Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/528834
4 June/July 2015 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com By Gail Perry, CPA, Editor-In-Chief FROM THE EDITOR You Can Be the Accounting Firm of the Future Future-thinking frms are expected to embrace cloud technology, allow staf to work remotely and on their ow n schedule, run their business from their smartphone, use social media efectively, be accessible to clients through text messaging and online chat, embrace real-time accounting and for ward- think ing adv isor y ser v ices, have an interactive website where clients can share documents through a secure portal, provide a challenging and pro- vocative work env i - ronment where Mil - lennials will advance quickly and feel com- for t a ble , a nd s top t r ac k i ng t i me a nd instead bill for services based on the value of those services. T h a t p a i n t s a beautiful picture of a n i r va na-t y pe place w h e r e , f r a n k l y , e v e r y o n e w o u l d probably like to work. It's the geting there that's the problem. I see a major div ide occurring in the accounting profession bet ween frms that are striv ing for that glorious f uture where their adv isor sk ills are prized and the commoditized compli- ance work is passed of to non-profes- siona ls who oversee sof t wa re pro- grams, and frms that are puting their foot down and tak ing the position that they've been doing just f ne for the past 50+ years, thank you ver y much, and don't need to change, or at least not ver y much. If you're a flm buf, you may recall the famous line in Blazing Saddles, "We don't need no stink ing badges." Actually, if your f lm " bufness" goes back f ur t her, you m ight remember "We don't need no badges" from Te Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Te line w a s v e r y f u n n y i n B l a z i n g , a bit humorous and slightly worrisome in Trea sure, but it 's dow n r ig ht sc a r y when you apply it to accounting frms t hat procla i m, " We don't need no stink ing frm of the f uture." C a r e l e s s p e o p l e j o k e a t t h e accounting conferences about how the "old school " f i r ms w i l l fade away, you nger h ip f i r m s w i l l t a ke t hei r business, and good riddance to the old accountants who don't want to change. A lot of younger members of the profes- sion are actually salivating over that scenario. But for the most part, key members of the accounting profession are doing their best to help frms move forward so they can stay competitive and, more importantly, ofer the best possible service to their clients. T he tool s a re av a i lable for a ny accountant or accounting f rm that wants to change, grow, and become more like that future frm. Accounting nirvana is not out of reach. — Gail Perry, Editor-in-Chief Follow me on Twiter at @gaperry I 'm w r i t i n g t h i s f r o m t h e Ca l i f o r n i a Accounting and Business Show and Con- ference in Los Angeles, where the over- whelming theme of the two-day event is "Te Firm of the Future." Tree diferent keynote addresses over the two days focused on this topic. 4 J u n e / J u l y 2 0 1 5 • w w w . C P A P r a c t i Gail is the Editor-in-Chief of CPA Practice Advisor and a CPA. She is the author of over 30 books (including "Mint. com for Dummies" and "QuickBooks 2014 on Demand") and she maintains a small tax practice. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism fom Indiana University and studied accounting at Illinois State University before starting her professional career at Deloite. Gail is the former publisher and editor-in-chief at Ac- countingWEB and is a former columnist for the Indianapolis Star newspaper. She can be reached at Gail.Perry@cygnus.com 800-547-7377 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com The opinions given by contributing authors are their own and are not the opinions of our staff. 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