The Relevant CPA

I am pretty involved in my profession. I make it a habit of attending at least 2 conferences a year NOT in Arizona usually sponsored by the AICPA and the Thriveal CPA Network. I am categorized very nicely as a small practitioner in a small firm and I am usually grouped with other CPA’s that are the same size.

I have made a few observations over the last couple of years. My profession is aging. My profession resists change. I say this with a ton of respect. I look back on my career and early on had great teachers and mentors help me. It was the school of hard knocks (on overdrive) but I learned and was given a great foundation. A foundation that has allowed me to be where I am today.

When I am looking at the profession I am amazed by the serious brain power, ability, skill and wisdom. It’s a craft to be admired and respected and many, many people when I tell them what I do for a living I have instant credibility because of the CPA brand.

In the next ten years the CPA profession or at least those still in it will look dramatically different than what it looks like now. Just like many other professions, baby boomers will be retiring and moving on and succession planning will be in full swing. Just like other business owners the CPA is not taking precautions or planning for their successors.

Succession planning is even more difficult because it seems as if there is an age gap. There are very few in the 40-50 year old age group that stayed in the public accounting. For whatever reason, this age group went into industry accounting and stayed there.

As a consumer of CPA, Accounting and Tax Services this will cause a shortage of providers. CPA firms have many ways of making up for the actual people shortage which we are already experiencing. Technology has become the tool for efficiency as software companies scramble to meet the need. New processes are being implemented all the time.

So, what am I doing to meet the needs of my customers, the community and my staff? It’s a very interesting balancing act and I would now define us as a Next Gen CPA firm. This is important because we are looking for ways to do our job better and will be able to meet the needs of the consumers better, faster and more accurate. Technology is the great equalizer and it allows smaller firms to operate with full suites of software that connect one software system to another.

Large firms have been doing this stuff for years. It’s become more affordable for small firms to offer the same customer service BUT not everyone has it. It’s unfortunate but small firms generally have less resources to start and implement new systems. Status quo sadly is the norm in small CPA firms.

The bottom line is we are unique for the size of firm that we are in a profession that is somewhat change resistant. We deal with tons of changes in government regulations but rarely have time to invest in more time to make ourselves more efficient.

Being in business is hard but we have managed to be unique and stand out. I love my profession and I love the opportunities that it offers me to help others. Because I have sought new technology and opportunities we have the ability to be forward thinking and help others think about where they want their business to be.

We are on the journey with you! Let us help you be a Next Gen business owner……. Call us! We can help.