buckle up, buttercup, but remember the choices are yours.
by seth fineberg
accounting firm operations and technology survey
if you’ve been paying attention, albeit sporadically, you’ve gleaned that the accounting profession as a whole – much like small businesses in general – is at a crossroads.
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you’re most likely now in a place where you are, in many ways, forced to decide who it is you are and want to be. you’re in a place where, many of you, just want to survive another year and make the incremental changes (yep, there’s that word again) you all need to get through, survive and maybe, just maybe, thrive.
you don’t want to be beat over the head with “cloud,” “business advisory services” and all of the things you’re not currently doing. what you do want is to be given practical advice from your colleagues and others who have some understanding about getting through the next year, and possibly beyond.
you know why you chose a career in accounting and related functions and you do recognize that it’s quite a bit different from when you started, even if that was only five to seven years ago. i know, i’ve seen it too in the nearly 15 years i’ve observed the profession.
you have questions, your clients too, about the ever-complex tax code, about what services to offer, about the right tech and tools to use to serve clients better, to be more efficient, and – most importantly – to keep pace.
you’re challenged by other firms perhaps doing just a bit more than you are and businesses, even longtime clients, perhaps wanting just a bit more as well.
what has occurred in the accounting profession over the past decade has been fraught with analogies, some of which you may be sick of hearing by now. and as part of a growing firm, you’re probably thinking what you need is not more catch phrases or doomsday scenarios, but practical advice to get through the season and the year to keep your firm afloat.
the fact is – as you’ve probably come face to face with – there are firms in your geography or just out in the market in general, that have adapted to economic and technological shifts a bit faster than yours. they’re more mobile, cloud comfortable and quite possibly more specialized in certain niche markets than you’ve been able to be.
the good news is, it’s not too late and that you don’t necessarily have to “lead” or dramatically change what your firm does to keep pace with these so-called nimble firms. you can indeed survive and even thrive, given the right guidance from those who have been through it.
firms like yours need to make the right, incremental changes and understand what can help you properly compete and offer your clients the trust and level of service they expect. and as you’re likely aware, client expectations have indeed changed and they are looking for more of an advisor in the firms that oversee their financials and even their tax compliance.
but here’s the thing: they’re not always going to come out and ask.
you need to have the confidence that you can tailor even your most basic accounting and bookkeeping services to your clients’ needs. you need to know what tools and insights are available for you to do so, and even to correctly network to get the clients you want.
all of the above just isn’t going to get any easier in the coming year (or years) – not with more changes in policies, in codes, in technology (not the least of which includes blockchain and artificial intelligence such as machines, bots, etc.), or in the global economy.
so just what are you to do? well, to quote what is now an overused parlance of our time: keep calm and (in this case) keep pace.
after all, staying the course seems to be less of an option to remaining in business these days. so, here’s hoping you make the right, incremental decisions this year for the betterment of your practice and your clients.
seth fineberg is managing editor of accountingweb, an online community dedicated to inspiring and informing tax and accounting professionals. he has 25 years’ experience as a business/financial writer and editor, much of which was spent covering the accounting profession from a technology and practice management perspective. he has spoken and moderated sessions at accounting industry conferences and was editor in chief of accounting technology and technology editor of accounting today.