Tech Pivot Success for Accounting Firms – Part II

By Davis Bell.

In Part I of this series, I defined what the term pivot strategy means in the context of an accounting practice: “A pivot is the action that is at the center of any “change management” initiative. I also noted that while the accounting profession has embraced the concept of change management, strategies for successfully using a pivot strategy to accomplish them are less widely seen.

There are several common scenarios where a pivot strategy is necessary. These include changes in market conditions, clients, or issues with internal processes. A successful pivot strategy will enable your firm to overcome these types of challenges and provide the structure to respond to change quickly and efficiently. In theory this makes sense, but how should your firm approach such a move for the best results?

Consider the five scenarios that we identified previously where a technology pivot would put your firm in a more positive position.

1. The market where your firm operates is changing rapidly due to economic trends, technological breakthroughs, and industry disruptions. If you are serving a niche market that is in a rapidly changing industry (most of them these days) such as medical services, ecommerce, technology or another vertical, being able to pivot effectively is often the result of having adequate and accurate market information and customer insights.

Ensuring that you have access to the right data to inform your decisions is critical. This is especially true when it comes to looking at analytics of your current clients in a particular market. Once you have the data, you will be able to identify trends in their financial performance over time, their profitability, and their purchase patterns from your firm’s practice management analytics.

• Client expectations are outpacing your staff capabilities and the processes you have related to client service. This scenario is becoming common for firms that are lagging behind the curve on adopting new technologies. This is because the way that customers interact with businesses in general has shifted dramatically, especially since the pandemic.

Having a seamless, technology-driven customer experience has become an expectation for most clients. For accounting firms, one example of this might look like a self-serve form to indicate the type of service a client is interested in.

This would then trigger an automated, instantly gratifying prospect onboarding email sequence that provides information about what will happen next as the touchpoints that are triggered are put into motion. This is the type of automated service that clients expect.

On the flipside, an equally immediate communication that sets the client/prospect onboarding process into motion is critical as well so there is no lag in the client service process.

• Staff is unhappy with your tech tools, as well as more generally with inefficiency processes and unsustainable workloads. Obviously, if your team is struggling to get their work done because of inefficiencies in the system your firm uses, this is a red flag and needs to be remedied as soon as possible.

Start by identifying where the gaps and bottlenecks are, then look at any legacy tech that can be replaced. Next look at new solutions that solve the challenges you are facing. If you can knock out multiple needs with one system or tool that is ideal.

Involving your team in the process of identifying technology (and even staffing) needs is going to make the pivot to new tools more efficient and in the end, more productive and rewarding.

• Technology advances have accelerated to the point that your firm risks being impacted by technology obsolescence. In tandem with the point above,  if your tech is holding you back, then it’s definitely time to take action. There’s nothing that suggests a pivot more than manual processes that are eating up billable hours.

Obsolete technology can also impede how you serve clients which is another key reason to make a shift toward newer technology.

• Competitors are adopting new technologies (that you haven’t) that benefit their clients. Are your competitors implementing new tools to ensure that they can offer higher levels of service and additional or higher value services to clients? If you aren’t sure, it’s time to do a quick competitive scan and get up to speed on what your ideal client prospect is being offered elsewhere.

The purpose is not to copy your competition, but to gain some insight and inspiration so that you can create your own client experience and workflow that delivers on your firm’s strengths and overall business strategy.

Start with Simple Steps to Put Your Technology Pivot Strategy in Motion

The technology your firm uses is an integral part of your business strategy and operations. As such, it drives many major changes and potential pivot points in your firm’s evolution. By keeping pace with current market trends and adapting your practice to the wave of new app and software options available, you’ll be able to maximize the positive impact on your workflow, staff satisfaction, and also strengthen your competitive advantage.

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Davis Bell is the CEO of Canopy, a cloud-based practice management platform for tax professionals. He has held leadership roles in strategy, operations, and finance at a succession of SaaS companies. He’s passionate about building innovative software that delights users.