Coronavirus and Your New Remote Office

Source: CPA Trendlines

The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by Jess Coburn.

The Coronavirus crisis requires a total re-evaluation of how we conduct our business. For firms with employees it is critical to consider going fully remote.

Let’s look at several of the issues accounting firms will face as they create or increase their virtual presence:

1. Recognize that this is the best strategy to maintain the health of your employees and clients.
2. The technology allowing this already exists. Office 365 is perhaps the most efficient and comprehensive system.
3. Utilize communications tools such as video conferencing, conference calls, etc. For example:

• Have a 5-10 minute meeting at the start of each day to address anything the team needs. Have weekly conference/video calls to review files, challenges, workloads.
• Use these same communications tools with clients.
• Utilize Office 365’s ability to monitor employee calls, emails, hours, and progress on files.
• Make sure all security protocols are in place and that files are password protected. Set up employees with company laptops.
• Consider providing tutorials to clients on how to best set up virtual workplaces

Educate staff on best practices for working at home. Here are a few tips we have implemented:

1. Establish a schedule.
2. Establish a dedicated workplace in your home.
3. Set boundaries by turning off the computer and walking out of your home office at the end of the day
4. Maintain the separation between weekend and weekday rituals.

This crisis will eventually end, but you may find a silver lining in that the shift to a virtual office could be permanent resulting in a more efficient workforce, elimination of expensive rents, and the ability to recruit your workforce of the future.

For the complete article, read “Coronavirus Culture-Shift Hits Accounting Firms”

From CPA Trendlines, March 17, 2020, https://cpatrendlines.com/.