cpas weigh in on the profession’s biggest, toughest problems.
even the smallest gains resolving these gargantuan issues could pay big dividends.
join the survey here.
which issues are most in need of new, creative thinking?
(check all that apply.)
67% retaining good people
48% work/life balance
46% keeping up with technology
46% recruiting new talent
46% streamlining operations
42% anticipating change
40% working from anywhere
38% generating new opportunities
38% growing a new generation of the profession’s leaders
35% planning for succession
33% developing new products/services
27% managing client/boss expectations
25% meeting salary expectations
25% adopting new marketing ideas
23% change management
23% public perceptions of the profession
21% cutting costs
21% managing regulatory changes
21% globalized challenges and/or opportunities
19% staffing shortage
19% coping with economic changes
source: bay street group llc
verbatim responses…‘quote, unquote’: if you could “snap your fingers” and solve just one big challenge — or seize just one big opportunity — what would it be? and why?
identified by:
sector
size of office
position
and name, if volunteered
staff entering the profession. this would lay the foundation for meeting a number of the items above with energy and new thought processes.
public accounting
11 to 50
senior executive/partner/cfo/controller
a way to stay current with all the email.
business or industry
more than 500
senior staff/general management
as a consultant i see many different types of paperless audit software packages, some are better than others, but all seem to have at least one thing or function that is great. if i were to act on one big opportunity, it would be to create a new paperless audit package that has all the great functions of the packages currently on the market as well as some upgrades. then you would have the best of the best and more in one paperless package.
cpa/consultant
51 to 100
manager – internal audit consulting
brent mcclure, cpa
be open for new ideas
public accounting
1 to 10
managing partner/ceo/coo/sole prop.
communication which increase productivity & creativity.
business or industry
11 to 50
senior staff/general management
communication. the harder we try to be better communicators, the worse it seems to get.
not-for-profit
51 to 100
senior executive/partner/cfo/controller
cut down on administrative time. have a hard time getting administrative staff to think of change, to design systems that take advantage of time saving features.
public accounting
1 to 10
managing partner/ceo/coo/sole prop.
develop a marketing plan that will continue to increase clients lost as as result of attrition. client retention.
public accounting
1 to 10
managing partner/ceo/coo/sole prop.
everyone working virtual
public accounting
51 to 100
senior executive/partner/cfo/controller
foreign exchange rate between the u.s. dollar and the euro. why? because we purchase 80% of our finished goods/raw materials in euros.
manufacturing
101 to 500
senior executive/partner/cfo/controller
get all subsidiaries globally on one erp and reporting package overnight.
business or industry
more than 500
senior staff/general management
hire the best and compensate above average so we spend less time on details and more time on big-picture ideas.
monica glenny
president
datacraft, inc.
rockford, il
how to get middle managers to accept new procedures and innovative ideas for auditing. there is a medium of comfort that those above you and below the major forces possess that is unshakable
james kane
auditor
dhs office of inspector general
oakland, ca
i wish i had the ear of the secretary of the us treasury, the aicpa president and the iia president. i don’t have all the answers, but simple answers about how to improve the value external and internal audit provide to investors are being missed. in my opinion it is because history and power are too invested in having financial audit remain the center of the audit universe, when in reality it is only one appendage of the total value we should add. it is a little scary that investors base financial decisions on the temperature (external audit and fs’s) of an organization and not the full body scan (governance and management control assessment/ratings.)
i would simply highlight the inordinate reliance on the fs’s. even sox which tried to add the right value used financial audit as the center of the universe…
dan clayton
senior manager
chan healthcare auditors
tucson, az
i would have to say my wish is to put humanity back into mankind. it is peace on a global scale and love, kindness and civility at the local level. life is far too short to lose the opportunity to value each other. i plan to seize the opportunity to make our workplace a place where we value each other and every one of our team members and hope that they play that forward – to their friends and family and pretty soon the world will be a better place!
tom hood, cpa
ceo
maryland association of cpas
towson, maryland
i would like to improve the customer service within our office.
marcelo berthin h.
financial analyst
usaid/bolivia
la paz
i would solve the problem of promoting from within. it seems that our company always looks outside the walls for new talent leaving inside talent frustrated and looking for another job.
project manager
granite construction inc.
watsonville, ca
providing good medical insurance benefits to all employees at a reasonable cost.
accounting services manager
flying j
ogden, ut
strategy for successful expansion into european union in place.
business or industry
1 to 10
mid-level staff/internal audit
stop technology & regulation changes for 6 months so that i can catch up.
public accounting
1 to 10
managing partner/ceo/coo/sole prop.
the paperless office. very costly to implement.
public accounting
1 to 10
managing partner/ceo/coo/sole prop.
learning and education support service
dries oosthuizen
pricewaterhousecoopers
south africa,johannesburg
to maintain stable employee base–without it the learning curve goes on forever and creativity really doesn’t flow
business or industry
1 to 10
managing partner/ceo/coo/sole prop.
unlimited capital – because we have only opportunity in front of us, limited only by the resources of money and time.
public accounting
1 to 10
managing partner/ceo/coo/sole prop.
work/life balance – it is extremely difficult to manage time when there are a lot of pressures involved in your profession.
nhing b. reyes
senior manager
ernst & young
saipan mp 96950
wow, good question! administrative duties and “professional reading” to keep up-to-date take up lot of my time. it would sure be nice to cut that time without hiring someone to do it all for me. and even they couldn’t do the reading!
dawn jessee
owner/president
dawn j. jessee, cpa, pc
richmond, va