Source: Accountants MediaGroup

In this special report several members and observers of the accounting profession talk about their expectations for the accounting firm of the future. Here are the important themes:

Jay Nisberg, Ph.D., Ridgefield Connecticut ([email protected]):

CPAs will provide a more sophisticated level of service. They will help their clients look forward rather than backward, and will become doctors of business, financial planning advisors, and business consultants.

CPA firm leaders will increasingly participate in advanced leadership training programs. There will be more left brain thinking, more soft skills, and more focus on personal relationships.

They will increasingly use non CPAs to manage their firms.

Work products will be measured in results, not charged hours.

The current high level of mergers will continue through 2008.

Chandra Bhansali, Ph.D., president of AccountantsWorld (www.accountantsworld.com) 

Revenues will continue to be derived principally from tax and accounting services.

Computers have reduced the need for accounting services and the Internet allows accounting services to be performed anywhere in the world—a threat to accountants in the U.S.

The Internet, however, also allows accountants to collaborate with their clients and to create a "strong electronic bond." It will help accountants deter competition while increasing productivity.

Kevin Roberts, CEO of CCH (www.cch.com):

Five years from now the sources of CPA revenues will be substantially the same as now, but while the line item designations remain the same, the nature of the work will dramatically change. The services will include performance management, planning, and consulting. Client information will be digitized, and CPAs will use diagnostic tools to help clients improve performance indicators relative to other companies.

Hourly billing will be replaced by value billing.

Bill Stevens, vice president, 1st Global (www.1stGlobal.com)

Firms that provide wealth management services will succeed in the future. Clients want a single provider for all their financial needs.

Firms will serve all three phases of wealth management—accumulating wealth, protecting wealth (insurance), and transferring wealth.

Fee based asset management services and asset allocation modeling and balancing will become prevalent.

Jon Baron, executive vice president, Professional Software and Services, Thomson Tax and Accounting, ([email protected]).

Digital dashboards will be used for clients, staff, and the firm as a whole. Client dashboards will provide instant information including contacts, demographics, work-in-progress, billings, payment chronology, and e-mails to and from clients.

Staff dashboards will help staff manage their workflow with access to e-mails, schedules, tasks, software, research, billable time, and document management systems.

Firm dashboards will allow partners to view financial statements, production, billings, productivity, and staff availability.

Joseph Tarasco, president of Accountants Advisorygroup, LLC (http://www.accountantsadvisory.com/).  

The only effective way to conduct audits will be through continuous auditing. Data management specialists will become important support resources for auditors.

Cornell Rudov, president, CPASNET.com (www.cpasnet.com).

As technology continues to diminish the requirements for typical accounting services, CPAs will provide more value-focused services and products. This transition is also a function of the age of clients—older clients need help with succession planning, mergers & acquisitions, estate planning, etc.

HR services to clients will help support the costs of CPA firms’ internal HR departments. Firms will also provide niche training for their clients’ employees.

Some firms have decided to shed their non-audit activities and this will be a viable model for many firms in the future. These firms will become closely associated with firms that do not perform audits. Both types of firms will benefit from these relationships.

Deanna Gildea, co-founder and CFO of TADOnline (www.tadonline.com)

Tax services may become loss-leaders. The addition of financial services can create profitability.

CPAs in the future will be agile—able to change in order to meet the clients’ changing needs.

The stereotypical boring accountant will become a thing of the past because technology, not accountants, will provide the traditional routine services. Virtually all staff will be available for higher level work—consulting and training.

From Accountants MediaGroup, Special Report, June 2006, SourceMedia, 1 State Street, New York, NY 10004.