preparing for the future will require more face time.
by jeff pawlow
rosenberg map survey
take a look at www.willrobotstakemyjob.com and type in “accountant.” if you select “accountants and auditors” you see that there is a 94 percent chance r2-d2 will be counting cash instead of you sometime soon.
more from the map survey: succession issues stalling some m&a | firms focus on profitable growth, true leadership | survey: many firms in transition | technology playing center stage in cpa profession
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on the tax side? things get even grimmer with a 99 percent chance your job will be replaced by automated systems in the near future.
every year, the authors of the rosenberg map survey ask the industry’s top consultants to share their observations of what they are seeing at cpa firms. specifically, they are asked the following questions:
- what kind of year was 2016? what were the major trends you observed? what were the issues you saw firms struggling with the most?
- 2017 is half over. based on your experiences this year, what are you seeing? what are the major trends? what are firms struggling with and what are they working on as the year progresses?
lest you think this is simply a gimmick, all you have to do is listen to the leadership of the aicpa as they deliver their series of keynotes on the conference circuit. change is coming to the profession, and as the nifty little website states, when you look at the core services that make up the majority of a typical firm’s billings, “we are doomed.”
for the past 30 years, we have practiced in the “map” era – managing our accounting practices to become faster, better, cheaper. at some level, this view sees the cpa firm as a factory – a place where raw materials (our client’s data and information) are refined to produce finished goods (tax returns, financial statements, etc.). we’ve gotten pretty good. so good that the robots are ready to take things over. so what’s a practitioner to do?
you’ve heard the litany of “trusted advisor” for the past several years as the aicpa works to prepare the profession for the disruption to come. we’ve been warned, and if you haven’t begun to pivot your firm in this direction, the time is now. in order to succeed, we need to move away from the “industrial” paradigm of “map” and toward the relationship paradigm that underpins “advisor.”
wondering how to get started? compile a list of your current clients sorted by annual billings from high to low. starting at the top, how many clients does it take to reach 80 percent of total firm revenue?
once you have that list, decide which partners and managers in your firm have day-to-day stewardship for each client, and have them consider the following question: given the importance of this relationship to our firm, who are the key stakeholders at this client and how many times should i be meeting with them each year over and above what they are currently paying me to do for them? these proactive, face-to-face meetings (golf, game, meal, office) are what drive the understanding and intimacy needed to function as that trusted advisor. they allow the practitioner a deeper perspective of the client, and allow them to add value to the relationship based on that understanding.
absent that level of familiarity, you’re just an inefficient robot who is about to be replaced.