CPA Practice Advisor - 18

ADVERTORIAL

The year 2020 hasn't been easy for anybody. Individuals, families and
businesses have all had to make major adjustments in a year best, and
frequently, described as uncertain. For the accounting industry, much of that
uncertainty has led to an evolving relationship with clients as well as with
colleagues, partners and even friends.
For Joel Hughes, CEO of Right Networks, 2020 has presented not only challenges
but opportunity as accounting firms have come to embrace the cloud rapidly
and with enthusiasm. Here, Hughes answers questions about 2020 so far and
where the cloud and accounting as an industry are heading in the future.
Let's start with the industry.
What are the biggest changes in
accounting you've seen so far in 2020?

JOEL HUGHES
Chief Executive Officer,
Right Networks
Joel is responsible for setting the
company direction and leading the
successful execution of that strategy
with the Right Networks leadership
team. As part of that strategy, he has
led Right Networks to multiple years
of mid double digit growth and
engineered the successful acquisition
of multiple firms that have increased
the value Right Networks is delivering
to clients. He has an extensive track
record of building and growing
businesses and has deep knowledge in
corporate strategy and team building.
Prior to Right Networks, Joel was SVP
of Emerging Business at Constant
Contact (acquired by Endurance
International Group) where he grew
the Single Platform unit from $2M
to $20M over four years. As CEO at
NMS Communications, Joel led the
transformation of a business unit
into the stand-alone public company,
LiveWire Mobile.

This year, we've seen firms
rapidly continue the trend of
becoming valued advisors for the
companies they serve. CPAs have
embraced client accounting and
advisory services, or CAAS, as a core
business model, by helping their
clients manage PPP loans and plan
financial survival strategies, among
other essential tasks. They've become
trusted financial advisers for their
clients rather than just the people
who do their taxes.
What kind of shift in technology
have you seen this year?
I can't think of another time in
my career when there was
such an abrupt shift as there was in
March. All of a sudden, everybody was
working, schooling and even socializing
from home. It was as if all of the use
cases we'd ever presented for moving
to the cloud were not only present but
suddenly required. Working together
remotely and securely was no longer a
perk or nice to have. It was an absolute

necessity. Fortunately, we were there
to respond not only to our customers
but also to firms that suddenly realized
they needed the flexibility and security
the cloud has always provided.
What are the biggest issues
you see in the fourth quarter
and the year ahead for CPA firms?
The situation with public health
is likely to remain unpredictable,
which will have firms continuing to
spend significant time in an advisory
capacity as trusted partners for their
clients. But pandemic or no pandemic,
CAAS is here to stay, and those firms
that don't develop CAAS expertise
will soon fall behind those that do.
Firms have to continue to find ways to
broaden and increase the value they
deliver for clients. On the technology
side, working at home, at least to some
extent, is unlikely to go away now that
so many firms have done it and like it.
We've shown inside Right Networks,
and we've seen from our clients, that
companies can work remotely-and
securely, which is critical-and not
miss a beat. It's cliché to say this, but
this really is a new normal. We're ready
for it, and so are our clients.

rightnetworks.com | 888.417.4448

18

OCTOBER 2020 ■

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CPA Practice Advisor

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