Every day accountants hear of software products touted as essential — even indispensable — for any well-run accounting firm, and to not adopt them is to risk being left in the dust of all those who do. As the number of such ostensibly vital solutions grows, leaders struggle to understand what tools truly are or are not necessary for their practice to survive.
This raises the question, then, of what solutions exactly are necessary to run a firm? Not a great firm or a respected firm or a growing firm but a purely functional one that won't collapse in on itself in the first month. When you remove all the nice-to-haves, all the force multipliers, all the value adds, what's left?
Basically: What is the minimum viable tech stack for an accounting firm? Not in terms of specific brands or products but types of technology needed for technical accounting work and for running the business of the firm itself?
Helping us answer this question are three accounting technology experts who have observed and advised on hundreds, if not thousands, of tech stacks between them. They took the time to leverage that experience in providing Accounting Today some insights into what is truly essential for firms specializing in CAS, tax and audit.
Meanwhile, our experts also weighed in on
This is the first part of our three-part series on Managing Your Firm's Tech Stack. Part 2, on how tech stacks fit into overall firm strategy, is scheduled for Monday. Part 3, which examines tech stack exclusivity vs. agnosticism is scheduled for Tuesday.