A Top Technology Initiative Article.
I had the pleasure, along with my fellow podcaster Brian Tankersley, of attending Scaling New Heights this year after presenting at AICPA Engage and attending CPA Practice Advisor’s Accounting Leaders Think Tank Symposium, sponsored by Wolters Kluwer and Rightworks, on Sunday, June 8, as covered in last month’s column.
We discovered new products that we will cover in a future Accounting Technology Lab, with around 200 vendors at AICPA Engage and 150 at Scaling New Heights. Recurring themes of all of these events include: 1) myriad new products, 2) AI enablement everywhere, 3) disruption in business models, 4) higher client expectations than ever before, 5) increased pricing of software, and 6) many traditional tools not keeping up with the modern experience.
These recurring themes have led everyone, from sole practitioners to managing and leading partners of firms of all sizes, partner groups, and firm ownership in general, to review options for software replacements, renewals, or upgrades. Of course, the right approach is to reaffirm your business strategy and tactics, to align with your technology strategy and tactics.
Further, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is not lost on vendors trying to make sales to you. Ease of use, integration, client experience, cloud, AI, and more are positioned in software products as the holy grail to give your clients the freshest breath, the whitest teeth, the snappiest dress, and the most brilliant solutions. While all of that may be true, you have a few key decisions to consider:
1) Do you stay with a single publisher?
2) Can you successfully use fewer products? For example, several lower-end practice management solutions offer multiple built-in functions.
3) How is the integration completed? APIs (Application Program Interfaces), iPaaS (integration Platform as a Service = Zapier, CData, Boomi, more), RPA (Robotic Process Automation = Power Automate, Automation Anywhere, more).
4) How do you handle the change management, including data migration, internal training, and communication to your clients?
Rack’em/Stack’em!
Vendors are discovering the value of promoting an integrated tech stack. A tech stack has value both horizontally (across the firm) and vertically (within a practice area such as tax, Client Accounting Services/CAS, Audit, Wealth Management, etc.). The best tech stacks work for everyone in the firm, but frequently, the revenue production of a practice, such as tax, drives or dictates decisions without sufficient feedback from other practice areas.
Unfortunately, even in small firms, where there are few decision-makers, finding the right solutions can be challenging. Firm needs vary widely. Developers of platforms try to solve for the needs as they see them. However, the expectations for straightforward applications, such as portals, document management, and PBC (prepared by the client) lists vary widely. As a result, I have maintained lists of products that extend beyond those published on https://www.cpafirmtech.com/ or https://www.accountingsoftwareworld.com/. Over the last five years, I’ve transitioned from tracking around 20 practice management systems to over 60. Likewise, I’ve gone from 10 or so portals to over 90. And I’ve moved from 7 Client Accounting Services (CAS) platforms to 20, three of which are AI-powered accounting. Yet, when I analyze with clients on their needs, I have not found a single application that meets everyone’s needs. Consider vehicles. Does one type of vehicle fit all needs? No. Sometimes a truck is needed for hauling parcels, a contractor may need a panel van, a construction worker a pickup, a family might need a van, while a couple could be pretty content in a coupe or a sports car. Personal preference also comes into play.
There is safety in using applications from major publishers such as Intuit, IRIS, Thomson Reuters, or Wolters Kluwer. However, if you provide Client Accounting Services (CAS) or Wealth Management, your choices with the big names are limited. In CAS, you typically choose your platform and then add supporting applications to support the services that you want to provide. For AP, you may select Avid, BILL, Doclink, and more. For AR, you may choose BILL, Centime, HighRadius, Payference, Tesorio, and more. For advisory services and KPIs, you may consider 4ImpactData, Aider, SOBI Analytics, and more. Each service line may require support from a software system.
Unfortunately, the more tools your firm selects, the greater the 1) Training costs, 2) licensing fees, 3) integration difficulty, 4) the more fragile your environment can become (things break and you wind up having to restore from backups), 5) functionality is duplicated, and 6) the user interface changes will become more noticeable and annoying.
But, In the Big Picture
Solving client problems is a key tenet of most firms. Providing services profitably that have high value to clients has been a bedrock of the profession. For some of you, compliance work with tax or audit has been your entire career. The work has likely been both satisfying and rewarding, while also being challenging. Day-to-day, this work is not simple. Not everyone can perform the projects with high quality and profitability.
These traditional professional services have not been without challenges. For example, 1) finding competent and willing staff, 2) regulatory changes, 3) repeated busy seasons, 4) dealing with vendors that don’t completely understand what you do, and 5) the complexity of software and hardware to support your activity. On the other hand, the profession is rewarding, providing 1) an above-average salary, 2) flexibility, 3) lifetime relationships with clients, 4) a respected position in your community, and 5) a positive impact on a notable group of people.
So, What Should You Do?
Revisit your strategy and tactics. Now is not the time to look for SALY (Same as Last Year). Consider innovations that will benefit your team, your clients, and your partners. Structure your service offerings as a repeatable service that can be leveraged by technology. Take the time to conduct thorough due diligence when carefully choosing a tech stack. Invest in proper implementation, including data migration, training, and testing. Optimize the tech stack once it is in place.
Use a consistent business development method to put the service in front of every viable prospect in your client base and outside of your firm if you are growth-oriented. And remember, you are responsible for making decisions that enable you to work smarter, not harder.
Thanks for reading CPA Practice Advisor!
Subscribe Already registered? Log In
Need more information? Read the FAQs
