More ideas for future firms

January 16, 2023 9:00 AM

Legislation, regulation, market demand, new technologies and demographics have traditionally been the most common drivers of change in the accounting profession — but more and more, new ideas are what are reshaping firms. From new business models and innovative approaches to employment and management, to fresh thinking about technology, auditor independence and more, the profession is throwing out new concepts and news more than it ever has.

Our recent feature article covers five major ideas that experts in the profession think will reshape the profession, but the thought leaders we spoke with were full of other ideas, as well, and below we've shared a number that are more narrowly focused, but nonetheless have tremendous potential.

Use different benchmarks

Too many firms benchmark themselves against other accounting firms, but Ron Baker, founder of the VeraSage Institute and a longtime crusader for new models in accounting, suggests something different. Deeming most firm benchmarks and MAP survey lacking in scientific methodology, he recommends benchmarking your firm against companies such as Disney or BMW; that would be more effective, he says, since they have reputations for excellence when it comes to getting customers to come back without lowering their prices.

Think differently

For many, the idea of innovation is tightly tied to tools and inventions — physical manifestations of what's new and more efficient. But Carla McCall, managing partner of New England-based Regional Leader AAFCPAs, rejects that limitation.

"In my mind, innovation is about the ability to think differently. It's not only about technology, but also doing things more intelligently by using new tools," she said. "To improve processes and methodologies, we need to get people to think about what has always been done the same way and how to change it. It's really driven by people who can envision what's possible, and firms must keep up with what's available in terms of new technologies to support them."

"Innovation is staying on top of firm processes, leveraging new methods and technology exceeding client expectations," added Carl Peterson, the vice president for small firms at the AICPA.

Enabling nimble innovation is a key hallmark of the firm of the future, according to Lisa Simpson, vice president of small firm services at the AICPA: "It needs to have a governance structure that enables informed and fast decision-making, and it's only possible when employees feel safe to explore new ideas," she said.

Bring in more viewpoints

"We need to become less homogenous," said George Fackler, Deloitte's US audit and assurance chief strategy officer. He thinks that having multiple practices is a massive asset for the Big Four firm, as it brings a wide range of different types of expertise together — combining understanding of tax and compliance responsibilities with supply chain issues, for instance, to serve a client's needs. Having multiple practices also enhances talent mobility and allows professionals to explore a wide diversity of interests throughout their career.

Fackler believes it's a model that can fit most organizations and that it all comes down to "creating space for thought," along with wondering how one can bring the best parts of their organization together to solve problems instead of siloing.

"Forming alliances and partnerships with key players outside of our organization has certainly been an important strategy," said Fackler. "I think that being open to the ways to access technology beyond traditional big investments in single platforms and creating an ecosystem of partners with like-minded objectives, philosophies, goals and values is key to success."

Look beyond short-term profit

AAFCPAs' McCall believes the real challenge behind innovation comes from the need to take risks and allow people to fail, try and explore. It means renouncing immediate profitability, and while McCall recognizes that that is more difficult for smaller firms, she believes it to be a strategic imperative.

Preparing for the future means investing in new skill sets that may not be in the usual payscale, and McCall says that concepts such as mental health and belonging have become extremely important for employees. People now expect predictability and varied experiences to support their career development.

Stay connected

"The No. 1 skill is being strategic and visionary, to look across the industry and collaborate with your peers to see where the industry is going," said John Roman, CIO at Upstate New York Top 100 Firm The Bonadio Group. "You have to talk to people and put their vision together to keep pushing forward."

Roman believes connections are particularly important for successful digital transformation, with leadership buy-in having critical importance. He says it's important across all tiers of leadership because supervisors should act as mentors to their employees and set a higher standard of professionalism. While they don't provide technical support like an IT team, Roman believes they should go through in-user training with the rest of their employees to support their staff and remain connected.

Communicate constantly about tech

Keeping employees in the loop and communicating with them is also important for an effective conversion. At Bonadio, Roman explains that employees receive regular updates about digital transformation efforts, along with reminders about how it'll benefit the firm, staff and clients. As the firm gets closer to the application date, trainings then get more personalized and the IT team offers additional support to make employees feel like they're part of the process.

When it comes to testing new applications, Bonadio uses a 100-employee focus group to get their input on the user experience and meets frequently with the team to make sure it's ready for the rollout. After implementation, the firm then asks for feedback on feature enhancements and other fields before sending a survey to employees. How did the focus group did in represent your team? How supported did they feel by the IT team? All those questions, along with a study of bounce rates, click-through rates and other metrics gives the company enough information to measure the application's success before sending back the results to users in all transparency.

Keep an eye out

Risk and disruption — to say nothing of new opportunities — are coming at accounting firms and the profession as a whole from all directions. And yet AAFCPAs' McCall noted that a lot of firms don't have risk committees or other groups charged with surveying the landscape to identify what is or may be harming firms, staff, and clients. This kind of early-warning system will make sure you're ahead of the curve, and don't get caught flatfooted by change.