Is yesterday the right place to start?

Richard Brewin • June 3, 2021

Revolution or evolution in your firm

Accounting firms, in general, take an evolutionary route to progression. We look at what we did yesterday, learn from it and look to see what we can change to improve our performance tomorrow.

 

It’s a step by step route that allows us to build on what we know. It can be a slow route to change but its progressive and sound.

 

It’s certainly better than staying in yesterday’s world.

 

But what if things have changed so quickly or so fundamentally that yesterday is no longer relevant. Are we starting from the wrong place?

 

The role of the accountant hadn’t changed significantly in 500 years. Our core product was turning the incomplete records of clients into legally compliant records and filings. We could get better at it every day, and we could add to our client service, by learning from our yesterdays but our role and purpose remained the same. Clients needed accountants to fulfil their obligations.

 

Digital transformation has disrupted that.

 

Our competition is no longer the other accountants on the High Street but global and from multiple sources.

 

Clients have multiple options for meeting their needs.

 

People and lifestyles have changed. The needs and goals of our clients and teams are not the same.

 

Our own needs and goals have changed.

 

As we look to the future of our firms, should we still be starting from yesterday or do we need to break the existing evolutionary line and start afresh?

 

Ask yourself: If you were starting an accounting firm today:-

 

*     What would it look like?

*     What would it do?

*     How would it do it?

*     Who would it’s clients be?

*     What would it need?

 

Rather than changing today by looking at yesterday, our aim here is to start our changes by looking at tomorrow.

 

Once you know what you want tomorrow to look like, then you can start planning change from where you are today. It may look very different to a plan previously built on yesterday.

 

Whether this results or revolution or more rapid evolution will depend on how differently your view of tomorrow is but this simple change of thinking can make a huge difference to the steps that you take and the rate at which you take them.

 

Worth a thought?

 

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