Rita Keller, an award-winning and widely respected voice to CPA firm management, is uniquely positioned to help CPAs and their teams face rapid and significant change.
“To make an embarrassing admission, I like video games. That’s what got me into software engineering when I was a kid. I wanted to make money so I could buy a better computer to play better video games – nothing like saving the world.” – Elon Musk
I am posting this because Caseware was one of the products that enabled our firm to go completely paperless many, many years ago. We started that paperless journey in 1999.
Here is their message:
As part of our commitment to support and drive transformational change in the accounting and audit industry, we have evolved our brand.
Our new brand is not just a new look and feel, it is our dedication to helping our customers work more effectively, gain deeper insights and see further along the road that leads to change for the better. It is our promise to you that we will be with you every step of the way on your journey to transform insights into impact.
Welcome to the new Caseware!
Computers themselves, and software yet to be developed, will revolutionize the way we learn.
“Once a new technology rolls over you if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” – Steward Brand, Writer
Every other year the CPA Firm Management Association does a survey of its membership relating to what firms are using relating to technology.
It addresses things like the most used tax software, most used practice management software, and others. It also disclosed that 68% of respondents are in the cloud.
When asked when firm respondents believed that firms would run entirely online without on-premise servers, 33% of respondents estimated it would happen in the next three to five years, while 32% thought it would be less than three years.
“I think that technology is much more mysterious to the people using it than, say, the automobile was. This isn’t an original observation, but a lot of the smart devices people rely on now really do feel like magic to a lot of us.” – Author: Charlie Jane Anders
Firms are finally beginning to see some progress in clients adapting to technology. Clients are (although it has been slow) finally accepting a copy of their tax return via SafeSend and other digital methods.
My clients and other firms I know are still often offering a paper copy if a client requests it. Maybe it is time to stop this practice. The world is becoming more digital.
If your firm is to grow and prosper, it has to have some standards and reap the benefits of the expense they spend on technology. In these times of difficulty finding workers, technology helps you get more done with fewer people. Give your clients a “next year warning.” Something like, “Next year we will not be furnishing paper copies.”
As with almost everything inside a CPA firm, there will be some exceptions – but PLEASE limit the exceptions. If a client is elderly, ask permission to send their return to a relative who can assist with printing. Most computer-adverse older people have someone who helps them navigate technology.
Will you lose a few clients? Probably. But when they go to another CPA firm they will find that firm also delivers only digital copies. (That’s my dream, anyway!)
“There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity.” – Douglas MacArthur
In January, I listened to a webinar presented by Roman Kepczyk about the findings of a recent technology survey conducted on behalf of The CPA Firm Management Association. It is the fourth comprehensive Information Technology survey tailored specifically to member firms with the goal of identifying the applications, products, and processes utilized by peers.
The survey was conducted in December 2021 to determine what information technology firms would be utilizing in 2022 and compared to the results from previous surveys where appropriate. This survey further highlighted the unique nature of CPAFMA member firms which tend to be medium and larger-sized firms.
If you are a member, you can get the complete results via the CPAFMA website. It’s worth becoming a member just to get benefits like this survey.
Here are just a few bullet points I jotted down during the web presentation. When it comes to CPA firm technology knowledge, I always listen to and trust Roman.
162 firms participated. 43% were multi-office firms.
Only 19% host their own.
63% us RightNetworks or another integrator.
Firms are providing dual, over-sized monitors rather than three or four smaller ones.
Most pay a stepend to staff for mobile phone costs ranging from $30 to $50 per month.
60% do centralized scanning.
33% use individual scanners.
68% use cloud versions of practice management software.
There is much, much more in the full survey results. I hope this gives you a brief snap-shot of what I heard during the webinar and encourages you to read the entire findings.
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon
They are changing the CPA Exam again. It is shifting to put an increased focus on technology. July 1, 2021 is when this shift in the Exam will take place.
