IMGCAP(1)]For those unaware I have resigned from my post as Editor in Chief of Accounting Technology, as well as technology editor of Accounting Today and I wanted to offer some final thoughts on the world that I have covered for the better part of the past 12 years.
I would like first to take the opportunity to say that, while Accounting Technology will continue in very capable hands, this will be the final Tech Take. I would also like to personally thank all of our loyal readers for making Accounting Technology the success that it is, and will continue to be upon my departure.
The world of accounting-related technology has changed dramatically from when I first learned about who Intuit was, what an ASP meant and what exactly accounting software did. At the time, of course, much of the technology was still confined to the desktop, but as we know this is a dwindling area for basically all business technology. So what have we learned?
For one, accountants by and large are still cautious about new technology and will likely remain that way for the foreseeable future. This isn’t to say that more firms and individual CPAs aren’t adopting new technology, in fact they are more so than when I first started. But what it’s going to take for them to truly “cross the chasm” as it were is what they’ve always needed: trust.
This trust is built over time, it’s word of mouth, it’s examples from their colleagues and even competitors that “hey, this stuff actually works well” and “look what I can do with my practice or for my clients now.” In short, case studies. This is one of the reasons I started building case studies for the technology section of Accounting Today and archiving them on the Accounting Technology site.
Accountants don’t need another sales pitch, they want real life examples of how what they use can improve specific areas of their practice and, where applicable, even make them or save them money as well as their clients. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?
In the end, vendors of accounting-related technologies need to be patient. They need to cultivate relationships with accountants, keep them in the loop on what they are doing and where applicable form partnerships. Don’t ask them to sell, they’re not salespeople but it may, in the end, happen organically.
And for channel partners of accounting-related technology vendors (gosh that’s long-winded, but I didn’t want to use the V’ word), they are realizing that the nature of their business has changed pretty dramatically as well. No longer are they resellers of anything, they are as CPAs are, trusted advisors. As such, how they refer to themselves and market who they are to clients needs to change as well. I am personally hoping this happens sooner than later because rebranding as we all know takes time, but it is a necessary change.
On a final note, I simply want to say that I have truly enjoyed getting to know some of you personally over the years and I will miss that connection. I do hope you, all of you, continue your support of Accounting Today and Accounting Technology, by remaining loyal readers. We have always strived to keep our content informative, useful and even newsworthy.
It’s been an honor and pleasure to be a part of this publication. Farewell.
