Oral title: The Relation Between the X-ray Photon Index and Accretion Rate in the BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey

Oral abstract: The BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS) provides reliable estimates of BH mass (M_BH) and 
accretion rate (L/L_Edd) for a large, unbiased sample of low-redshift AGN. This allows us to revisit several previous 
findings that link the multi-wavelength appearance of AGN with key SMBH properties, such as M_BH and L/L_Edd. I will 
discuss the relation between L/L_Edd and the shape of the broad-band X-ray SED, namely the photon index. Contrary to 
previous studies, we find very little evidence for such a relation. This has important implications for surveys of SMBH 
demographics at high redshifts.