Negative Effects of Technology

Source: Profit Points

The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from a blog entry by Steve Erickson about unintended consequences of technology.

As a result of having such powerful technology on our desks there has been significant reverse delegation of routine client services and administrative tasks.

Rather than have the technology dictate how you work, why not plan your systems and processes around a lower cost labor staffing model and let your technology be the great tool that it is?

Here are a few suggestions where improvements are needed:

• Intake -- Make sure that client information is correct and complete before it enters the process. Experienced accountants tell me they spend an inordinate amount of time chasing client information, time that often cannot be billed to the client.
• Scanning -- Hire a digital document specialist to scan information, file PDF documents and create electronic files as the first step in your process. Trained accountants don't need to be running scanners.
• Data Entry -- Highly skilled accountants are not very good at data entry. Hire some specialists with great clerical skills and let your highly qualified accountants serve and interact with clients.
• Email -- Hire an email expeditor to review, sort and file emails to limit the amount of time experienced accountants spend each and every day administering email. In one recent survey I conducted of experienced accountants I learned that some people are now spending up to two hours every day in this process.

For the complete blog entry, read "Unintended Consequences."

From Profit Points, June 19, 2012, www.ericksonwhitman.com.