Last September I wrote about standing on stage in Dallas, less than 60 days into my role, asking 200 firm leaders when they last felt excited about something. A year later I have my own answer: right now, building Unlock 2026.
This is our fifth annual conference, November 2–4 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, and it’s the first year I’ve had the runway to design the whole thing alongside our leadership, marketing, product, and customer success teams, while building on the best of what we’ve done in years past.
Three days with three different jobs
Monday is for arriving and reconnecting. Welcome reception, no agenda beyond finding your people: the ones you traded notes with last year and the ones you haven’t met yet.
Tuesday is the big room. We open with The firm of 2030, grounded in new survey data from firms across the country, so you can see the trends shaping how you invest, staff, and grow over the next five years. Then product sessions across payments, client experience, practice, and tax, with live demos from the people building them. Firm leaders from the top 100 down to fast-growing regionals join us on stage to talk about what they rolled out, what they’d do differently, and what changed for their teams and clients.
Arianna Campbell, COO of Boomer Consulting, takes on the part nobody wants to talk about: getting your firm to adopt the technology you already bought.
Tuesday night we’re at F1 Arcade. Racing simulators, chef-curated food, good drinks. Last year the welcome reception at The Mexican was where the best conversations happened, so we invested more in that this time.
Wednesday you roll up your sleeves. Workshops, roundtables, and breakouts on AI-native leadership, payments, client experience, integrations, engagement letters, and the build vs. buy decision. Pick your track, go deep with peers who share your problems, leave with a plan. We wrap by 12:30 pm so you can make an afternoon flight.
What last year looked like
If you weren’t in Dallas, this is the one-minute version:
The roundtables were the part attendees kept mentioning, because people were candid about what wasn’t working. Nick Valentini from SAX put it this way: “We all share the same pain points, so exchanging ideas has been very valuable.” Randy Pernicone from Smolin Lupin came back for the friendships.
That’s the thing I didn’t expect in my first year here. Firm leaders show up for the product roadmap and stay for each other.
One more reason to move now
Early bird pricing is $395, down from $645. Rooms at the Virgin are $179 a night in our block until October 1st. Both eventually go away, so register today.
We’re also opening this year to more tax professionals, which was the most common request we got after Dallas. Bring the person on your team who owns the work, not just the one who signs the contract.
The full agenda with session times is coming soon. Register and we’ll send it to you first.
Five years ago this was a small gathering of firms figuring out billing automation together. This November it’s 200-plus leaders deciding what the next version of the profession looks like. Come help us decide.
See you in Vegas.
Nikkei Adeniran is the Event Marketing Manager at Aiwyn, where she designs and delivers events that strengthen relationships, drive growth, and elevate brand presence.
