6 Ways Your Firm Should Use Technology

Is your CPA firm making the most of available technology? Here are six ways your firm should be utilizing technology to serve your clients well.

1. Does your firm have a strategic plan?

Hopefully the answer to this question is “yes.” Whether you have a strategic plan or are working to put one in place, consider this: your firm should have a correlating IT strategy that aligns with your firm’s overall vision and strategy.

2. Is your IT too noticeable?

When IT is doing its job, you shouldn’t notice it. Most hosting vendors and private cloud options are using Citrix Virtual Apps.

     Other remote options

• Microsoft’s RDS is an option, however, the NSA has identified RDS as a security risk.
• VMWare Horizon View works, but not as smoothly as Citrix.
• Citrix is used by most cloud providers for a reason and really is your best option to enable remote work and access for your firm and clients.

     Tech Support

• If your technology is working properly for your firm, you should have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that provides answers and help within a day. Many agreements include response times of one hour, four hours, eight hours, 24 hours, or 72 hours. Any response time greater than 72 hours should be a rare exception.

     Availability

• Your remote provider should enable you to work anywhere, any time, on any device. Does it?

3. Do you have a paperless office?

Ask yourself these questions to determine if your firm has completely implemented a paperless system:

• Are your documents stored electronically?
• Can you access any document in less than 10 seconds?
• Is automated workflow in place? This is not the same thing as a checklist. All major processes in your office should be included in an automated workflow. On average, small and medium firms have 35 processes and large firms have 75-125 processes. Each process should be mapped, maintained, and taught.
• Can you send and receive documents from a client using a portal?
• Do your engagement letters and 8879’s have eSignature support?
• Do you have standard documents for engagements, audits, business development, and administrative functions?

Stay informed of tech updates. There will be more tech changes in the next five years than have happened in the previous 20 years. You want your firm to stay updated and to offer the tech value your clients will expect and need.

4. Is your firm’s technology secure?

Your office and your clients can all benefit greatly from the most current technology. At the same time, integrating technology into your firm’s processes means you must take into account the security of your information. Two major security considerations are:

• Backup. Attacks on your content are a real possibility. You must have backup in place.
• Continuity. If something goes awry with your tech, you need a plan to continue serving your clients. Even cloud-based options are not a guarantee of continuity.
• Safety with Smart Devices
  • To maximize information security within your firm and for your clients, you need to consider all the smart devices in your firm in addition to your computers, such tv’s, speakers, tablets and smartphones. You or your IT expert should have your computers on separate subnets from your devices. If all your Internet-connected devices are operating on the same subnet, your information is at risk.

5. Does your firm have automated workflow?

As with any area of technology there are many options for putting your firm’s processes into an automated workflow system. For example, a system like TPS offers a simple approach that prioritizes four things:

• What jobs are coming up or due?
• Is the job “in,” meaning the client has submitted their information.
• Who is working on the job?
• At what stage is the job, or how much work has been completed?

Other products such as XCM take a more complex approach and offer a broad range of reports, analysis and year-to-year comparisons.

     Workflow Products

     Products included in another software package:      

• WK CCH iFirm                                 
• Doc.It                                                 
• Vohcom                                             
• Clarity Practice Management        
• OfficeTools                                        
• Citrix ShareFile Podio

     Standalone products:

• XCM Workflow
• Thomson Reuters FirmFlow
• CCH Axcess Workstream
• Pascal Workflow
• Jetpack Workflow
• Aero Workflow
• Liscio

6. Does your firm have the staff it needs to support advancing technologies?

If you’re a larger firm and want to stay current, you should have the following staff positions:

• Data Scientists
• IT Audit Specialists
• Project Managers
• Training Coordinators
• Marketing
• Human Resources

Medium to smaller firms might not need data scientists or IT audit specialists, but the remaining four roles should have a place in your firms.

Managing changes in technology

If your firm is planning technology changes, get best outcomes by using a strategy and tackling only what is reasonable. Taking on major change without a detailed and careful planning can create serious problems for your firm and your clients. Here is a basic recommendation based on the size of your firm.

• Small and medium-sized firms can generally handle one significant tech update project in a year.
• Large firms can handle one significant technology update per department per year.

Advancing technology has a lot to offer the accounting field. When you put the right tools in place for your firm, you and your clients will reap the benefits.

Randy Johnston is the CEO and founder of the Network Management Group, Inc., and the executive vice-president of K2 Enterprises. Randy was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame in 2011, and he was selected as a Top 25 Thought Leader in Accounting from 2011-2018.

Earn CPE when you attend Randy’s upcoming 50-minute webinar: Advising Clients on How the CPA Firm Will Serve its Clients - Technology Needs in the Next 5 to 7 Years