september2021 - 10

FROM THE TRENCHES
CLIENT EXPERIENCE FOR TODAY
A Taxing Situation
IT IS NICE to see the last few stressful years fade in the rearview mirror. With the Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), handling the pandemic, PPP, PPP2, and the changes in tax
deadlines, most practitioners report that these years
have been among the toughest on record for them.
But this time has been very profitable! Additionally,
there hasn't been much time to work on the practice
with business development, technology innovations,
or new service offerings. While many of
you have worked on your practice, this would be
more of an exception than the rule. Further, a
significant number of firms are reporting staff
turnover like they have not seen at any time.
If this employee disruption is as notable as it
seems, talent retention and recruitment may be
the hottest topic of the year for both you and
your clients.
Because the U.S. market is just opening back up, I have seen many
of you at events during the past 60 days or so, including Acumatica
Summit, AICPA ENGAGE, Western CPE events, or one of our K2 CPE events. I
have witnessed much joy in renewing the relationships among you. Further,
we didn't get as much refreshment and relief as expected from the revenge
spending on a vacation. I note that many accountants seem tired. I encourage
you to block and take as much downtime as possible after the tax deadlines are
past. I've listened to many stories of COVID deaths, long-haul effects, suicides,
and other mental health issues which will affect our families, practices, and
clients for years to come. Would you please do the best you can to care for
yourself and everyone where you have an impact?
While I'm sure you always have concern for your family, business, and
clients, note that all may seem appropriately " needy " right now; these needs
are likely to continue during the recovery period and for much of the next five
to ten years. In addition, as students return to schools after many were taught
remotely for the first time, there will be culture shocks for years to come.
Our culture is changing, and this unspoken stressor will have unpredictable
outcomes on different people. Resilience can be taught, but don't be surprised
if someone you thought was fine turned out to need help as was punctuated
in the Olympics in Tokyo. Unfortunately, I know a record number of people
that have committed suicide in 2021. If I had only known, I would have done
something...
10 SEPTEMBER 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
RANDY JOHNSTON
EVP & Partner
K2 Enterprises &
CEO of Network Management Group, Inc.
randy.johnston@cpapracticeadvisor.com
@RPJohnston
SO, WHAT'S
CHANGING IN THE
WORKPLACE?
Almost everything! We have new tools,
expectations, and an accelerated pace
of business. Even with my cautions
above, I remain very optimistic about
opportunities for you and your clients. But all of us will have to
change with the times. During my travel for conferences in the
last few weeks, I've had the time to read several books about topics
that interest me. I also decided to re-read a book from earlier this year. Of note
and potential usefulness to you were these three: Collaborative Innovation by
Bart Barthelemy, KPI Checklists by Bernie Smith, and Workquake: Embracing the
Aftershocks of Covid, by Steve Cadigan. All are quick reads, taking less than two
hours each, but all my copies have wound up heavily dog-eared because of the
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september2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of september2021
