Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
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22 May 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com BRIDGING THE GAP By Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP Get Intentional About Innovation in Your Firm B u t y ou r l i s t pr ob a bl y d id n't include many (if any) accounting groups, right? However, many frms in our profession are commited to innovation: innovation that leads to a new k ind of success. Innovation and growth are directly linked, and it shou ld be no su r pr ise t hat t he most successf ul accounting f irms com m it foc us, t i me, energ y, a nd money to innovative services, pro- cesses, and technology. Tese frms focus on what can be done tomorrow — rather than what must be done to pay the bills today. The Epiphany Fallacy I n no v a t ion i s not ne c e s s a r i l y a momentary epiphany that comes to a v e ne r a ble i nd i v idu a l a s m a ny think, although it certainly can be. More li kely, however, innovation represents a process of connecting the dots based on hindsight, insight, and foresight. In a 20 05 Stanford speech, Steve Jobs of fered, " You can't connect the dots looking for- ward." His point was, I believe, that if we think about innovation only in terms of the future, always looking forward for ideas, hoping they show t hemselves tomor row, we m iss a huge body of knowledge going forth from where we have been and where we are today. My t a k e i s t h at w e s hou ld b e f o c u s i n g o n r e a l i n n o v a t i o n , embracing a nd enter ta in ing sub- s t a n t i v e i d e a s t h a t c o m e f r o m piec i ng toget her k nowledge a nd issues from our past, our present, and our hoped-for future to create somet h i ng new a nd i mproved to move forward. The Maintenance Trap Innovation requires an investment of time and money as well as a will- ingness to fail, or at least to make a nd perhaps to ta ke a m isstep to u lt i mately move on. T hese ideas m ay r u n c ont r a r y to w h at mos t accounting frms desire — low cost and low risk. But times are changing, and it might be time to think about changing it up, not to merely fall into t h e m a i n t e n a n c e t r a p o f w h a t worked last year and the year before. Such a backward-looking plan might not be the best recipe for success in this economy, not the best path for grow th and for mov ing your f irm forward. Let me then suggest some simple steps to steer more focus to innovation: • Dedicate time and money to innova- tion • Communicate (w ith words and actions) that it is ok to fail, to stumble • Separate innovation initiatives from maintenance projects The Innovative Team Just as innovation is not about an unexplained revelation that comes to us, it's also not about think ing in isolation. Te most innovative ideas t y pica l ly come i n a col laborat ive env i ron ment made up of severa l p e o p l e : s e l f , t e a m , p e e r s , a n d experts. Te think ing of the group is almost always more powerful and impactful than the think ing of any si ng le i nd iv idu a l . Da r w i n Joh n, former FBI CIO, once said, "If two of you have the same opinion, then we don't need one of you ." T h i s com ment represents a n ex t reme, b u t i t d o e s h i g h l i g h t t h a t r e a l innovation requires multiple per- spectives. Intersectional innovation is a term that describes collabora - tion between multiple disciplines to solve a problem or improve a solu- tion. In CPA frms, the two areas that h ave h ad t he bi g ge s t i mpac t on innovation over the last 20 years are frm administration and technology. T h e s e f u n c t i o n s s e e t h e f i r m's operations from a macro level and a re i n t he best posit ion to brea k d o w n s i l o s a n d b r i n g t o g e t h e r f unctional areas for collaboration and innovative thinking. CPA Innovations W h i le CPA f ir ms probably won't a lway s develop i n novat ions t hat rival the likes of the iPhone/iPad or Google Glass in terms of hype, there is a long list of innovations that have transformed our profession over the years. A nd the frms that have been leaders in these areas have recog- n i z e d a n ad v a nt a ge a nd g re ater success. Here are just a few innova- tions that CPA frms are currently addressing: • Technology—Automation, Digitiza- tion, etc. • Services—Advisory Services/Trusted B u s i n e s s A d v i s i n g , Fo r e n s i c Accounting • Fir m Management— Cor porate Governance Model, Value Billing • Marketing—Specialization, Niche Marketing • Processes—Lean Six Sigma Promote Team Innovation Geting intentional—being delib- erate and willful—about promoting innovative thinking is the frst step. So how do you do this? Several of the most innovative frms we work with have set up a formal avenue to col- lect new ideas from all areas of their f i r m s , a nd t he y h a v e r e w a r d e d individuals who contribute the " best ideas." We do this at Boomer Con- sulting, Inc. Every month, we ofer a contest wherein our team members submit new thinking on how we can i mprove processes, s ystems, a nd ser v ices. Each mont h, we rev iew submissions and select a winner who is recog n ized a nd receives a n ice stipend and formal recognition. Tis system, a simple yet elegant one, has created a pipeline of new thinking, and several of the submited ideas have already been implemented. Te biggest challenge we have is keeping up with all the great ideas, which is a fabulous problem to have. Te next time you think you can't be innovative because "we're a CPA frm," think again. A nd then again. L eadersh ip a nd a w i l l i ng ness to ma nage r isk a re a must . Ta ke a n intentional approach, and your frm can add "innovation" to your list of descriptors. 22 May 2014 t www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com Jim Boomer is a shareholder and the CIO for Boomer Consulting , Inc. He is the director of the Boomer Technology Circles™ and an expert on managing technology within an accounting frm. He also serves as a strategic planning and technology consultant and frm adviser in the areas of performance and risk management. In addition, Jim is leading a new program, Te Producer Circle, in collaboration with CPA2BIZ and the AICPA. jim.boomer@cpapracticeadvisor.com Q uick! Tink of an innovative business. Apple? Twitter? Google? Dropbox? eBay? Absolutely. cpa_22_Boomer.indd 22 5/7/14 9:00 AM