Coronavirus Culture-Shift Hits Accounting Firms

Transitioning to a virtual firm requires more than the right technology: It requires new thinking about how your firm works.

By Jess Coburn
Applied Innovations

As the coronavirus situation intensifies, it is becoming more and more apparent that we must become increasingly flexible and innovative in how we approach our day-to-day lives. Nowhere is it more evident than in how we run our tax and accounting firms.

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The Coronavirus crisis requires a total re-evaluation of how we conduct our business. For those firms with employees – as opposed to sole practitioners – it is critical to consider going fully remote during this time. It makes sense from a health standpoint and also from a business survival perspective. It’s important for employees to remain healthy and to be able to conduct work, especially during these busy times which involve tax filing deadlines and inevitable extensions.

It’s also important to recognize that families are being impacted due to school and daycare closures, requiring employees to be at home to care for them.

All of that said, the move to a fully remote status requires a culture shift. For many CPA firms and other professional services organizations, this is a major adjustment.