The accounting and tax industries don’t exactly move at the pace of, say, a hotshot tech startup. But this traditionally conservative sector could use a dose of the “move fast and break things” mindset if it wants to appeal to modern consumers and retain talented employees, argues HubSync’s Paul Madarasz.
The accounting and tax industries have historically been viewed as a conservative and rule-bound profession, slower to adapt to new technologies. This perception has been due to the short windows of time available to firms to adopt and integrate technology and large decentralized groups that are primary users, a difficult management challenge. But this no longer aligns with the marketplace reality for the industry, client demands and the need for a significant rise in professional productivity. Consumer-friendly tech is now table-stakes for CPA firms to effectively serve the needs of their clients and professionals.
This change can’t happen overnight, but embracing technological change is a requirement. The industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and the linchpin to adopting new tools and ideas is an overarching change management program to integrate new technologies successfully and help all stakeholders, primarily employees, grasp these changes and become comfortable utilizing new…
