stop complaining and start innovating

the pandemic requires new thinking with new business models.

by tamera loerzel

considering the many long-term ramifications from the pandemic on the accounting profession, i would start with a “clean sheet of paper” to position your firm for future success,

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firms today require new thinking, new business models, and new ways of operating, staffing, managing work, and measuring success.

the pandemic has left at least three major changes:

1 – people have had time to reflect and get clear about their priorities this past year, and those priorities have risen to the forefront of the choices they make personally and professionally.

health and safety are obviously priorities that many of us took for granted and that now need to be part of our planning and communications around working in the office, with clients, at team meetings, and at “fun” or social events. your team members – and clients – need to know how you are ensuring their safety.

and it’s not just physical health, but mental health, too, with the rise in burnout and overwhelms people are feeling. it’s been an 18-plus-month-long busy season for many in the accounting profession, and it actually started back in 2019 with the tax reform act and other legislation.

your team members, including partners, are tired, so firm leaders need to ensure you’re planning for and supporting time off (real time off with no email or texting while on vacation), workflow and capacity planning to smooth out the work over time and across team members, and being judicious about new clients and m&a activity so you don’t push your team members or partners over the edge with new clients to serve without new team members to do so.

2 – remote works, and it’s here to stay.

the pandemic proved that remote work works, even in less than ideal circumstances. firms that are embracing remote work and this new blended environment where we have some people working remotely and some in the office will retain more team members than those that force people to come back to the office.

some team members may still feel uncomfortable coming back to the office or have medical reasons or family members they need to consider for not doing so. however, many team members have enjoyed the flexibility and control in their schedules by working remotely.

some have gained back time from the lack of commute, or they feel more productive working from home.

figuring out how to embrace the flexibility of choosing when and where to work – whether your preference is remote, in the office, or some combination of both – and developing “how we work” guidelines in this new blended environment will be key to retaining and attracting top talent.

3 – find the gaps where you are not digital.

the pandemic highlighted how many paper, in-person and inefficient processes still exist in firms and with clients who have not digitized their processes. some firms’ “paper” processes required someone to be in the office during high-risk times during the pandemic, which didn’t send positive messages for their health and safety; and it’s inefficient.

assess your workflow systems to reduce touchpoints and “churn” for who has what, making it electronic wherever you can.

evaluate e-pay, e-signatures, scan and auto-populate for tax, data extraction/auto testing to name a few.

update your remote technology, too, where there are still gaps.

all team members should have video, for example, and their experience working remote should be equal to being in the office.

some firms offered stipends to purchase equipment or high-speed internet, allowing team members to choose how to elevate their personal remote situation.

going forward, firms must:

1 – address the capacity challenge that is pervasive in all sizes of firms and all geographies.

first, stop saying, “we can’t find good people,” or “this is how the accounting profession is.” your “good” people will wonder if you think they’re not good and they hear these messages as hopeless, and that their leaders have given up or are not willing to change.

instead, make changes in your firm to address the capacity challenge and smooth out the big peaks and valleys that come with deadlines and compressed busy periods.

rework your org chart and innovate new positions, such as a tax client coordinator who manages the clients and takes the many tasks from your cpas or other “certified” roles who don’t need to be doing some of those tasks.

pilot fractional employees, offshoring or temporary positions and assign one person to own this process and the people when they come on board, treating them as an employee for onboarding, training, and managing them.

invest in more digital, technology or business analyst roles to expand your data analytics internally and for clients.

2 – with remote here to stay, examine your recruiting strategy to allow for the borderless reach it offers for talent acquisition.

doing so allows you to find talent outside your local geographic market, especially for those specialty technical skills or industry experience you’re probably looking for.

it also allows you to flex as your team members have opportunities to move away, too.

borderless reach applies to clients, too, where you can expand your practice to serve clients outside your local market, allowing you to go deep in industries and access markets you may not have explored before.

caution, though: be sure to stop and redefine your ideal target clients by industry and by service line so your leadership team can be aligned about the “yeses” you are giving to new clients and (finally) culling clients who no longer fit that ideal target client definition.

3 – the pandemic proved that advisory services are expected and needed by clients, almost more than compliance work.

for sure, advisory services are valued more and make a bigger difference for the owners and leadership teams at your clients and how they operate their business, make decisions, and navigate the continual change they have to address.

invest in developing the advisory mindset and skills that many of your partners and team members need to develop. identify those who should focus on delivering those advisory services to your clients and hire to fill the gaps.

don’t wait to have everything lined up to offer these services to your clients. if you’re not providing those services, your clients will seek them elsewhere.

 

posted on december 20, 2021