Accounting Today – Are Remote Partners the Future?
- Although they’re still relatively rare at 5-15% of firm leaders nationwide, remote partners are becoming more commonplace.
- The growth of remote partners is being driven by the normalization of partners working remotely, as well as demand for talent outpacing a shrinking pool of accounting professionals.
- This trend reflects how firms are increasingly hiring based on talent and fit rather than geography, which is enabled by advancements in collaboration technology.
- Remote partners can expand a firm’s geographic coverage and bring expertise in new niches, which benefits smaller firms in particular.
- Small firms can attract remote partners from big cities by offering lifestyle advantages, while large firms can draw talent from smaller towns.
Accounting Today – Becoming a Remote Partner
- Promotion to partner is often a matter of both providing value and being seen providing that value.
- Some partners differentiated themselves by building out new practice areas, coaching and mentoring staff, and building relationships with virtual coffees with colleagues.
- For remote partners, it can be valuable to visit the firm’s headquarters at least every quarter to make in-person connections with firm leaders.
Accounting Today – The Highs and Lows of Remote Partners
- A risk of having remote partners at your firm is that clients may become more connected to remote partners than the firm, especially if the partner is the firm’s only presence in that market.
- Maintaining a consistent firm culture with remote partners requires a proactive approach, such as annual retreats, regional gatherings, and virtual events.
- Firms must navigate bureaucratic and regulatory issues when taking on remote partners from different geographies, including payroll, taxes, and state-level rules, and differing regulations for CPAs.
- However, despite the related challenges, remote partners offer strategic advantages to firms amid the talent shortage.
Accounting Today – Remote Partners Open Up New Markets
- Remote partners can help firms expand into new niches and new geographic areas, which can help increase firm growth without the need for a physical office.
Accounting Today – The Rise of the Remote Partner
- Allowing remote partners at your firm can help you retain firm leadership who would otherwise leave, such as when their spouse’s job requires them to move to another state.
- The day-to-day work of remote partners is substantially the same as their onsite counterparts, with the main differences being more online meetings and fewer office management responsibilities.
- However, remote partners need to be more intentional about maintaining connections with their team and colleagues compared to those working in an office.
Accounting Today – Voices ‘Advisory as a Replacement’ Can Dramatically Scale Your Practice
- “Advisory as a replacement,” involves completely replacing your firm’s compliance services with high-quality and high-margin advisory services.
- Under this business model, firm owners spend half their time servicing clients and half their time finding new clients.
- However, the ultimate goal of this business model is to become a sought-after firm that offers the best possible advice for clients due to its specialization, which results in needing to turn some clients away due to demand exceeding supply.
Accounting Today – Voices AI Evolves for CFOs and Accountants
- Some use cases for AI include:
- “Forecasting of customer demand or revenues [and] the detection of patterns such as fraud or money laundering.”
- “Matching methods to detect which invoices and payments belong together, especially in cases of partial disparity.”
Accounting Today – Voices AI and the Move to Holistic Client Services
- Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the accounting profession, enabling firms to more easily and effectively provide proactive and personalized advisory services.
- The integration of AI into traditional accounting services marks a significant advancement, enhancing accuracy, speed, and efficiency.
- AI empowers firms to offer higher-value services by automating routine tasks and allowing accountants to focus on strategic, consultative functions.
- Value-based pricing is crucial for successfully transitioning to performing more advisory work, as advisory services are based on perceived client value rather than billable hours.
Accounting Today – Voices Art of Accounting: How Do You Feel Tax Season Went?
- While tax season is challenging, it provides opportunities to assess staff, to identify leaders, and to determine if changes are needed in your firm’s “systems, procedures, or personnel.”
Accounting Today – Voices Poor cash flow can sink any business
- AI can help improve cash flow management by analyzing past payment patterns, client behavior, and economic indicators to predict customer payment propensity.
- Bringing together accounting, operations, billing, and sales workflows and data, along with smart AI use, enables organizations to boost cash flow and make wise financial decisions.
CFO Dive – 70% of CEOs Feel Ready to Deliver on Responsible GenAI
- A majority of businesses have taken steps to ensure responsible generative AI adoption.
- Many organizations are planning significant investments in generative AI over the next year.
- CEOs believe generative AI is crucial for gaining a competitive advantage.
CFO Dive – Controllers hunt for workarounds to ‘continuous’ reporting, accountant shortage
- Although controllers are facing increased demands from regulators, investors, and company leaders, talent shortages in accounting and finance make it challenging to meet these heightened requirements.
- Therefore, some controllers are outsourcing work and using AI to automate routine tasks like accounts payable and receivable.
