Ep: 19 Top experts answer: "What could the tech/software vendors do better to serve accountants?"

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 could the tech/software vendors do better to serve accountants?

You'll hear insightful and passionate answers from these 5 experts and influencers:

Randy Johnston | Thought Leader & Genuine Renaissance Spirit for all Accounting Technology

Randy Wootton | CEO at Maxio advising B2B SaaS companies on next stage growth

Richard Kopelman | CEO at the North America's fastest growing accounting firm, Aprio

Rob Nixon | Coaches Accountants on creating massive profits and massive time

Rob Pillans | Accounting firm coach, mentor and consultant based in Australia

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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The future of accountant, isn't just about

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numbers and financial statements.

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It's about empowering businesses to make

informed decisions, navigate complex

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And everyone recognized that Kansans

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towards success and whatever your role

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is in this ecosystem, you need to stay

ahead of the curve to stay relevant.

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And that's why this accounting

answers podcast was conceived to

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keep you informed and competitive.

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I'm your host, Rob brown, and

I've interviewed 111 accounting

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experts, leaders, advisors, vendors,

and influencers in the last few

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months and collected for you the

very best and latest thinking on

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what works and what is coming up.

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And this week, they show 10 to 15

minutes gets you the low down on

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what matters today in the rapidly

evolving accounting landscape.

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And the professional is shed

in its traditional image of

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number crunching, embracing a

bold new future data technology,

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strategic guidance, reign Supreme.

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I've asked the same five questions

throughout covering the next

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generation of accountants.

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The proactive advice they need to be

given the drivers have changed the

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role of tech and software vendors

post the best predictions for the

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next few years, let's get started and

hear what our experts have to say.

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Today, we're again, asking

people who care about accounting.

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A simple question.

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What role do the tech providers

and software vendors play in

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the evolution of the industry?

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Technology's playing an increasingly

crucial role in the accounting profession.

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And the consensus is the tech industry

needs to step up to meet the evolving

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demands of accountants, but how exactly.

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Listening as another five of our

111 influencers and experts share

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their wisdom and their best insights.

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I'm really excited now to bring to

the microphone, the influencer of

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influences in the accounting world.

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The heavyweight accounting guru

that is Randy Johnston fault leader

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and genuine Renault-Nissan sprit

for all accounting technology.

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Known for his deep knowledge of

accounting tech and his ability

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to inspire innovation and change

within the accounting world.

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Randy Johnston: Well, here, the

tech industry hasn't served the

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accountants very well, and the

accounting software vendors,

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frankly, have, drugged their feet.

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And so the lack of innovation

in the last three to four years,

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in particular, and it has nothing

in my mind to do with pandemic.

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It has everything to do with

vision and investment, need to.

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Rebuild products that are

simpler and more complete.

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And that's a real tall order.

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but what happens here is the tools

that we're using in many cases

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are 20 and 30 year old designs.

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And today there are so much better ways,

so many better ways that this, technology

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can be used to automate processes, to

improve workflows, to improve business

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exchanges, to, do mundane things

that doesn't have to be done manually.

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So it's a pretty tall order,

both the public practice tools.

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And the accounting software tools

are doing pretty major overhauls.

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People are trying, but they may

not have quite the budgets or

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runways to get those accomplished.

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The next voice you'll hear is Randy

Woodson CEO at Advising B2B SAS

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companies on next stage growth,

where he's expertise, guides,

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firms through scaling challenges.

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With strategic insights

and operational excellence.

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Randy Wooton: This is the question

that I am struggling with as someone

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trying to sell to accountants.

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the accountants that I've talked

to, the firms that I've talked to

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specifically in the B2B SaaS space

are just anxious, anxious about what's

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happening in the broader B2B space.

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There is a tech recession going

on, meaning every client is

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tightening their belts and looking

at ways they can save their money.

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So any accountant that's trying to

encourage them to buy new technology is

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probably going to be falling on deaf ears.

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So as a vendor to an accountancy, the

thing that I think we need to be clear

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is how we help that accountant get more

for less, meaning they can hire fewer

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people, they can support more clients,

and they're able to get more scale.

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And I think as accountancies

are facing hiring challenges as

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well, that's a long term play.

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There is a challenge in terms of the

upfront cost to learn new technologies,

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and I think some accountancies right

now and, controllers and fractional

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CFOs are just so overwhelmed with

everything that it's just too hard

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for them to consider, anything.

