the goal: admit new partners without bottlenecks.
by kayleigh padar
chris hooper, the ceo and managing partner of accodex, recently redesigned the firm’s business model to respond to clients’ changing accounting needs. the firm operates in four areas: the united states, the united kingdom, australia and the philippines. it is made up of over 50 employees.
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“i started with a small practice in 2011 in australia,” hooper said. “it was 100 percent cloud, fixed fee, global from the get-go. there wasn’t really a need to change those fundamentals.”
the fact that the firm was already technologically advanced meant that further change was a little easier to accomplish.
“there wasn’t really a culture shift; it was hard-wired into our dna from the get-go. to perpetuate it, though, i think vision is the most important value,” hooper said.
despite beginning with a firm that seemed sufficiently modernized, more change needed to occur in the business model area, rather than with the technology.
“instead of running a traditional partnership or corporate structure, we separated the operations from the practice, essentially creating a platform. this allows us to admit new partners without bottlenecks,” hooper said.
to make this model possible, the firm created its own online platform that includes crm, workflow management, client portals and enterprise communications. “this was essential for us to deliver on the platform business model,” hooper said.
almost the entire company operates remotely, without most employees needing to come to a specific office building.
“remote work is essential to scaling globally. that being said, i still believe centralized operations need to be based in a real office. i think it speeds up collaboration,” hooper said.
customer prices are based on the value of their work, although some projects are billed by the hour when the scope is impossible to define.
when prospective clients aren’t comfortable with the cloud technology, the firm simply refers them to other companies that are more able to suit their needs. despite these few prospective clients, the firm’s revenue has consistently grown at a 10 to 20 percent increase per month.
“the awards and accolades we’ve received to date are what i’m most proud of. it is nice to get external confirmation that you’re on the bleeding edge,” hooper said.