Each individual’s definition of success is personal, yet individuals and firms have advantages and scalability in today’s market. Before I get into the details, let me explain how confusing the accounting profession has become to our clients and the market.
Businesses and organizations of all sizes are going through a transformation, and accounting and advisory firms are not exempt. Business transformation is the term for making fundamental changes in how the organization runs. This includes people, processes and technology. Shifts in operations and mindsets are crucial to a successful transformation.
Firm leaders have referred to client accounting and advisory services as a key component of firm growth and transformation, yet it is impossible to get a consistent definition of CAAS among accounting professionals — even within the same firm. Marketing professionals, please provide a better name!
Service opportunities have continued to grow along with specialization. This is demonstrated by the business capability model that focuses on:
Historically, the accounting profession primarily focused on financial, compliance and operations. Today, the profession has expanded to include opportunities across the entire business capability model. Advisory and consulting services are limited by capability, while compliance and transactional services are limited by capacity.
We all know that firms face capacity issues due to the lack of talent, and should explore increased automation and outsourcing. Transformation will not be possible without an increase in capabilities. Firms should look for talent with different skills to provide the advisory and consulting services that clients seek.
The opportunities are apparent, yet most firms struggle to find the time (capacity) and talent (capabilities) to take advantage of them. They need different mindsets, skill sets and toolsets, and mindsets appear to be the most difficult. From our consulting experience, the four primary challenges are:
Back to the increased opportunities of transformation. It sounds easy, but it is difficult to execute without a game plan and coaching. To further simplify, we came up with an acronym that focuses on the mindsets, skill sets and toolsets required to transform your firm and clients. The acronym is: “THE VISION OF SUCCESS.”
Complexity and confusion exist in the market and within the accounting profession. The acronym “THE VISION OF SUCCESS” should provide you a tool to transform yourself and your organization. Think — plan — grow!