The 8 Traits Creating the Firm of the Future Today

Future informationA CPA firm in San Francisco hires programmers! Do you?

By Hitendra Patil
Pransform

Several discussions across multiple thought leadership groups, industry experts and advisors have boiled down to the crux of the question for the future, i.e.: What is needed by CPA firms to become sustainably successful? What are these traits “The Firm of The Future” must have? I think there are eight:

1.     Redefine profitability

When partners and talented accountants perform routine tasks such as scanning documents and data input, the leverage on intellectual capital reduces. That impacts profitability. And the well-settled definitions of profitability are getting unsettled by technology, new generation thinking and sea change in regulations. Efficiency gave you optimal returns in your time. It won’t in the future. Your profits will be driven by the effectiveness of your combined intellectual capital (knowledge, wisdom) and your infrastructure (systems, software, communication channels). You will create measurable value for your clients and this value will drive your profits. It is all hinting to a complete overhaul of your pricing strategies, ground up.

Trait needed: Effectively priced intellectual capital on demand