Finding a common thread in a sizable event like AICPA ENGAGE is always a challenge; there are often several. But the one I was able to grab ahold of was that the nature of what being an accountant is resides in the very hands of the profession itself.
We’ve all recognized this particular inflection point in accounting’s story arc has existed for a few years now. And with the growth of AI’s presence, which by its very nature offers an element of control never before seen in this profession, exactly how accounting ‘work’ is done and will be in the foreseeable future can in fact help redefine accounting for years to come.
Now, with the onset of AI and demands/expectations from clients evolving to a more “outcomes-based” lens, what you actually do and how you do it as an accountant is currently at a crossroads. Accounting has an opportunity at this point in time to reinvent itself, or at least the perception of what it is, and I found it encouraging at ENGAGE to see the sheer amount of people that are here for it. How they get there is another issue.
Top concerns for firm leaders may not have changed much in recent times, according to AICPA research, at any rate, so this may look like a familiar list:
Technology (keeping up with changes)
Talent (managing workload and training/development of new and existing staff)
Tax (keeping up with changes, managing the workflow)
But again, expectations on there being more of a consultative approach to accounting versus the historic transactional one come into full focus when leaders look to address these top challenges. Moreover, sitting back and waiting for at least an early majority to make moves may not be the best strategy any longer.
“We are not going to change the adoption curve itself (in accounting), but we can work on shortening the time adoption takes,” said AICPA President Mark Koziel, CPA. To which, Jan Lewis, AICPA’s elected vice chair, added “We all know client relationships are stickier when you engage with them more. Not having to be as involved in the production and more in the review will provide those opportunities.”
Certainly, this messaging from AICPA leadership isn’t exactly new. The pace of change will never be slower than right now. Be more of an advisor to your clients; you’ll have better engagements. I think at this point they get it and those who have been more “on the fence” or slower to change are finding fewer reasons to remain that way.
Sure, maybe some have taken private equity to address the groundswell of change, or lack of planning for it, that has built up over the past decade. For good or ill, that’s not going away anytime soon either. But fundamentally, the messaging of what a CPA is and does has come more into focus, as I mentioned.
To address this “narrative” issue the profession, or at least the initials have, the AICPA is doing something it’s not really done much of during its history: advertising. That’s right, beginning this summer, depending on what news outlet you watch, you will begin seeing ads from the AICPA & CIMA promoting what a CPA is and stands for.
“I’ve been in this profession for 30+ years; the ultimate word to define us is ‘Trust’. We own that word as a profession. So how do we move forward with that in an age of uncertainty?” said Koziel. “A national CPA Trust campaign will be launched this week.” TV commercials, social media, specific media placements, and a tagline “CPA, Where Trust Meets Expertise”
The ad itself can also be seen on https://trustedcpa.org/
Will ads be enough to sway public opinion? Will simply telling a better story, as Koziel and others have stated needs to happen to attract talent and put accounting in a better light? That in this writer’s opinion remains to be seen.
I of course, have made my views on the matter quite clear, in that while I do believe the profession is ripe for a new narrative, one accountants from junior staff all the way to top leadership can write themselves. But it has to be one they tell, not one told to them. If this means completely changing the narrative from telling a better story to having a better story to tell, I believe the profession will answer that call.