As another year comes to a close, I am reminded that a day rarely goes by without hearing about how accountants are not doing enough to either sustain their business, prove their relevance, or have a future if they don’t somehow “change.”
While this narrative isn’t entirely new, it has rarely been louder than it is today, and as such, it has made it even more challenging to ignore. We need to not only ask why, but also if there is any relevance to the messaging.
By now, the vast majority of accounting firms have become accustomed to technology for what they need to do, but everyone’s level of comfort with it is still varied. Even so, technology has almost single-handedly dictated the direction many firms have taken, whether they admit it or not.
These days, if something can be automated and if the platform or service can be trusted, at the very least accountants will consider it. And by automation, I am referring to tasks that, to be honest, were once what accountants were defined by and some may still believe they are. Overall, this is no longer the case, which brings us to our point.
While there may still be some accountants that tie their value to tasks and charge for the time to accomplish them, most have come around to seeing the larger value of the services they provide and may have even expanded on them. And because automation has allowed tasks to take less time, it is the human interaction and direction accountants provide that clients see as more valuable. As a result, we are seeing both challenges and opportunities for accounting professionals.
Certainly there is value in taking tasks such as tax prep, bookkeeping, payroll, and other “back office work” away from a client so that they can focus on their businesses. But is that all an accountant is, or could do? This is the key question of late: what truly defines the value of an accountant?
Increasingly, clients are asking themselves the same thing, especially when “tasks” can be completed by technology that a business or individual can learn and run. And if you were to draw a circle around the issue of why accountants are being asked to do and/or be more, it is quite simply technology making it seem like clients can do much of the back office work accountants have done.
The reality, of course, throws a spotlight on both a problem and an opportunity. It’s perception versus reality. The perception is that a client can, through technology (AI included), do all of the tax, accounting, payroll, and back office work they need to without an accountant.
The reality is that in our current on-demand, ease-of-use, “give it to me now” world, client expectations are such that you need to showcase what it is that you do that is of the most value to them. Your knowledge of what is needed to be accurate and compliant, as well as the invaluable advice and insights you as an accounting professional can provide, is what they are paying for (or should). What the data tells you is where the opportunity lies.
So while technology continues to advance, the opportunity for you as a valued advisor emerges. This is what is at the heart of accountants doing and being more. You no longer become a doer of tasks and overseer of data and compliance matters. You are, in fact, a coach, an advisor, a valued partner in your business clients’ growth, and a keeper of their financial health.
It all starts with the data that is available to you in the financials, in payroll reports, and in the day-to-day machinations of your clients. If this profession is to not only survive but thrive, accountants do need to at least consider what more they could be doing that is of true value.
This isn’t to say that what you have historically done lacks importance or that your clients shouldn’t pay you as much. It’s about making what they do pay you matter the most so that when you do raise your prices for a myriad of personal or economic reasons, the value of the work comes through.
The fact of the matter is that it is, and will become, increasingly difficult for tax and accounting professions to continue doing volume-based, compliance-level work in a sustainable manner. Clients will be less willing to pay, or pay very much, for things they believe they can accomplish through technology.
Moreover, if you look at the future of your own practice as a business and want to maintain or even grow it, simply increasing prices on services without highlighting their value to your clients is not likely to be a viable plan. All of that said, it is time (if you have not already) to look at your own business as you would your clients.
Begin with what you know you do well and build on it; don’t think about entirely reinventing yourself. That may well happen in time, but thinking about using what is already available to you is a great beginning to a profitable future and one that is full of life-work balance.