CPA Practice Advisor - 26

BRIDGING THE GAP

3 Small Steps Toward
Transformation
THE CPA PROFESSION is undergoing a significant disruption which will change the way
partners and staff work and the services firms provide. It's an exciting time for all of
us, yet even as firm leaders want to take the next steps in their firms' transformation,

JIM BOOMER, CPA.CITP

CEO, Boomer Consulting, Inc.
Director, Boomer Technology Circle™
jim.boomer@cpapracticeadvisor.com

many don't know where to start.While there are plenty of long-term journeys and major
projects along the road to transforming the profession, many are interested in actions
they can take today. Here are three small steps you can take today to start moving the
needle toward transformation.

SPEND MORE
TIME TALKING
TO CLIENTS
How much time do you spend
talking to clients each week?
Professionals who maintain an
advisory role with their clients serve
in that capacity throughout the year,
not just during busy season. They
know their clients' businesses, goals
and challenges, and provide strategic advice that helps the business
run and grow. That kind of service
is difficult to offer if you only talk to
them when a deadline is looming.
If you don't know how much
time you're currently spending
talking to clients each week, track
your time for a few weeks to get a
baseline. Now, try to increase that
number.
For example, if you spend, on
average, four hours of each week
talking to clients, try to make it five

hours. Schedule a phone call, video
conference, or in-person meeting
with a client you haven't spoken to
in a while just to talk to them about
what is going on in the business. Ask
questions and listen to answers so
you can identify opportunities to
build trust and deliver greater value.

INCREASE YOUR
ADVISORY
REVENUE
What percentage of your firm's
revenue comes from compliance
versus advisory services?
Even among firms where the
bulk of revenue comes from tax
and audit, we usually find they are
providing some advisory services
via one-off projects offered in
response to client needs. Identify
the percentage of your firm's
revenue that comes from advisory
- whether it's an intentional service

Transformation means doing something utterly and radically different,
but it rarely comes all at once.
26

NOVEMBER 2019 ■

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

line or on-the-fly projects, and work
on increasing that percentage.
If you're currently providing
advisory services only when clients
ask for it and billing on an hourly,
one-time basis, look at the projects
you've performed in the past. Can
one or more of those become a packaged product that you can market,
sell and deliver consistently across
clients?
Maybe you've worked with
several startups to select an entity
structure, determine owner salary
and navigate employee versus
independent contractor rules, or
helped an established business
with technology selection, succession planning, hiring or process
improvement. Start with a defined
set of services that are predictable
and repeatable. As you get more
comfortable delivering those
advisory services, you can move
into other areas that most business
clients need and want.

AUTOMATE
MORE
PROCESSES
How many routine processes
within your firm are automated?
Automated

processes

are

increasingly accessible to firms
of all sizes, and they have helped
many reach significant productivity gains. The term "robotic
process automation" may sound
really complicated or even scary to
some, but it's simply about letting
software automate tasks so you and
your team can spend less time on
manual, repetitive work.
If you aren't yet an RPA adopter,
start thinking of small tasks you
can automate. Ask your team for
feedback on the repetitive processes
they would love to get off of their
plate if you need some ideas. For
example, one firm we worked with
saved their admin staff several
hours per week by automating
the running and distribution of a
weekly report that was sent to all
partners in the firm.
Transformation means doing
something utterly and radically
different, but it rarely comes all
at once. Look for ways to move
the needle toward the future you
envision for your firm. The small
successes you have today will build
momentum, lighting a fire under
your team to find innovations that
can make a massive difference in
the relevance and profitability and
of your practice. ■
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