july2021 - 25

BRIDGING THE GAP
4 Essentials of
Process Improvement
ARIANNA CAMPBELL
Director, Boomer Consulting, Inc.
arianna.campbell@cpapracticeadvisor.com
WHEN I TALK to firms, I notice a common pitfall. Firms talk about process improvement in
terms of a single initiative or something they did. But to get the full opportunity that comes
from improving your firm's processes, we need to have the larger approach in mind.
Process improvement shouldn't
be something you did; it should
be something you're doing. It
demands continuous improvement
- always looking at how
your processes could be better.
Technology, client demands and
even the expectations of our internal
staff members are constantly
changing, and we need to continue
working to keep up.
To ensure your firm is taking
a holistic approach to process
improvement rather than getting
tunnel vision around the next
project on your list, you need to
have the following essentials.
may be hidden in your technology
budget, different departmental
budgets, or even admin areas.
It's time to bring that spending
to light with a dedicated process
improvement
budget. Whether
Every process improvement
initiative should support the
firm's overall goals and strategic
plan. If you were to look at your
firm's strategic plan right now, you
would likely see goals relating to
the different areas of the firm: tax,
audit, advisory, client accounting
services, operations, administrative,
etc. How does process support
each of those areas?
A process improvement strategy
If you haven't designated one person
as the project improvement
leader, your firm will struggle to
keep process improvement initiatives
on track. Everyone is busy, so
someone needs to be in charge and
accountable for guiding individual
projects to a successful completion.
Of course, other people will fill
out your process improvement team
- the leader isn't solely responsible
for getting the work done. But the
leader will ensure you're moving
your strategy forward.
that supports the firm's strategic
plan ensures you always know
what initiatives you should focus on
this year, what projects are on the
horizon for next year, and what
processes may need to change
based on technologies you're
planning on incorporating in the
near future.
Your strategy should include
objectives, metrics, planned
outcomes and who is responsible.
Again, your process improvement
leader will be responsible for
process improvement as a whole,
but individual projects will have
their own point people.
We all know that CPA firms are
cyclical in nature. There are times
when certain teams are bogged
down with client work and times
when people have more capacity to
take on process improvement initiatives.
That's why you need a process
improvement timeline that's built
into the year-by-year flow of your
firm's work.
Creating a timeline helps you
think through the best time to initiate
and implement specific projects
and ensure you have the time and
other resources available.
you have an internal role focused
on process improvement or bring
in outside expertise, you need to
allocate resources to ensure process
improvement is elevated to the level
that it should be. Otherwise, these
initiatives can be overlooked because
there's no place for those resources
and time to be accounted for.
Your process improvement won't
be the same from year to year -
your spending will depend on the
projects identified in your strategy.
But start thinking through what you
anticipate needing to invest in terms
of internal time and additional
resources and start working that
into your operational conversations.
If you have all four of these
essentials, congratulations! Your
firm is taking a long-term view of
process improvement, and you can
focus on continuous improvement.
If you're missing any (or all) of these
elements, start looking for ways to
move the needle. ■
Whether you realize it or not,
your firm is spending money on
process improvement. However,
that spending might not have its
own line-item on your firm's budget.
Instead, process improvement costs
JULY 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
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