From Accounting Today: As the accounting profession evolves to meet today’s needs, the Uniform CPA Examination is also evolving to reflect these industry changes. On July 1, 2021, the CPA exam is shifting significantly to put a heavier focus on technology, digital mindsets, data analytics, and the other skills that newly licensed CPAs need to succeed. Candidates preparing to take the CPA Exam must take these updates into consideration.
I wonder how many CPA partners could pass the exam if they had to take it in 2021. I have often heard partners joke about it (meaning they couldn’t pass it now, let alone after July 1).
Study while others are sleeping, Work while others are loafing, Prepare while others are playing, and Dream while others are wishing.
“The best way to enjoy your job is to imagine yourself without one.” – Oscar Wilde
So many CPA firms have been planning how to return their employees to the office. The, not once long ago, open office layout that was so popular is now a thing of the past. Accounting firms don’t have to worry about that, they never made the switch to an open office anyway. Private offices have always been the dream of up-and-comers in accounting firms.
Private offices for everyone doesn’t seem to be a very workable plan either. Think futuristic and maybe follow some of the ideas Google is implementing. Google’s first office was a cluttered garage (like many tech start-ups).
Here are some of the things Google is doing:
Encourage (but not mandate) that employees be vaccinated before returning to the office.
Over the next year, they will try out new office designs.
They are designing “Team Pods.”
Meeting room concepts like Campfire where virtual employees will be joined with in-person employees (check out the article to see a picture).
In some areas, around the world, Google is building outdoor work areas.
Employees can return to their permanent desks on a rotation schedule to ensure that no one is there on the same day as their immediate desk neighbors.
There’s more! Read the full article here and see all the pictures. Be sure to watch the video of the balloon wall! I simply can’t visualize that in a CPA firm.
What is your plan? Don’t feel like you have to make a sweeping change all at once. Like Google, experiment with various options over the next six months or so. Keep your team informed and involved in the experiments. Be creative (and caring).
Many advisors seem to recommend the same tax automation strategies no matter what the size of your firm. Johnston suggests that one size does not fit all.
Did you have to send your administrative team into the office to scan documents so the staff could work remotely? This happened at many firms and put the admin team at risk for COVID.
In the article Johnston covers:
What is the right tax document automation?
What tools are most effective, provide the highest ROI, or are easy to miss?
Decide the right thing for you, your firm, and your clients.
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
Accounting firms have been faced with introducing a lot of new technologies recently. Some of it has been in almost an emergency mode.
But think back to how a new technology task was rolled-out BEFORE you were faced with COVID. I have observed that the technology team in accounting firms and the accountants speak two different languages.
Maybe the new technology task is something simple like how to log-in and work remotely. The IT team carefully put together a lengthy and elaborate email to explain how to do it. Simple.
Because the accountants didn’t quite understand all of the detailed instructions in the email, they emailed back with questions. The tech team answered, another email and another answer…. another email (of course “to all”) and another answer.
After about five or six back-and-forths, most people will just quit reading the emails.
Anytime you are implementing a new policy or procedure, whether it is about technology or tax processing, it takes more than an email. Communicate in person. Invite small groups of people to be trained face-to-face. You can do this using Zoom for your remote workers.
When you are all back in the office and can meet in larger groups, have the person responsible for the new tech, tax, or office procedure lead the session and answer all questions. Again, it takes more than an email.
I was training to be an electrician. I suppose I got wired the wrong way round somewhere along the line.
“You make different colors by combining those colors that already exist.” – Herbie Hancock
Two “works” are becoming one – Right Networks has acquired Darren Roots’ organization, Rootworks.
This combination will be of interest to probably hundreds (or thousands) of firms using these organizations.
Here’s a quote from Root whose organization boasts 700 member firms – –
“We’ve been growing rapidly over the last several years, with over 700 member firms today,” Darren Root said of Rootworks. “And we’ve been evolving on the technology side. We provide a business model for the modern firm, and we help educate firms for that business model; but we also have a platform that helps accountants organize and grow that firm. Being able to leverage Right Networks’ long history of solid security and infrastructure and customer service will greatly benefit our member firms.”
