{"id":80689,"date":"2020-11-30t11:30:54","date_gmt":"2020-11-30t16:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=80689"},"modified":"2021-02-04t09:27:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04t14:27:00","slug":"covid-brought-us-more-and-better-client-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2020\/11\/30\/covid-brought-us-more-and-better-client-communication\/","title":{"rendered":"covid brings more and better client communication"},"content":{"rendered":"

ppp and cares: big opportunities to be trusted advisors.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by carrie steffen<\/i><\/p>\n

the year 2019 seems like a lifetime ago and yet, as i reflect on the year it was, it strikes me that some of the trends we saw clients embrace positioned some firms to pivot more quickly in 2020 than others.<\/p>\n

i saw an increased investment in people development \u2013 particularly the soft skills that become differentiators. areas like relationship development, communication, curiosity, and generosity took their rightful place among the areas in which firms invested in developing their people.
\n
\nalong with that, firms continued to invest in programs to better understand the \u201cwhat\u201d clients want from their relationship with their firms, especially as transitions to next-generation leaders continue. technology adoption continued at a steady pace, including more widespread adoption of cloud accounting. all of this is related to practitioners\u2019 evolution to become business advisors to clients.<\/p>\n

however, the biggest shift i witnessed in 2019 was that firms took steps to explore what it means to have a growth leader at the highest levels in firm leadership and to reorganize existing marketing and sales resources into a department focused on proactively driving growth forward vs. operating as a reactive service bureau \u201csiloed\u201d from the rest of the firm. it\u2019s an exciting mindset shift that has implications for everything from client service processes, to hiring and retention, to training and development, to compensation, to technology and more. firms recognizing the value of the growth function and embracing it as a catalyst for their future success, as opposed to overhead to be managed, will be the firms to thrive in the future.<\/p>\n

this mindset shift was a challenge for firms and partners that hesitate to let go of the old paradigm of growth, which is that marketing is a nice-to-have expense. the firms that made the most progress in this area are courageous enough to admit that they don\u2019t have all the answers and sought the advice and experience of others to support their journey.<\/p>\n

2020 has been the most challenging, interesting, and, dare i say, exciting year in my 25 years working with the public accounting profession. the profession has adapted in so many ways in such a short timeframe.<\/p>\n

obvious changes such as new deadline schedules, remote work for both employees and clients, and audit disruptions were only some of the areas in which firms were forced to pivot. but there were also less obvious areas such as<\/p>\n