Accounting
3 Digital Strategies to Improve Accounting Firm Agility
Technology is the tool that will help you accomplish that aim most effectively, and adopting these three digital strategies should be your first priority as you set out to improve agility at your firm. Here's what to do.
Sep. 01, 2020
Getting ahead means thinking ahead in the new normal.
If we’ve learned anything these past few months, it’s that change is here to stay, which means your firm must be agile and able to respond quickly to whatever curveballs come its way. And from what we know about 2020 so far, curveballs will come.
Technology is the tool that will help you accomplish that aim most effectively, and adopting these three digital strategies should be your first priority as you set out to improve agility at your firm. Here’s what to do.
Be prepared for quick changes
To understand the importance of this organizational trait, look no further than the start of the pandemic. Workforces were thrust offsite seemingly overnight, and leaders who never would have dreamed of working from home in the past, suddenly found themselves at the helm of fully functioning remote teams.
If that was you, then you likely took a big step toward embracing agility — but there’s still more you can do. The difference-maker for companies now is not whether or not they can work from home, but whether or not they can work from home at maximum capacity over the long term.
Still, we’ve seen only only a small percentage of companies with a mature processes in place for engaging, managing and developing agile workers, so doing so must remain a major area of focus going forward. Approach your agile workforce strategically to identify areas where you can improve efficiency for the future.
Develop a learning mindset
A learning mindset is the all-important glue that will hold your agile plans in place. You’ve laid the groundwork with your processes and set an organizational mission to respond better to change, but without making this crucial shift to your thought process, you’ll never be able to reach peak adaptation.
A learning mindset will help you and your team frame setbacks as opportunities for growth and improvement — a positive spin you’ll need in order to stay focused in the ever-changing new normal of today.
Plus, with the lack of skilled talent remaining a top challenge for accounting firms, it may be the only way to ensure your firm has support in the areas where it needs it most.
Online learning sites like Coursera offer thousands of courses that employees can take from home to ensure training and development stays on track — even if you can’t all be together onsite. With so many digital options available, there’s no excuse not to prioritize skilling initiatives this year. Doing so will ensure that your firm is equipped with the flexible, tech-savvy talent it needs to succeed — no matter the state of the hiring market.
Upgrade your services to the cloud
With COVID-19 cases spiking, and treatments and vaccines in limbo at various stages of development, there really is no telling how long your operations will have to remain remote.
That’s why the best way to keep both your team and your clients safe is by adopting cloud-based technologies that can reduce the need for face-to-face interactions. There’s a whole host of advantages that cloud technologies can bring to CPA firms — especially during tax season — like enhanced security, better time efficiency and fewer errors to name a few.
For CPA firms today, the path forward is clear: digital solutions are the key to agile operations. By incorporating these tech-forward strategies into your new normal business plan, you can start rebuilding your workforce with the tools it needs to succeed in our rapidly changing new normal.
=======
As Group President, Randstad Professionals, Randstad Life Sciences and Tatum, Jodi Chavez oversees the field organization and provides strategic direction for Randstad Life Sciences, Randstad Professionals and Tatum.