Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/588168
14 October 2015 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com A D V E R T O R I A L Q. Why is moving to the cloud important? A. The cloud isn't a fad. It's not going away. Accountants must adapt to ensure their frm's future success or they risk losing the opportunity to own a long-term, viable business. By 2020, nearly 80 percent of small businesses will be fully adapted to the cloud, up from 37 percent in 2014. We are seeing this shift within Intuit as well. QuickBooks Online subscribers grew 57 percent in our fscal year that ended in July 31, 2015, reaching 1.075 million QuickBooks Online subscribers. That totals well over 2M individual users. Q. Is the cloud safe? A. For years I have heard accounting professionals say they don't want to move to the cloud because they think it isn't as safe as storing fles on a computer's hard drive. Locally stored fles are not any less prone to getting corrupted, being stolen, breached or destroyed. Another common concern I hear is the cost to transition to the cloud. The beauty of cloud technology is that it disrupts the old way of buying IT, which involved large capital investments. Cloud computing is inherently elastic, scalable and pay-as-you-go, so the fnancial risk of moving into the cloud is now so small that it becomes incredibly attractive, compared to the risks of buying IT infrastructure that quickly becomes outdated. Q. Why do accounting frms need to evolve and become Firms of the Future? A. First and foremost, accounting is shifting from computation to consultation. A recent study by Wasp Barcode found that nearly half of small businesses don't think their accountants are proactive enough with advice on how to better manage their business. The era of social, the cloud, mobile devices and the power of data is signifcantly disrupting the accounting industry because these trends offer accounting professionals the opportunity to present more strategic advice to their clients. Q. What makes an accounting frm a Firm of the Future? A. The Firm of the Future understands that the future is online and leverages the cloud to promote greater effciencies, collaboration, time-savings and lower costs. This in turn helps frms meet client expectations and stay relevant. The Firm of the Future is also a trusted advisor, fuent enough in big data and key Jim McGinnis Vice President, Accountant Segment Jim McGinnis is the leader of Intuit's Accountant Segment, having led Intuit's accountant teams since he joined in 2010 as Vice President of Marketng. His extensive marketng, general management and global experience has been invaluable as the Accountant Segment contnues to serve as a center of excellence for Intuit's worldwide eforts with accountants. Before joining Intuit, Jim was EVP and GM of Actvision's $400M Licensed Products Division, where he was responsible for videogames associated with blockbuster movies franchises such as Shrek, Transformers, James Bond and Spiderman. Previously, Jim led marketng for PepsiCo's Tropicana business, where he was responsible for the company's $3B juice and juice drink portolio, including the acquisiton of Naked Juice in 2009. Earlier in his tme at PepsiCo, Jim led marketng for Smiths Snackfood in Australia. Before that, Jim introduced P&G;'s detergent portolio into China and later into Argentna as they expanded globally in the 90's. Jim received his B.A. from Duke University and his MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Yacht Club, and leads the Duke Alumni Associaton in Dallas, TX. Jim is married and has two young sons, James and Charlie. 2015 Cloud Special Report Q&A; with Jim McGinnis, Vice President, Accountant Segment, Intuit