Consulting & Advisory

San Francisco – September 15, 2026 -- The Globee® Awards has opened nominations for the 18th Annual Globee® Awards for Innovation, also known as the Golden Bridge Awards®, seeking organizations and professionals that have applied artificial intelligence to produce measurable business results.

Program targets AI achievements across enterprise functions

The awards accept submissions covering generative AI, AI agents, enterprise AI, machine learning, and intelligent automation, alongside sector-specific applications in healthcare, cybersecurity, financial services, manufacturing, and research. Categories also extend to customer experience, data and analytics, accessibility, employee enablement, decision support, and product and service innovation.

Louisville, Ky. -- September 15, 2026 -- Soar Higher Leadership and Business Coaching has launched the SOAR HIGHER LEADERSHIP program, a training course designed to address leadership skills gaps created by rapid AI adoption in the workplace. The company is enrolling students for September and October cohorts.

Retired Air Force Colonel builds curriculum from combat and corporate command experience

Jason Ballard, CEO and Founder of Soar Higher Coaching, developed the program after retiring as a Colonel from the U.S. Air Force following more than 30 years of military combat and leadership service. Ballard subsequently led 12 companies that received industry awards, drawing on that operational track record rather than academic theory to structure the course content.

Washington and London – September 15, 2026 -- Delta Consulting Group, Inc. has acquired Osborne Partners Ltd., creating a combined advisory platform of 179 professionals across eight global offices. The transaction closed on August 14, 2026, though financial terms were not disclosed.

Combined firm operates from Washington, DC to Singapore

The merged entity maintains main offices in Washington, DC; New York; Toronto; Madrid; London; Mumbai; Dubai; and Singapore. Osborne Partners will operate during the transition period under the name Osborne Partners, A Delta Consulting Group Company.

Ettlingen – September 14, 2026 -- German restructuring advisor Ulrich Kammerer of UKMC has outlined six concrete criteria executives can use within the first sixty minutes of a consultation to distinguish qualified crisis advisors from those offering false reassurance during liquidity emergencies.

Kammerer, who has personally overseen more than 400 insolvency and restructuring cases over the past decade and secured over €300 million in assets during those proceedings, warns that choosing the wrong advisor risks missed legal deadlines and personal liability for managing directors. He previously led an IT services company with roughly 700 employees through a protective shield procedure, emerging debt-free after eight months and one week.

San Diego – September 14, 2026 -- Only 9% of 1,000 C-suite executives surveyed by the Return on AI Institute report realizing significant value from generative AI, a gap Scaled Agile, Inc. (SAI) aims to address at its SAFe & AI Summit San Diego, running September 14-18 at the Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center.

Survey data exposes an operating-model failure, not a technology gap

SAI, provider of the SAFe business agility framework, points to the Return on AI Institute findings as evidence that the barrier to AI ROI is organizational rather than technical. The company argues that enterprises lack the operating models needed to govern AI initiatives and convert pilot projects into measurable business outcomes.

Tampa – – September 14, 2026 -- Greg DuPey, owner of a Pillar To Post Home Inspectors franchise in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, has been named a 2026 Franchisee of the Year by the International Franchise Association (IFA), the trade group's highest honor for individual franchise owners.

DuPey grew his territory nearly fourfold since buying an existing franchise in 2012

DuPey, a former foodservice operations executive, and his wife Theresa acquired the Morrisville franchise in 2012. Under their leadership, the business expanded to nearly four times its original size, according to Pillar To Post.

DuPey rebuilt the business after a severe roof-fall injury left him in a body cast

Shortly after taking ownership, DuPey suffered a serious back injury falling from a roof. He continued working through recovery, and the couple steered the franchise through the injury and subsequent economic downturns while continuing to scale operations.

St. Louis – September 14, 2026 -- Esquire magazine has featured T.A.C.T. franchise owner David Lesaffre in a profile titled "The Trauma Cleaners," documenting his expansion into three franchise territories amid rising demand for professional biohazard and hoarding remediation services.

Franchisee builds three-location operation across two states

Lesaffre, operating alongside Leanne, expanded his T.A.C.T. franchise footprint to include T.A.C.T. 48, T.A.C.T. AZ, and T.A.C.T. Fort Worth, according to the company. The Esquire feature examines how the pair navigated high-stakes scenarios spanning biohazard recovery, vehicle decontamination, and large-scale hoarding management since completing training in St. Louis.

Richardson, Texas – September 14, 2026 -- Trey Thomas-Piazza, the first-ever franchisee of Service Experts, has been named a 2026 Franchisee of the Year by the International Franchise Association (IFA), marking a milestone for the residential HVAC company's year-old franchise system.

Service Experts launched franchising in 2025 after three decades as a corporate-owned business

Thomas-Piazza, who previously served as General Manager of the company's Tulsa market after years in maintenance, installation and operations leadership, became the system's inaugural franchisee when the program launched. His transition gave Service Experts an early test case for refining franchise infrastructure while maintaining continuity for employees, customers and vendor partners in the market he already managed.

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler – – September 13, 2026 -- Tax advisory firms lose measurable time every day when ten employees handle the same task in ten different ways, according to tax advisor Ken Keiper, technical director of coaching system Novist. The inefficiency stays invisible during normal operations but surfaces immediately when a colleague covers for an absent staff member or a new hire takes over a case.

Boynton Beach, Fla. – September 13, 2026 -- The Inner Circle has named Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, a Pinnacle Professional Member within its Inner Circle of Excellence, citing more than three decades of tax, finance and business advisory work at Fishman Associates CPAs.

Fishman built his practice after joining his father's firm in 1989

Fishman assumed control of the New York- and Florida-licensed firm in 2001, following 12 years at the practice founded by his father, Manuel. The firm provides tax preparation, accounting and financial consulting services to individuals, entrepreneurs and corporations.

Accounting Today named Fishman among its Top 100 Most Influential People three times

The trade publication recognized Fishman in 2019, 2024 and 2025. Forbes Magazine named him one of the top CPAs in Florida in 2026, while the International Association of Top Professionals awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.