but also giving back to your community. Awarded his FCPA in 2017, he served on the CGA Manitoba and CPA Manitoba Boards, participating in National and Provincial committees. This involvement continues by instructing seminars for the profession, delivering presentations for the CPA Financial Literacy Program, and is an active part of his local Dauphin Rotary Club for over 20 years.
After completing the Ironman Canada triathlon in 2008, he went on to participate in various triathlon, half-marathons and marathons and enjoys cycling, swimming, and running in his spare time.
Session: Best Practices Exchange
And Your Host
Kristine Tubiera
Event Strategist | Producer | Speaker | Community Builder
For more than two decades, Kristine has worked with and for the accounting profession, creating professional development programs, events, and initiatives that bring practitioners, firm leaders, and industry experts together to connect, learn, share ideas, and grow.
Her experience includes roles with CGA Manitoba and CPA Manitoba, developing practitioner-focused learning and practice management initiatives through RêveNew Practice Management, and working with accounting associations and membership organizations to develop programming and curriculum for their members.
Kristine created The Practice Connection with the belief that some of the best learning happens when practitioners and industry experts come together to share experiences, exchange ideas, build relationships, and turn what they learn into action in their practices.
LMVA Consulting 