The  Future  Ready  CPA  -­‐  Moving  from  Compliance  to  Reliance  

Tom  Hood,  CPA,  CITP,  CGMA  @tomhood  

#NARM16  

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Your Learning Journey

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The # 1 Challenge

0 2 4 6 8

Poor reputation

No personal relationship

Inadequate staff to meet needs

Not using state-of-the-art technology

Fees were too high

Expertise of former CPA was lacking

Referral to a new firm from someone I trust

CPA had poor responsiveness

CPA didn’t give proactive advice, only reactive service

Why SMBs Leave Their CPA / Accountant

www.blionline.org

Source: CPA.COM Insight into the CPA of the Future Study 2014

Only 8% of CPAs are Future Ready

Future Ready is the capacity to be aware, predictive, and adaptive of

emerging challenges, tech innovations, and trends and changes in business, population, and social

environment.

“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf.”

– Jon Kabat Zinn

Oceans of Opportunity

#FutureReady!Is the capacity to be anticipatory (aware, predictive and adaptive) of emerging technology and trends in business, demographics, and the social environment impacting your organization and industry.!

5 Steps to be Future Ready1. Context 2. Certainty3. Capacity4. Competence 5. Core Beliefs

Context

“We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the

way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything

humankind has experienced before.” - Klaus Schwab - WEF

Big Waves of Change

More Uber cars than yellow taxis on the road in NYC

Gradual then Sudden

Race Against the Machines?

Source: Frey & Osborne – The Future of Employment – Oxford University

Could technology jeopardize professions?

There is a new generation of machine in action now, and these are systems …that can replace parts of, and sometimes all of, certain kinds of professional work.

—Richard Susskind Author, The Future of the Professions

Even as technology has helped to automate some aspects of the tax and insurance markets, the remaining jobs in these fields require lots of human judgment and creativity that is very difficult to automate.

—Andrew Chamberlain Glassdoor chief economist

VS

What does the future hold? Technology is changing and disintermediating many trades and professions •  Medical, Legal, Accounting

Patterns and Trends •  Automation replacing routine tasks – higher order (soft skills

and analytics) necessary to survive •  Alternative options to services and knowledge – automated or

otherwise – Tax and Audit implications •  Globalization, specialization and consolidation changing the

landscape. •  Domain expertise matters

In the next five years we will

TRANSFORM

How we market, sell , communicate, collaborate, innovate, and educate

– Dan Burrus

The  Faster  you  go,  the  Farther  Ahead  You  Have  to  Look  

Certainty

Can you predict the future?

•  Linear & Exponential Change•  Cyclical Change•  Hard Trends vs Soft Trends

Certainty

Hard Trends

Four Hard Trends:1. Government Regulation2. Technology3. Demographics4. Globalization

12,000 CPAs, 75,000 Comments over 15

years

Relationships & Collaboration

Capacity

The Top 6 Ways to Create Capacity in your Firm

•  Maximize software & tools you have•  Use the latest and most efficient technologies•  Workflow & Process Efficiency•  Focus on your best ‘A’ clients•  Communicate your services (cross-sell)•  Engage your people

Competency

Disrup>ons      before  they  disrupt  Problems      before  you  have  them  Customer  Needs    before  they  have  them    New  Opportuni>es  before  the  compeEEon  

AnEcipate  

Source:  Daniel  Burrus  

#FutureReady!Is the capacity to be anticipatory (aware, predictive and adaptive) of emerging technology and trends in business, demographics, and the social environment impacting your organization and industry.!

The ResearchThe latest research inside and outside the CPA Profession re-affirms the Top Competencies and Skills needed by Accounting and Finance Professionals

Top Skills Needed for Accounting and Finance Professionals !

BLI Research in 2015 with over 1,000 responses from all segments of the CPA Profession identified these top skill needed to be successful in these rapidly changing times. This confirms and reinforces the research from the Conference Board, AICPA CPA Horizons 2025 report, Bersin, and Burrus Research..

