Shownotes
Ep: 65 Top experts answer: "What, if anything, will significantly change accounting in the next few years?"
The Accounting Answers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, asks critical questions of the experts, leaders and influencers who shape the decision-making of accountants, CPAs and finance professionals. Today we ask:
What, if anything, will significantly change accounting in the next few years?
You'll hear insightful and passionate answers from these 5 experts and influencers:
Geni Whitehouse | Keynote presenter, CPA, Winery consultant, President of Information Technology Alliance
Greg Kautz | Finance and technology executive of a lease accounting software company
Harriet Formby | Founder of BelowTheLineFinance, Holistic CFO & Purpose-Led Business Advisor
Heath Alloway | Director at Upstream Academy and servant leader for career professionals
Hitendra Patil | President at Datamatics CPA Outsourcing, Top 100 Influencer, Author, Speaker
Tune into more on this daily show for short, sharp episodes that keep you informed of what's happening in the accounting world and the whole ecosystem of consultants, organizations, vendors and advisors who serve them.
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Dan McMahon and Integrated Growth Advisors. IGA are the CPA firm experts in Growth, Building Infrastructure, and Exchanging ownership. This management advisory firm focuses on empowering CPAs to grow their revenues and increase their profitability and firm value. IGA’s methodology delivers on services built upon "IGA GBX" which represents the firm’s value creation model of "firm Growth, Building infrastructure, and eXchanging ownership. https://www.integratedgrowthadvisors.com
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown
You can also check out other Accounting Influencers Shows on YouTube:
Transcripts
Hi, I'm Rob brown and welcome you.
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:Accounting finance professionals,
tech enthusiasts to the
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:accounting answers podcast.
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:We've embarked on a captivating
exploration of the future of accounting
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:and its profound connection to the
ever-changing technology ecosystem.
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:I think for a moment, how access to the
minds of a range of accounting experts,
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:influencers, vendors, and leaders would
keep you super informed about what's
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:going on in this wonderful profession.
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:You'd stay relevant and future focused.
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:You'd make better strategic
and career decisions.
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:If you know what forces are in play
and what factors are driving change.
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:To unravel the complexities
unenviable future of accounting.
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:I've personally interviewed 111
leading accounting professionals, tech
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:leaders, and industry influencers,
each bring in their unique.
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:Expertise and insights to the
table and together we'll delve into
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:the five critical questions that
will shape the accounting world.
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:Through the eyes and minds of people
living their accounts in life.
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:I'll talk into accountants every day.
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:We'll talk about five critical topics
that ignite in passionate debates
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:and stimulate minds across the globe.
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:We're mapping the transformative
trajectory of the accounting profession
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:and its symbiotic relationship
with the technological revolution.
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:We'll be asking about the next
gen accountants, how far down
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:the advisory line firms are.
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:What's going to change
the accounting world.
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:What their software vendors
and tech providers could do
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:better to serve accountants.
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:And what's coming up in the future.
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:Let's get straight into the
answers for today's topic.
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:We've been focusing this week on
the question, what significant
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:changes are on the horizon for the
accounting profession in coming years?
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:Getting future-focused is top
of the agenda for accounting
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:firms, professional associations.
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:So titers governing bodies, her walls
shaped the reputation of the profession.
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:So let's get ahead of these disruptive
forces as another five of our 111
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:accounting influencers and experts
share their very best analysis.
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:Shaman the thoughts now he's, GENI
Whitehouse a keynote presenter, CPA
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:winery, consultant, and president of
the information technology Alliance.
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:She combines her accounting expertise
with a passion for technology and wine.
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:Geni Whitehouse: Well, I think we all
know that AI is going to have an impact.
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:we can't help but apply it.
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:I mean, it's so easy to use.
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:It's so already taken over the space.
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:Everybody's doing it.
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:Whether we accept that or not at the top
levels of existing firms, our young people
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:are going to new sources of learning.
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:They're getting educated
by people on YouTube.
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:That are teaching them about AI
and what they can do with it.
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:And they're going outside of
firms to leverage these tools.
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:So whether we like it or not, it's
already changing our profession.
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:And that means we have finally the
chance to build the capacity to do
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:services that our clients really
need and want and will pay for.
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:Next we welcome grid counts, a finance
and technology executive at a lease
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:accounting software company, leading
the way and simplifying complex
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:leasing transactions for better
financial transparency and compliance.
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:Greg Kautz: I think number one
thing is shortage of qualified
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:accountants and corresponding auditors.
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:I see a shortage in Canada, United
States heading the rest of the world.
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:I think that's going to be
our biggest challenge ahead.
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:So some of the challenges and problems
we're going to see what this is.
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:first of all, we're going to see higher
audit fees, so that's going to result in
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:companies have to be much more efficient
in the way they, prepare their numbers,
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:analyze their numbers and have backup.
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:So, again, it's going to be, you know, one
of the things is leveraging technology,
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:finding ways to do more with less is what
the consequences of the shortages will be.
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:Let's hear the perspective of Harriet
Folbigg, founder of below the line
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:finance, the holistic C F O and
purpose led business advisor, who
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:brings a comprehensive approach to
financial leadership focusing on
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:the impact beyond the bottom line.
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:Harriet Formby: So I believe that
we're going to move completely
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:away from this focus on deadlines,
tax due dates, reporting cycles.
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:And we are going to be moving into
actually sort of helping our clients
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:create and build the businesses of the
future that are solving the big problems
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:we've got with society and the world.
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:I think we're going to
be bringing in as well.
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:more non financial metrics, so it's not
going to be just about profit and revenues
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:and targets and shareholder value.
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:We're going to be bringing in more
diverse metrics where we're talking
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:more about actually, you know, the
impact we're having and that might not
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:be fully tangible and we're going to
have to work out how we measure these
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:things and actually bring them in so
that they have a value and they're
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:just as important as the financial rule
kind of pointing to the numbers data.
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:I think we're also going to see
a shift because we run on this
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:cycle as accountants of dealing
with deadlines and due dates.
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:I think we're going to
make space for ourselves.
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:We're going to give technology
the burden of sorting out all
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:the deadlines and dates for us.
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:And we're actually going to focus on
doing things in the moment that really
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:matter based on like value creation
rather than like billable time.
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:And I think we're going to take it as
an approach of kind of seeing business
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:owners first and foremost, as humans
that have their own kind of world,
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:their personal life, their ambitions.
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:their past history with finance that
comes into it all, I think we're going
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:to be approaching it in a more kind
of holistic, more trauma informed
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:way when we talk about finance in the
way that we talk to clients in a way
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:that embraces the fact that it may be
feeling shame about financial situations
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:and the pressures of needing to make
the cash flow work and actually, you
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:know, stepping back and seeing it
from a more sort of human perspective.
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:Please welcome Heath Alloway director,
upstream academy, and a seventh leader
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:for a career professionals dedicated
to developing the next generation of
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:leaders in the accounting profession.
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:Heath Alloway: this may be a
completely different path than
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:what some others have answered.
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:And I, I just, I've been thinking
about, you know, some, some common
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:answers we could think about AI
technology, things along those lines.
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:I'm going to take a little
different perspective.
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:We, we have a lot of really
smart people in our profession.
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:We have a lot of great
people in our profession.
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:We have a lot of very hardworking
people in our profession.
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:And.
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:Whenever we set our minds to something,
I believe that we can get there.
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:I believe we're better changed than
what we give ourselves credit for.
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:And there have been a lot of things
over the past few years that are
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:having firms rethink, you know, how
we work, where we work, you know, the
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:type of work, the hours that we work.
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:And I share all of that because
I believe that there are things
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:changing in our profession.
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:That will create a better future.
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:I do.
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:I strongly believe that
the best is yet to come.
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:One of the biggest changes we
hear the doom and gloom, fewer
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:people, people leaving, you know,
all the things that we continue to
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:hear, I believe a different story.
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:I think that it, this will
be a sought after profession.
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:People will start to see the value
and start, you know, in a lot of
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:ways, maybe directing their kids to
the opportunity in our profession.
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:So that is one of the things
that I think will be different.
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:And I think governance
structures will be different.
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:We'll have to be more nimble
in how we make decisions and
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:how we agree to be governed.
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:It's just, things are changing
at a faster pace, so that will
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:continue to evolve as well.
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:Jumping into the conversation now.
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:We've had tender PTL president, a
data Matic CPA outsource in a top 100
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:influencer or the speaker who brings
innovative solutions and insights to
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:the field of accounting outsourcing.
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:Hitendra Patil: I think top of
the mind is client expectations.
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:They're also aware that things
are changing technologically.
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:Things are breaking and getting better.
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:Things are getting, intelligence
driven data and information
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:expectations that people had.
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:They go, I need.
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:my financial statement.
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:I need to make sure my tax return
is done in time and all that.
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:That information expectation will give way
to advice and intelligence expectation.
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:More and more people will ask the
accountant, okay, tell me according
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:to you what I should be doing.
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:And that requires application
of mind on client situation.
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:So that itself will change the business
model itself of accounting firms.
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:To offer more real time, more
subscription based service models,
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:where contents, intelligence expertise.
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:advice will be in demand rather than
those just outputs and things like that.
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:So client expectations will drive
the whole change in the profession.
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:And technology will, of course,
evolve at a very warp speed.
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:And again, because of AI, things will
be very, very different in terms of how
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:technology evolves from here onwards.
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:So those two are very significant
changes that I can see right now.
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:Microphone (TONOR TC30 Audio Device)-1:
So they have five great
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:answers to the question.
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:What, if anything will significantly
change accounting in the next few
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:years, every working day of the week,
Monday through Friday, we give you
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:the insights of five top influencers
in the accounting world on this
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:critical area of what is coming up.
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:Change wise for accountants
that's 25 valuable perspectives.
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:Viewpoints and best thinking every
week and with a fresh week comes the
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:first question and more thoughts from
the best influencers and leaders we
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:can find in the accounting world.
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:Thanks for listening to the accounting
answers podcast and sharing this brand
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:new show with your friends and colleagues.
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:If you want to join the conversation.
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:You can plug into our community of
influencers@accountinginfluences.com.
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:And check out our virtual
speed networking events.
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:These happen every few months
for the north American region
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:and the UK Europe region.
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:These are great opportunities
to raise your profile, build
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:valuable connections and share your
thoughts with influential peers.
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:Until next time, this is your host,
Rob brown, saying stay informed,
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:stay relevant and stay connected.
