Well, it happened. I hosted my first Live chat with the help and guidance of CPA Trendlines and, if I must say, overall it was a success.
You never really know how these will be perceived. You take a big risk with anything “unproven” and for a paid, non-sponsored, non-CPE event I thought we were able to accomplish what we wanted to. This being, a no-holds barred, free-thought, honest discussion about what it is really going to take for the accounting profession to move forward in the current technology environment.
We got real about overall processes and selection of tools and platforms, about the importance and key components of a small but growing firm tech stack, and of course AI. After all, what else would one expect from a frank discussion with the likes of Kenji Kuruamoto, Kellie Parks and Chad Davis. As this group are quite familiar with each other, the chat was less of a heated debate and more of a friendly, but frank and necessary, discussion
As one would expect, we did not get into these issues in heavy detail, we know some attendees likely preferred a look at a specific application or technology set, others seemed pleased with just being able to have an open discussion about these issues…planting a seed, if you will for further review and debate to happen.
And after all, the panelists were firm owners and heavy technology users in their own right. They’ve had their successes and failures, and continue to and, end of the day, I firmly believe that when discussing issues that impact accounting professionals, you actually need to have those voices in the room. No offense or disrespect intended towards the vendor community, but it is something they need to learn as well, if this profession is to move forward hand-in-hand or at least along side of technology.
Know that I do plan to do a more detailed roundup of the event’s findings on CPA Trendlines so what for that in the very near future. We are going through the transcripts and recording, which we plan to share. But for now, I can say that overall is that it was a lively discussion throughout and everyone was in agreement on one thing: in order for positive tech adoption and experiences are to occur, the profession needs to have a clear goal in mind before taking on anything new or changing from what the are using.
Even larger than that, accountants Need to be open to change and try what is available. Yes it’s scary, yes it is somewhat risky, so plan for that. Take what steps you need to in order to insure success, but Take that step. Whether it’s moving on from an accounting platform, adding in a practice management system, or seeing what ChatGPT and other AI tools can do for you, there is no better time to at least try.
Do watch for my more detailed piece in CPA Trendlines and thank you for being a loyal reader.