Accounting firm growth can come in many forms, but if it is without purpose or specific planning, it may as well not happen at all. This was not only one of the main themes of the recent Digital CPA (DCPA) conference but also a wake-up call to anyone making decisions for their firms now and in the foreseeable future.
Given all that I have gleaned from DCPA and my myriad conversations and learnings throughout this year, my statement above was not to imply that firm decisions are made in a bubble or with little thought to planning. Rather, given the state of the profession and business in general, it has become more imperative that firm leaders look at what growth means to them, put the work in to plan for it, and above all, be intentional.
Moreover, too many factors are making it increasingly difficult to just stay as you are. This is not a veiled threat or more “change or die,” but rather there is more opportunity to actually be the kind of firm, business, and profession that you want; it behooves leaders to truly take the reins, plan, and delegate. As for those working in a firm, you too have a voice in how you work and the kind of career you actually want. All of this, again, starts with intention.
Allow me to elucidate (yes, big word) on what I’m on about. First off, you’d have to be under a proverbial rock in accounting to not know the main, outside factors impacting the profession are AI and Private Equity. Both are, in their own way and together, forcing a narrative not only of change but also of opportunity, at what I see as one of the sharpest points of inflection that this profession currently resides in.
But like all other points of inflection that accounting has experienced, whether it was the move from paper to desktop software, the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; the coming (and staying) of The Cloud; firm leaders and accountants as a whole have either pushed back or embraced the changes these events brought. Now, between the aforementioned, the last throws of the “aging out” of firm leaders, and accounting needing a better story to tell for new talent to want to join and stay in this profession, it could not be a better time to find out, and execute on, what kind of firm and accounting professional you want to be.
Growth means different things to accounting firms; it’s not just specifically about staff size, physical presence, or even directly about revenue. It can be any number of those things, or again, it’s just about the type of firm you want to be.
Certainly, for some, PE is a path that can help with acquisitions, staffing, or even necessary technology investments. For others, who opt for “independence,” or as some are calling it, “control,” being intentional is even more of a factor. I, for one, believe that as a leader or even someone of influence in your firm, asking yourself these questions is going to lead you in the right direction.
Below I compiled a good list of soundbites too from the recent DCPA event that I think were both telling and even inquisitive:
“We used to talk about training, planning and upskilling for the next 5-7 years, it’s now the next 5-7 months” – Mark Koziel,
“DCPA is no longer a CAS conference. It is about designing growth as a system. Growth is no longer one team’s job”
Because AI is out there it doesn’t mean you have to figure out how to implement all of it, a lot of it is or will be in tools you already use” -Koziel
“We believe gen AI is perfectly suited for #tax research and tax prep, ultimately helping practitioners with tax planning and advisory” -Erik Asgeirsson
“AI needs to help us build a more affordable future, it Can if we truly want it to”–Zack Kass, Futurist
Accountants need to get their value proposition right, we are at the inflection point today to lean in and do that” Irfan Dossani, Partner in charge of advisory, Whitley Penn #DCPA
AI is going to give #accounting back to accountants. Getting rid of controllership, mundane tasks will not be on you anymore.” -Rene Lacerte
Have a strategy for how you want to deploy AI over time. Don’t take on more tech debt than you need to.” -Lacerte