SURVEY RESULTS: More Accountants Turning to Experts for Tech Management

Tablet and portal use rises.

By Randolph P. Johnston and Leslie Garrett
The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

Over the last 25 years, managing technology has become an increasingly important part of managing a firm. Today’s staff members have video meetings with clients and team members around the world without the other party knowing whether they are wearing a suit in the office or wearing slippers in their living room.

MORE FROM THE SURVEY: SURVEY RESULTS: Workflow Management Concerns Many Firms | SURVEY RESULTS: Accounting Firms Add New Service Lines | SURVEY RESULTS: How Top Tech Vendors Are Failing CPAs in the Cloud | Master Change, Master the Future | Why Every CPA Firm Is a Tech Company at Heart
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Just as it is not a good use of an entrepreneur’s time to try to learn the tax law, buy software and prepare all of their own tax returns, it is not a good use of a practitioner’s time to work on IT issues. Given the value of an accountant’s time performing client work, it makes little, if any sense to manage it yourself.

Posted on October 29, 2016

Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

About the Author

Randy Johnston, Chairman and CEO, Network Management Group Inc., Brian Tankersley, Principal of Tankersley Consulting, and Leslie Garrett, PhD, CEO of Insight Research Group, are the principal authors of the Annual Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey Report.

Published by CPA Trendlines, available in softcover and in ebook formats, here:

Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

The report provides easy to understand bar charts and tables featuring three consecutive years of data which highlights trends in the profession. The survey results book also provides tables where survey respondents are segmented by size of firm, making it easy for accounting and tax professionals to benchmark their firm against others of the same size.

Randy Johnston has been an entrepreneur, technologist, and teacher for most of his career. He has helped start and run many businesses and currently owns both Network Management Group Inc. and part of K2 Enterprises. Randy is not afraid to tackle a business management problem or to get his hands dirty answering a low-level technical question. He is best known for his early and on-going expertise in networks, accounting software, paperless, and CPA firm technology. His expertise has grown to touch virtually every technology in the marketplace. He is particularly well known for his Technology Update overview presentation. He helps businesses with strategic technology planning, accounting software selection, document management selection and planning, and business continuity planning.

Brian Tankersley, CPA, CITP, CGMA is a consultant, author, and speaker who specializes in accounting technology issues. Tankersley has spoken in 47 US states, and three Canadian provinces, and writes for major accounting press outlets including CPA Practice Advisor and AccountingWeb. He is also a faculty member for Yaeger CPA Review.

Leslie Garrett, PhD, is the CEO and founder of Insight Research Group, a company dedicated to delivering powerful industry-precise surveys and research data analysis. Leslie serves Edge Marketing, Inc. as a marketing executive and industry analyst with expertise in marketing, public relations, search engine optimization, lead generation, and management. She is instrumental in leading Edge’s corporate consulting and Search Engine Optimization website analytics services, and has experience serving in the accounting and legal industries. Prior to joining Edge, Leslie served as an executive in marketing and management positions in industry and taught marketing and management at the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota and at Saint Cloud State University in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.

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