Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
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VOLUME 22, NUMBER 4 MY PERSPECTIVE 800-547-7377 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com Publisher: Jim Baker Executive Editor: M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP Technical Editor: Brian Tankersley, CPA.CITP Editor: Isaac M. O'Bannon Managing Editor: Jill Burnett Associate Editor: Taija Jenkins Columnists: David McClure Doug Sleeter Kristy Short Michelle Golden Randy Johnston Rene Lacerte Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP Art Director: Rhonda Cousin National Sales Manager: Robert Akert Site Manager: Rhonda Dennis Media Production Representative: Barb Evenson Audience Development Manager: Angela Kelty Editorial Advisory Board: Bob Cedergren, CPA.CITP, CISA, CISM, CISSP, CGEIT Chris Fraser, CPA.CITP, CISA, MCP Jason Lawhorn, CPA.CITP Gary A. Masino, CPA Ryan McCowan, CPA.CITP Linda O'Neal Troy Patton, CPA David Primes, CPA.CITP Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP Doug Sleeter Sandra L. Wiley CYGNUS BUSINESS MEDIA CEO: John French CFO: Paul Bonaiuto EVP, Digital: Tom Kohn VP, Human Resources: Ed Wood VP, Audience Development: Julie Nachtigal VP, Technology: Eric Kammerzelt CYGNUS PUBLISHING Executive Vice President: Gloria Cosby Vice President of Production Operations: Curt Pordes Reprints - To purchase article reprints, please contact Foster Printing, Attn: Jill Kaletha, 4295 Ohio Street, Michigan City, IN 46360, 866-879-9144 ext. 168, jillk@fosterprinting.com or 1-800-875-3251, email sales@fosterprinting.com The opinions given by contributing authors are their own and are not the opinions of our staff. All trademarks used are the property of their respective owner. —————————————————— —————————————————— ———————— Practice Advisor, (ISSN #2160-8725 (print), ISSN #2160-8733 (digital); USPS #017-576) is published eight times a year (April/May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December) by Cygnus Business Media, Inc., incorporating two editions known as CPA Practice Advisor and NSA Practice Advisor, 1233 Janesville Avenue, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin 53538. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 and at additional mailing offi ces. Printed in the U.S.A. Send all subscription inquiries or change of address to: Practice Advisor, PO Box 3258, Northbrook, IL 60065-3258. Phone: (877) 382-9187 (toll free); 847-559-7598 (local) Fax: (847) 564-9453 Email: Circ.CPA@omeda.com Subscription Rates: The basic annual rate is $3, based on qualifying associations of 10,000 or more public accountants that may also subscribe for all their public accountant members (certain restrictive covenants apply) for a basic subscription rate of $9 per member for a three-year subscription. One year subscription for all others: USA - $48; CAN $70 GST; INT'L $99 GST #131910168. POSTMASTER, please send address changes to: Practice Advisor, P.O. Box 3258, Northbrook, IL 60065-3258. Canadian address changes to: Canada Post PM40612608. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Practice Advisor, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. A Look Inside the 2nd Annual Thought Leader Symposium T here's nothing quite like spending a couple of days with 25 of the most infl uential thought leaders in the tax and accounting profession. In mid-February, the second annual Thought Leader Symposium launched in Dallas at the Omni Mandalay with a focus on core issues affecting the profession. This group is comprised of seasoned professionals that live and breathe practice management, technology, and best practices everyday…so there's defi nitely something to learn here. T e following represent some key take- a-ways from our discussions: Diffi cult Partnerships—Not all fi rm partners are on the same page. Some are progressive and others…not so much so. T is is not really a new issue, but needs to addressed in fi rms that fi nd themselves falling behind in areas like technology and best practices. Updated Statistics on the Profes- sion—T ere are roughly 140,000 fi rms in the tax and accounting space overall. From this total, about 2,000 are considered large (>25 employees), and the remaining 138,000 are categorized as small firms (>10 employees). There is a flurry of merger activity among the largest 2,000 fi rms, but not a great deal among the remainder. T e "Growing Divide"—T ere appears to a growing divide among what was termed the "Haves" and "Have-nots" within fi rms. T e Haves are those that accept and are engaged with technology, building a mobile workforce, and growing their fi rms. T e Have-nots are those that are sit ing on the sidelines— possibly afraid or don't have the time or know-how to move their firms forward. Thought Leaders estimate the Haves at 15 percent - 35 percent of fi rms. T e rest make up the Have-nots. Stats on Technology Savvy Firms— Group consensus was that about 15 percent of fi rms have no desire to get engaged and move their fi rms forward by implementing technologies such as portals, collaborative accounting systems, and other paperless solutions. If this statistics is on the mark, then the group also assumed that about 25% of fi rms get it while 15 percent of fi rms have no desire (they're just coasting to the fi nish line). T is leaves 60 percent of fi rms that desire to move forward, but seem to be stuck. Perspective on Helping Clients Be Successful—There was also a strong consensus that fi rms are not doing enough to help make their clients successful. It was stated over and over again that we, as practitioners, spend the majority of our time heads down doing compliance work instead of on value-added consulting services for clients. T is type of service is geared toward helping clients implement bet er business processes, updated tech- nology, and other ways to make their businesses more successful. As a part of the T ought Leader Sympo- sium, all participants had the opportunity to hear from a few of the major vendors in the marketplace, including T omson Reuters, CCH, Sage, and Offi ce Tools Professional. Vendors spent a fair amount of time articu- lating the vision of where their companies and corresponding technologies plan to take us over the next few years, and it was all very exciting stuff . From this information, you can rest assured that the rate of change is not slowing down. T e two major themes from vendors involved 1) everything going mobile and 2) moving to the Cloud. So what does all this really mean? It can be summed up in the following bullets: • Small fi rms dominate the profession. • T e future is now. You cannot aff ord to sit around any longer with your head in the sand. • Haves are killing it (that is, they are doing Thought Leader 2012 very well). T ey are growing, becoming more effi cient, and making more money. • We have to start thinking more about our clients' success. I'm worried about this piece because way too many fi rms are not keeping up with their own success...which ultimately aff ects clients in a negative way. Here's the great news…we are planning a series of events this year to help fi rms move forward with confi dence. We not only want to continue to help fi rms that are already harnessing the power of technology and advanced practices, but we are also committed to helping the roughly 60 percent of fi rms that want to move but don't know where to start. So stay tuned, get engaged, and hang on for an exciting 2012. M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP Executive Editor Darren is the Executive Editor of CPA Practice Advisor. He remains in public practice as the principal of Root & Associates, LLC, in Bloomington, Indiana, and is president of his consulting practice, RootWorks. He formerly served on the Board of the AICPA's CITP Credentials Committee and is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Indiana CPA Society. He speaks at dozens of professional organizations each year and frequently serves as a guest lecturer at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. April 2012 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor .CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 3