Accounting Today – 59% of Accountants Use AI to Save About 30 Hours a Week
- Accountants are higher than average in both AI adoption (59%) and hours saved each week (~30) compared to other professions.
- AI and automation can help accountants achieve better work-life balance.
Accounting Today – Accounting’s Past — and Future
- Over the past 30 years, the accounting profession has seen significant changes including:
- The shift from a partnership to a corporate management style in firms,
- The rise of alternative practice structures, and
- The increasing importance of staff.
- Work flexibility, including remote work options, has become a major factor in firm operations, especially since COVID-19.
- Technological advancements have greatly impacted the profession, from the disappearance of outdated tools to the rise of offshoring and video communication.
- Mergers have become more common, leading to the emergence of numerous national firms with multiple offices across the country.
Accounting Today – Tech news: CohnReznick launches digital advisory practice
- “Top 25 firm CohnReznick has established a new digital advisory practice [led by Shawn Gilronan] that will help businesses navigate technology and data-related opportunities and leverage digital innovation to:
- Streamline operations,
- Manage cost and risk, and
- Accelerate growth.”
- “Key digital service offerings include:
- AI and automation consulting,
- Cloud application solutions,
- Data and analytics, and
- Digital strategy and transformation advisory.”
Accounting Today – Voices: The Path to Profitability: Upsell to Advisory
- Accounting firms can become more profitable by upselling advisory services to existing clients.
- Advisory services are in high demand and “have much higher margins than traditional transactional or compliance work.”
- Clients value advisory services because they want guidance on growing their business.
- Firms that offer advisory services can retain clients longer and spend less time, effort, and money on sales and marketing.
- “In the minds of your clients, advisory services are more valued because your clients want (not just need) someone like you (whom they already trust) to guide them on having a growing and successful business.”
Accounting Today – Voices: What Should Accounting Firm Owners Call Themselves?
- Popular titles for accounting firm owners include:
- Founder,
- Owner,
- President,
- CEO, and
- Managing Partner.
- It’s important to choose a title that accurately reflects your position and complies with any legal or regulatory requirements.
- Consulting an attorney can help ensure you follow the rules and avoid misleading anyone about the firm’s structure or your authority.
Boomer Consulting – Develop Your Team’s Soft Skills with Training and Mentoring
- Soft skills are critical for accounting firms as the profession shifts towards more of an advisory role.
- Clients seek advisors who can help them navigate complex business and personal finance challenges.
- Targeted training and mentorship programs can help address the growing need for soft skills.
- Essential areas to focus on include:
- Communication skills,
- Leadership development,
- Emotional intelligence, and
- Time management.
- “Clients are no longer just looking for someone to record transactions and keep them compliant. They want an advisor who asks questions, listens to their goals and challenges, and helps them solve problems and grow.”
CPA Practice Advisor – Mastering Labor Challenges Can Drive Growth for CPA Firms
- The accounting profession faces a talent shortage due to declining numbers of accounting graduates and increased demand for accountants.
- Gen Z, the first generation of true digital natives, will make up 30% of the workforce by 2030 and have different expectations about work-life balance and technology.
- Firms can leverage technology to adapt to the changing landscape, meet recruiting challenges, aid in retention, and drive growth.
- Firms need to reframe their perspective toward professional development by building employees’ skillsets through technology and encouraging mentorship opportunities.
- Investing in technology, creating a culture of development, fostering work-life balance, and promoting collaboration will drive firms into the future, better-serving customers and instilling passion among employees.
- “Let’s face it, the accounting profession has developed a bad reputation – toiling through long hours chained to a desk, crunching numbers, deciphering archaic tax codes and grinding out tedious tasks, all for lower starting pay and heavy licensing requirements.”
Future Firm – Accounting Technologies: The Ultimate Guide
This week Ryan Lazanis at Fututure Firm released a blog post “about the top accounting technology in the profession along with some tips and tricks on how to leverage them” including:
- Cloud Computing
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
- Blockchain Technology in Accounting
- Big Data and Data Analytics
- The Metaverse
- Mobile Accounting Software
- No-Code Development
Future Firm – Offshore Accounting: Everything You Need to Know
- Here’s the difference between Offshoring, Outsourcing, and Onshoring:
- Offshoring – Moving business processes and in-house teams to another country, usually with lower labor costs, while maintaining full control over financial data processing.
- Outsourcing – Engaging the services of a third-party organization and trusting them to manage data as they see fit, regardless of the organization’s location.
- Onshoring – Reassigning work to one or more other geographic areas within the same country, often using freelancers or outsourced teams. This can avoid linguistic, cultural, and foreign policy challenges.