CFO.com – 73% of Accounting Firms Not Using AI: Report
- New data from Rightworks reveals nearly three-quarters of accounting firm leaders are not using AI in any way.
CPA Practice Advisor – Attracting and Retaining Clients Starts with Tech Expertise
- Small and midsize businesses increasingly prioritize technology expertise when choosing an accounting firm.
- SMBs expect their accounting firms to understand the technology they use and stay updated on the latest solutions.
- 83% of SMBs would consider retaining a new firm if their current one had trouble answering questions about their technology.
- Therefore, accounting firms can benefit from assessing their technology needs, researching tech solutions, and incorporating the right tools into their tech stack.
CPA Practice Advisor – How Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing the CPA Practice
- “Embracing innovation, particularly the transformative power of AI, is key to ensuring long-term success in the accounting profession.”
CPA Practice Advisor – Many Hiring Managers Ask Illegal Questions During Interviews, Survey Finds
- “A Resume Builder study that surveyed 1,000 U.S. hiring managers found that one in three hiring managers say that they knowingly ask illegal questions.”
- The study highlights the need for greater awareness and adherence to legal guidelines in the hiring process.
CPA Practice Advisor – Most Accounting Firms Are Shying Away From Using AI—For Now, Survey Finds
- 73% of accounting firms surveyed are not currently using AI technology.
- 69% reported being only slightly or not at all knowledgeable about AI.
Future Firm – The 4 Goals of Your Discovery Calls
- The four goals of your firm’s discovery calls with prospective clients include the following:
- Scope Assessment – Thoroughly understand the client’s needs, required work, and timeline to create an accurate proposal and avoid scope creep.
- Value Identification – Ask questions to uncover what the prospective client values most to position yourself for maximizing prices.
- Fit Evaluation – Determine if the client’s personality aligns with your ideal client profile by observing their behavior and responses during the discovery call.
- Sale Advancement – Take proactive steps to move the sales process forward, such as scheduling a follow-up call to review the proposal together.
- Other considerations include the following:
- Identification of Client Preferences – Recognize that each client has unique preferences; some may strongly dislike certain tasks (e.g., bookkeeping), which can impact their willingness to pay higher prices for those services.
- Red Flag Monitoring – Pay attention to potential red flags during the discovery call, such as a client becoming irritated by the length or depth of questioning, which may indicate a poor fit.
Future Firm – Buying an Accounting Practice: The Complete Guide
- Relative to starting from scratch, buying an accounting practice offers a variety of benefits including:
- An established clientele, which allows you to focus on other critical aspects of the business
- An existing firm reputation and credibility in the market
- An acquisition of experienced employees, which allows you to avoid needing to hire all staff from scratch
- However, buying an accounting practice may not be the most cost-effective route to firm ownership due to the following challenges:
- Some clients may not appreciate the change in ownership, which can require you to find new leads
- “It’s not easy to start an accounting practice from scratch.”
Going Concern – Accounting Firms Will Not Be Leading the AI Revolution
- A recent survey reveals that accounting firms are slow to adopt new technologies like AI.
- Nearly 60% of respondents identified their firms as slow adopters of new technologies.
- However, firms that consider themselves more advanced in tech adoption reported increased revenue per employee.
Going Concern – Weekend Discussion: So How Was Tax Season?
- During the most-recent tax season many practitioners raised prices, implemented stricter onboarding procedures, and turned away clients.
- Mainstream media acknowledged the difficulty clients faced in finding tax preparers this year, which is a departure from their usual lack of attention to the accounting sector.
- Plante & Moran, PLLC offers free Saturday daycare for employees’ children during tax season, a tradition the firm has practiced for nearly 20 years.
Rosenberg & Associates – How to Manage the Productivity of a Remote Workforce
Some tips for managing the productivity of a remote workforce include the following:
- Provide Necessary Tools and Technology – Equip remote employees with essential tools like multiple monitors, webcams, and software to facilitate efficient work and collaboration.
- Define Success and Productivity Measures – Clearly communicate expectations for remote staff, focusing on output quality rather than just billable hours.
- Implement Core Working Hours Policy – Establish mandatory working hours for all employees to foster collaboration, meetings, and mentoring, while communicating the benefits.
- Allow Flexibility in Working Hours – Permit remote staff to work non-traditional hours, as long as productivity and quality are maintained, to prevent burnout.
- Conduct regular check-ins with staff – Touch base with remote employees at least once a week to monitor progress, workload, and address any challenges.
- Hold Staff Accountable for Progress – Encourage remote workers to come prepared to discuss their accomplishments and plans during check-ins, promoting accountability.
- Adopt a Comprehensive Management Approach – Combine strategies like providing technology, setting expectations, offering flexibility, and maintaining communication to maintain a productive remote workforce.