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So, what we try to do is we want

to help them win new business.

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And so that is thinking about

technology plus services.

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So, if we do a webinar with consulting

firm or accounting firm, it's

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like, hey, here's what Maxfield can

provide in terms of data and tech.

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But to get the value out of this customer,

you're going to need a service provider.

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Here's our service providers

that we've worked with that

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know how to use our technology.

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So I do think it's a little bit

of investment on either side.

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but the promise is that we can help

them win more business and they

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can serve that more business more

efficiently, which would increase

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their profitability over time.

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Rob Brown: Coming to him now is

Richard Kopelman CEO at one of north

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America's fastest growing accounting.

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where his leadership has been

instrumental in driving growth,

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innovation and client success.

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Richard Kopelman: What we've done in

order to facilitate the growth in our

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business, the foothold, the growth, the

foothold of technology in our business

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has been to be part of the roadmap.

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of the tech companies.

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So I think one of the things to

continue to do and do it even better

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is to involve the technicians in

the development of the technology

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and the roadmap of the technology.

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Rob Brown: Coming up now is the

entertaining and educational.

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Nixon who coaches, accountants on

creating massive profits and massive

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time-savings transforming practices

with these revolutionary approaches to

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practice management unprofitability.

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Rob Nixon: All right, I'm going

to target America on this one,

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not so much the UK and Australia.

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Get rid of the desktop or

hosted versions of the software.

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Just turn it off, right?

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Seriously, UK and Australia, New

Zealand, we're already there.

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Nordic countries are already there,

but America and Canada, come on, right?

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Vendors, just turn it off and

force everyone to go to the cloud.

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so that's the first thing.

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And you just got to force,

well, maybe you've got the.

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The desktop or the hosted version,

the accountants will use it.

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Cause they don't want

to change, turn it off.

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Right.

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Second, provide content with the data,

you know, so the data of the practice

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managed numbers and analytics, how

about provide some content as to

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what they can do with that number.

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And, and the third one.

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is with the, cloud vendors with who

connecting the practice management suite

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to the, client, accounting is provide

predictive analytics, you know, back

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to the accountant, you know, provide,

you know, ebbs and flows and cash flow

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and accounts receivable and accounts

payable and alert the accountant

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as to what's going on their client

business, because that may help the

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accountant be more proactive, you at

a minimum, the accountant will know

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what's going on their client business.

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Rob Brown: Let's hear from Rob Pilsen's

accounting firm, coach mentor and

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consultant based in Australia known.

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The strategic advice that

transforms accounting practices.

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Into more efficient, profitable

and enjoyable businesses.

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Rob Pillans: So, fundamentally, I've got

three or four things that I would love

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to see, you know, the tech, the software

companies doing in relation to accounts.

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Firstly, please, don't launch

half baked products that are

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solutions looking for a problem.

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Right.

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You know, please deliver software that is

actually genuinely delivering on, solving

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a problem that an account might have.

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And of course, because I'm an

accounting firm coach and consultant

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and mentor, I'm thinking, of course,

from an accounting firm perspective.

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And every now and again, people

say they're just not doing that.

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So that's the first one.

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secondly, just genuinely listen

to the feedback from your

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users and actually act on it.

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I still feel like that's

not happening enough.

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Third, make your tools super connective

in terms of having a robust, a robust

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API, so that you can, you know,

be connecting with other tools.

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And then lastly, and I, I think

really importantly, and I get this

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feedback from a few of my clients.

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Please, as a tech company, a software

provider, stop trying to tell accountants

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how to run a better accounting firm,

and actually just tell them what your

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software does and how it helps them and

what problems it solves, because I don't

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think there's enough of that going on.

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Microphone (TONOR TC30 Audio Device)-2:

So they have five grand

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answer to the question.

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What could the tech and software vendors

do better to serve accountants each

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work in depth that week, Monday through

Friday, we give you the insights of five

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top influencers in the accounting world.

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On this critical area of the

tech providers, software vendors

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and how they serve accountants.

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That's 25 valuable perspectives,

viewpoints and best thinking every week.

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And with each fresh week comes a

fresh question and more thoughts

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from the best accounting leaders

and influences we can find.

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Thanks for listening to this brand

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These happen every few months

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The great opportunities to raise your

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share your thoughts with influential

peers until next time, this is your host.

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Rob brown, saying stay informed,

stay relevant and stay connected.