Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/309054
16 May 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com FROM THE TRENCHES By Randy Johnston Training Trumps Tools You need a learning program! Derek Bok, an atorney and former President of Harvard, is atributed with the phrase, "If you think educa- tion is expensive, try ignorance." We cer t a i n ly note t h is issue i n CPA frms and industry businesses alike. Frequently, simple tasks that would be easy to accomplish in Microsof Ofce or in tools from companies like Wolters K luwer CCH, Tomson R euters, I nt u it or Ca seWa re a re done in a backwards and time con- suming fashion. One of the largest t i me wasters is i nef fect ive use of Microsof Outlook . Properly, ef- ciently and quickly handling email, ca lendar appointments and com- munications with others should be convenient and fast when using this product. Com ing in at a close second is inefcient use of Microsof Word. You may have cler ica l suppor t to s t a r t or f i n i s h a do c u me nt , but electronic review is frequently the easiest and fastest way to ex press your thinking, or add your editing or mod i f icat ions to a doc u ment. Professionals frequently believe that they "know enough" to use the tools, and become blind to the amount of time squandered and the reduction in realization caused by excessive sof and hard hours consumed. Some content of fered t h roug h free webinars and hands-on training prov iders i s too gener ic a nd too sales-laden to apply directly to many o r g a n i z a t i o n s ' n e e d s . S i m p l y lea r n i ng more about Out look or Word will help the most elementary of u sers, but t he more adva nced users need more than basic tech- nologies. Consider the skills needed by each posit ion a nd i nd iv idua l . Tese needs can be scheduled into topics and consolidated into courses t hat ca n be ta ken for CPE (Con- t i nu i ng Professiona l E ducat ion) cred it or si mply used to adva nce one's knowledge. For example, a ta x professional has needs for both entr y level and medium level Excel sk ills such as tables and fash fll. A n audit profes- sional has needs for more advanced Excel sk ill such as Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) queries. Out of the hundreds of Excel features available, there are specif ic Excel skills that can be applied to routine, repe at able c l ient ser v ic e s . E ac h posit ion a nd each person shou ld have a n educat ion pla n. You ca n request a sample learning grid by contact i ng t he aut hor d i rect ly at ra ndy.joh n ston@c paprac t icead- visor.com . Let's cite an a lter nate ex a mple w i t h t h e Q u i c k B o o k s d e s k t o p product. A s most of you probably know, the ability to create a Chart of Accounts without account numbers is a usability feature for end-users that makes it "easier" to use Quick- Books. However, accounting profes- sionals need and use account num- b e r s . S o m e i n d u s t r i e s , s u c h a s he a lt hc a re , h av e re c om me nde d cha r t of accou nt st r uc t u res. For consistency, efectiveness and ef- ciency, having a consistent chart of accounts across an entire client base that can be used for any new client s e t u p g r e a t l y s i m p l i f i e s t h e onboarding process f rom a f irm's perspective A ND the client gets the b e n e f i t o f a n a c c o u n t n u m b e r structure that works efectively for their business. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, a s i g n i f i c a n t nu mber of profe s s ion a l s do not know about the easy way to clean up account numbers while preserving transactional detail in Quick Books using the Excel export feature. Tis feature has been in the product for y e a r s , a nd it a l lo w s t he u s e r t o change account numbers and then re-import them into Quick Books. W hen questioned, accounting pro- fessiona ls ra rely k now about t he feature, much less how to use it. Tis becomes more of an issue when the f i r m creates repor ts or per for ms c ompi l at ion s , re v ie w s or aud it s u s i n g t h e s e Q u i c k B o o k s f i l e s bec au se of t he compl ic at ion s of mapping the client data to programs like Engagement CS, CCH Engage- ment or Ca seWa re. Bu si ness ta x r e t u r n s c a n b e p r e p a r e d m o r e q u i c k l y w he n c h a r t o f a c c o u nt mapping is done properly. Usef ul repor t i ng a nd mea n i ng f u l d a sh- boa rd s a re ea sier to c reate w it h c o n s i s t e n t a nd p r o p e r c h a r t o f account setup. Unfortunately, every product we encou nter h a s a lea r n i ng c u r ve. Some of us learn quickly, some more slowly, and learners have diferent learning styles. According to the book, Teaching Students Through Their Individual L e a r n i n g S t y l e s : A P r a c t i c a l A p p roa ch , by R it a a nd K en net h Dunn, learners use three modalities: v i s u a l , a u d i t o r y o r k i n e s t h e t i c (physical, hands-on) methods. It is 16 May 2014 t www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com Randy Johnston is executive vice president and partner of K2 Enterprises and Network Management Group, Inc. He is a nationally recognized educator, consultant and writer with over 30 years' experience. He can be contacted at randy.johnston@cpapracticeadvisor.com . M o s t o f t h e t i m e i n t h i s column, discussion of the best or most promi sing technology tools is a pri- mar y source of interest. However, every once in a while a return to fundamentals is needed. One fundamental that has been consistently problematic for all sizes of frms is training. Frequently the need for training is either ignored, put of, or simply done poorly. R arely do we see training done right. Why is that? A TRADITIONAL LEARNING MODEL SAYS THAT LEARNERS USE THREE MODALITIES: VISUAL, AUDITORY OR KINESTHETIC (PHYSICAL, HANDS-ON) METHODS. cpa_16-17_Johnston.indd 16 5/7/14 8:56 AM