- In this blog post, Ryan Lazanis provides the following “reasons why offshoring may be a viable option for your firm:
- Cost-Effective
- Access to a Global Talent Pool
- Asynchronous Operations
- More Time and Focus on Other Processes
- Scalability
- Lazanis also shared seven best practices and strategies including:
- Hire the Best Talent You Can Afford
- Implement Multiple Communication Channels
- Apply Comprehensive Security Measures
- Respect Cultural Differences
- Avoid Micro-Managing Across Time Zones
- Focus on Results, Not Timesheets
- Consider a Local Manager
Going Concern – Research: Seniors Give Better Review Comments If They Think the Staff Will Stick Around
- New research finds that audit seniors provide better feedback to juniors if they expect to work with them again.
- Reviewers typically adopt a less developmental approach for international preparers but maintain a more developmental approach for recurring preparers.
- A developmental approach leads to more coaching through review comments and greater detection of errors.
- Reviewers’ assessments are driven by error identification, not by how much they professionally develop the preparer.
- “However, the biggest effect we saw was that coaching was much better if senior auditors thought the staff person was likely to work on the client again—regardless of where they were located.”
- “In cases where senior auditors seemed unlikely to work with a staff person again, they sometimes didn’t even let the staffer know they’d made a mistake—the senior auditor just fixed the mistake themselves without mentioning it.”
Ignition – Hiring an Operations Manager: How to Prepare Your Firm for This Role
- An operations manager can help accounting firms streamline processes and improve efficiency.
- Hiring an operations manager allows firm owners to focus on strategy, client satisfaction, growth, and work-life balance.
- Operations managers maintain key procedures, create efficient processes, and ensure smooth day-to-day operations.
- “We’re solopreneurs, and a lot of times we’re wearing lots of hats. That’s not efficient, obviously, especially when your work and your service comes at such a high dollar.”
Ignition – Rethinking Your Pricing Strategy to Create Greater Value and Profitability for Your Accounting Firm
- Research from Ignition indicates accountants tend to prioritize clients’ needs over their own business health, which puts their business at risk and leads to burnout.
- Some common fears inthe accounting industry include:
- Changing prices,
- Asking for upfront payment, and
- Aaying yes to all clients’ needs without concern for oneself or the firm.
- Increasing prices, and the confidence to implement price increases, are crucial for correcting a firm’s margins and enhancing service and profitability.
- Anecdotal evidence suggests increasing pricing could be the most immediate and impactful strategy for a firm’s growth.
- A well-considered pricing strategy reflects the true value of services, attracts the right clients, and supports financial stability.
- Traditional caution against raising fees may be a byproduct of accountants undervaluing the services they provide.
Ignition – What are Advisory Services Offered by CPA Firms?
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firms have a major opportunity to offer advisory services in addition to tax and compliance work.
- Advisory services position firms as trusted partners and can provide a consistent stream of additional business.
- 95% of tax professionals believe their clients want financial advisory services.
- Offering advisory services typically results in practices seeing 16% growth and allows firms to charge more for their expert services.
- Clients are willing to pay 50% more for an accounting package that includes strategic advisory and consulting services.
- Financial accounting advisory services include guidance on:
- Investing,
- Wealth management,
- Cash flow planning,
- Forecasting, and
- Budgeting.
- Client advisory services include:
- Tax strategy,
- Planning,
- Benchmarking,
- Business goal setting,
- Strategic planning, and
- Setting and analyzing KPIs.
- Advisory services differ from consulting services in that advisors work with clients on a long-term basis, while consultants work on a limited scope for a shorter time.
Journal of Accountancy – Comfort in the Uncomfortable: One-On-One Meeting Strategies That Work
- Regular one-on-one meetings between managers and employees can help address burnout and improve workplace well-being.
- Here are some actionable insights for one-on-one meetings:
- Frequency – Hold one-on-one meetings at least once every two weeks to maintain a timely feedback loop.
- Courageous Questions – Ask questions that you may be afraid or hesitant to ask, as they often lead to the most valuable insights.
- Why did you join this company?
- How do you view our team’s leadership?
- Are you happy here? Do you feel like you belong?
- What, if anything, is getting in the way of you doing your best work?
- Psychological Safety – Create an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns openly.
- Identifying Systemic Issues – Use one-on-one meetings to uncover higher-level factors that may contribute to burnout for both employees and leaders.
- Embracing Change – Encourage employees to become comfortable with change and view it as an opportunity for reinvention and growth.
Public Accountant (Australia) – Checklist: Your two-week website overhaul
- This week the Australian website Public Accountant provided a ten-day checklist to overhaul your firm’s website, including one action to perform each day.
- According to Public Accountant, the key pages for your firm’s website include:
- Homepage
- About Us page
- Services page
- Contact Page