75% covered by these Top 5

Skills

•  AnEcipaEon  •  Strategic  

Thinking  •  External  

Awareness  •  Vision  •  ConEnuous  

Learning  •  InnovaEon  •  CreaEvity  •  Problem  Solving  •  PrioriEzaEon  

•  Business  Acumen  •  Decisiveness  •  Influencing/

Persuading  •  EmoEonal  

Intelligence  •  Consensus  

Building  •  CollaboraEon  •  InspiraEon  •  Risk  Management  •  CommunicaEon  

http://www.blionline.org/ao

V A L U E

Adding Insight for Action

Information

Wisdom

Knowledge

Data

Compliance

Reliance

Source: CGMA & DIKW Pyramid

V A L U E

TrustIntegrityObjectivityExcellence Lifelong Learning

Core Beliefs & Values

Protect the Core & Stimulate Progress

5 Steps to be Future Ready

1. Context 2. Certainty3. Capacity4. Competence 5. Core Beliefs

Closing Thoughts���What does this mean to the

#FutureReady CPA Firm?

The Shift Change

1. Leadership!2. Learning!3. Technology!4. Generations!5. Workplace!

The challenge & opportunity is to make the shift from the first curve to the second curve at the right time and with the

right strategy

The Big Three

Career Development – Flex Work - Purpose

The  New  Big  Six  

Source: Gallup

Top Ten Things Next Gen leaders Want You to Know!

1.  Look Beyond the Billable Hour2.  More Focus on Career Development3.  Engage Us in your Vision and Purpose4.  More Coaching and Mentorship5.  More Frequent Feedback6.  More Leadership Development7.  More Transparency8.  Thank You!9.  More Collaboration10. More Focus on the Future

Firms evolving for the future

Structure, strategy, business model

Client and relationship building

Use of technology

Staff development and culture

Key factors for success

V2S  –  i2a  –  8-­‐S  Model  

Strategy Staff

Skills

Structure

Style

Systems

Shared Vision

Shared Values

www.blionline.org  

The Magnetic FirmPurpose Driven Great

LeadershipCulture

Of GrowthInspiring

Workplace

Vision, Purpose and Values based

Transparent and Inspirational Leadership

Learning Culture- Self and Formal Development

Flexible and Open Work Environment

Focus on Strengths and Positivity

Build Consensus and Commitment

Career & Growth Orientation – Career Paths

Work/Life Balance

Inclusive and Diverse

Leadership Development at all levels

Customer focused

Coaching and Feedback

High Performance – Insight to Action

Anticipatory and Proactive

Collaborative and Team based

Effective Technology Tools - mobile

Internal StrategyWorkplace Technology

This is the CEOs office!

We surveyed our team after two weeks…!

Slack

“How would you think differently about your strategy if you knew your

advantage might not last?”

Innovation is not Invention

Innovation is not Creativity

Innovation is creating value in anticipation of future trends and

customer needs.

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“Any type of differentiation in your practice that drives

preference.”

Geoffrey Moore: Innovation

Innovation Priorities in Firms1.  Developing new offerings that expand the value we

provide to our existing clients 2.  Implementing a new offering for a specific market

segment we believe has growth 3.  Developing new offerings or approaches to the market

that attract new clients 4.  Realizing value to the firm from existing innovation

investments5.  Updating current offerings to be more competitive6.  Deciding and moving forward on what our innovation

priorities should be7.  Implementing a cloud-based accounting system

Recipe for Innovation 1. The right culture –

collaborative and inclusive 2. Purpose-driven and

visionary leadership 3. Continuous learning and

improvement 4. Competencies and skills

to support innovation 5. Tolerance for risk and

failure 6. Technology-enabled firm

Disruption and RONI���The gap is widening, faster!

Source: Clayton Christensen, “Innovation Killers”

We think this is trade-off

We are in the “Groan Zone”

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Calendar - The No. 1 AppSpend just one hour per week in the future…

If there is a conversation about the future of the profession, you're bound to hear Hood's name mentioned as one of the people leading the way. – Accounting Today

Tom Hood, CPA, CITP, CGMA

CPA Practice Adviser Accounting Hall of Fame Named the Second Most Influential in Accounting by Accounting Today Magazine 2013 - 2015 Top 150 Influencer by Linked-In Top 25 Influencers in Learning & HR - HR Examiner Top 25 Public Accounting Thought Leaders - CPA Practice Adviser Co-founder of the Business Learning Institute

CEO Maryland Association of CPAs (MACPA) www.macpa.org Business Learning Institute (BLI) www.blionline.org

http://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhood/