CPA Practice Advisor - 4

FROM THE EDITOR

Change Is In The Air
DID YOU EVER have to move and change schools when you were a child? I only had to
do it once, but I just met a new friend who went to 13 different grade schools. I can't
begin to wrap my head around that. This person understands change like nobody else I
know. At the same time, I'm working with a tax client who has lived in the same house
for more than 50 years and is contemplating moving to a retirement community. The

GAIL PERRY, CPA

Editor-in-Chief
gail.perry@cpapracticeadvisor.com
@gperrycpa

idea of making such a big life change is overwhelming to her - so much so that I'm not
sure she'll be able to make the move.
Why is it we're so resistant
to change? In our work lives, we
define change as switching to a new
computer program, changing from
office to remote working, dealing
with clients via text and video chat
instead of phone calls and letters,
asking Alexa to turn on our lights
instead of walking across the room
and doing it ourselves. None of this
is difficult, it's just different. And
yet sometimes it feels like nothing
will ever be the same again when we're
asked to make yet another change.
Maybe change will be frustrating, or even a little difficult, but
usually the changes we make are
for the better: faster, more effective,
more secure, more accessible. How
often do we make changes that are
for the worse? Whether it's a matter

CPA

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm

of learning new skills, adding new
services to your client offerings,
moving to new office spaces, adding
flexible hours for our staff - the end
result is the same: we're better for
having made the change.
And yet, we kind of hate making
changes.
The reviews in this issue cover
a variety of tax software solutions,
and I'm writing about change
because to switch to a new solution would be a big change. Many
people whose opinions I respect
suggest accountants should hold
off on making computer software
changes at the moment, that the
software solutions themselves are
in a state of flux, and we should
wait until we know exactly what we
want and can find a solution that is

NSA

exactly what we need. I think that
makes sense. But not when it comes
to tax software.
If you're using a tax program
that gives you headaches, this is
exactly the time to make a change.
You've got time right now to consider the available options, demo
the products, discuss the pros and
cons with your staff, make a choice,
get your client history loaded into a
new program, and have everything
in place before next tax season
begins.
The benefits of the change, one
would hope, will include a smoother
tax season next year, better workflow, happier staff, happier clients,
a bit of time saved, maybe a bigger
bottom line - what's not to like
about any of that? The downside,

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm

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VOLUME 29, NUMBER 5
Publisher: Barry Strobel
Editor-in-Chief: Gail Perry, CPA
Managing Editor: Isaac M. O'Bannon
Contributors: Ken Berry, JD
Doug Sleeter
Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP
Kristy Short
Randy Johnston
Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP
Paul McDonald
Amy Vetter, CPA.CITP, CGMA
Becky Livingston
Brian Tankersley, CPA.CITP, CGMA
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John Higgins, CPA
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Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP, CGMA, MBA
Bob Cedergren, CPA.CITP, CGMA, CISA
Randy Johnston, MCS
Greg LaFollette, CPA.CITP, CGMA
Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA
Doug Sleeter
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if you want to call it that, is that
you're going to have to invest some
time right now to make all of that
happen.
As a tax accountant who is
considering doing this myself, I
can totally empathize with the
overwhelming feeling of this change
process being too difficult to manage, but I'm trying to keep my eye
on the benefits I'll be reaping next
spring. Meanwhile, it's late - Alexa,
turn off the lights. ■
- Gail Perry, Editor-in-Chief

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