RSM, the leading global network of audit, tax and consulting firms, held its World Conference in Rome for the first time. From 11 to 15 November, 400 delegates from over 100 countries came together to share ideas and insights on how to create a culture of innovation and how to propose new services to leading middle market companies globally.

International speakers as Garry Kasparov, world chess champion and strategy expert, and Richard Susskind, writer and university professor, expert in technological innovation for the professions, shared their ideas on technological and cultural innovation.

Jean Stephens, CEO of RSM International, said: "We chose Rome as the venue of our global event because, over the course of its long history, many innovators and pioneers have come from Rome and we therefore believe that it can give us inspiration for this year theme, Building NextGen RSM". Jean Stephens added: "Technological changes are testing the usual working methods but we at RSM look to the future with confidence. We work to unleash the potential of our future leaders, empower our professionals with the latest technologies and encourage experimentation to build an increasingly innovative RSM capable of responding to challenges."

RSM World Conference opened with the welcome speech by Rocco Abbondanza and Francesco Gerla, Partners of RSM in Italy, who presented the data that make Italy an indispensable economic partner for those wishing to invest in Europe and the Mediterranean area.

In particular, Rocco and Francesco presented some new and innovative services offered by RSM in Italy, such as consulting to support the digital transformation of Italian mid-market companies, the generational shift and the digitalization of the basic audit activities.