{"id":6408,"date":"2019-08-01T10:55:52","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T14:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=6408"},"modified":"2026-02-12T05:15:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:15:05","slug":"accounting-practice-next-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/accounting-practice-next-decade\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your accounting practice ready for the next decade?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAccountants<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIs your accounting practice ready for the next decade?\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\tPublished
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tJennifer Warawa<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What do you think the accounting practice of the future will look like, and what kind of businesses will it serve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will certainly be different, but the Practice of Now 2019<\/a> report suggests it could be radically different in some key ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our report found that 90% of the 3,000 accountants we surveyed believe there\u2019s a cultural or evolutionary change happening right now within their profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, I\u2019ll share three things that I believe will give you a chance to prepare. All of them come from the report findings, so we\u2019re limiting our crystal ball gazing and working from real-world feedback from accountants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing I\u2019ll share is what\u2019s happening with the businesses of tomorrow. Where they are heading and what impact that has on the overall business landscape and environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, I\u2019ll share some information about the workforce of tomorrow, and how the speed at which it is changing is having a huge impact on the accounting profession overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, given the rapidly changing landscape, I\u2019ll give my perspective on what this means for you as an accounting professional.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\tGet the report<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

The pace of change<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, it might be useful to get a sense of perspective. I speak to many accountants around the world and often I hear this feedback: \u201cThings are moving too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But are they really? As AICPA<\/a> President and CEO Barry Melancon recently told me: \u201cThis is the slowest pace of change that we will see for the rest of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s profound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leader of one of the biggest accounting certification bodies in the world says the pace of change right now is actually the slowest it\u2019s likely to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what about all that new technology beating at the door? Artificial intelligence<\/a>. Cloud computing<\/a>. Well, is it so new? Why are we calling it \u201cemerging technology\u201d when some of it\u2019s been around since the 1950s?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For so many decades, all of this technology was only available to large corporations. It wasn\u2019t necessarily available to small or mid-size businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now it\u2019s available to even the smallest startup business. Perhaps the reason we still talk about this technology as \u201cemerging\u201d is because, as a profession, we\u2019re behind the times. We\u2019re not where we need to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, according to the Practice of Now report, 85% of accountants stated: \u201cWe need to pick up the pace of technology adoption in order to be competitive in the international landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technology is one of the drivers behind the 90% of accountants who believe the profession is undergoing a cultural change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other reasons cited include market demands, changing regulations, generational changes and client demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I think is really fascinating is that these are all external forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a profession we\u2019re being forced to change, and that can be really hard for any profession, not just accounting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But keeping this sense of perspective will help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business of tomorrow<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We need to plan for what our clients will look like tomorrow and in the future, not just for today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of your clients today will go out of business. Some of them will retire. But these aren\u2019t the only threats to your client list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a study by Salesforce<\/a>, 64% of businesses are willing to leave the brands they work with if that brand doesn\u2019t anticipate their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same study reported that 70% of consumers agree that technology has made it easier than ever to take their business elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two key takeaways. Firstly, what businesses expect is changing. But secondly, notice the phrasing: \u201cIf the brand doesn\u2019t anticipate their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just about meeting their needs today. It\u2019s about anticipating what they will need tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you anticipate where your clients are going \u2013 and what they\u2019re going to need in five or 10 years? How is your firm\u2019s business model and the services you provide changing to meet those needs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technology will be one of those drivers in the wider business world, of course, just like it is in our own profession. This should feature in what you anticipate clients needing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But don\u2019t make the mistake of believing that technological innovation in itself will define the business of tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andy Grove, the founder of the computer chip maker Intel, said the following: \u201cDisruptive threats came inherently not from new technology but from new business models.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you heard about Flippy, the burger-flipping robot used in a California burger chain? Surely automating the creation of burgers can only be successful. You reduce staff costs. You standardize food production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the burger chain had to switch off Flippy after just one day<\/a> as it created problems in the workflow for the staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They needed to be trained to work with Flippy but subsequently it was realized that the high turnover rate of burger joints made this problematic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What had happened, in my opinion, is that Flippy changed the burger joint\u2019s business model. Suddenly, fundamental assumptions were called into question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the people who operated the burger joint thought they were just automating a single, basic task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moral of the story is that it\u2019s the business models and not the technologies that accountants need to watch and anticipate.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\tGet the report<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

The workforce of tomorrow<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the biggest age demographic in western countries right now? Baby boomers? Gen-Xers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turns out that it\u2019s millennials \u2013 often cited as those born after 1981, but with a particular focus on those born in the 21st century \u2013 a group sometimes hived off into their own age demographic called Gen-Z.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you know that 2018 was the first time that those born after the millennium came of age?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, arguably this age group began entering the workforce from their teenage years onwards, so we\u2019re aware of them already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workforce of tomorrow will increasingly consist of millennials and Gen-Zers. In fact, by 2020 more than half the entire workforce population will be made up of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s critically important that you think about a strategy for handling millennials\/Gen-Zers and what they anticipate. I\u2019ve spent many hours in focus groups with them talking about what it is they want when working at an accounting firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They don\u2019t feel like they have a voice. Senior accountants have been heard saying things like: \u201cI started in the mail room \u2013 they\u2019ve got to start at the bottom and work their way up just like I did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This just doesn\u2019t wash with the millennial generation. They won\u2019t stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This doesn\u2019t mean they need to start at the top but it does mean they need to have a voice. Yet when you think about how diversity can lead to a much richer business model and business plan for you, giving a voice to this group is actually to your advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few stories to illustrate the nature of the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My friend\u2019s father Ken is 88 years old and wanted to finally get himself online, so after much thinking about his needs, Ken was given an iPad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, my friend acted as a makeshift tech support line for his father and one of the first calls was asking how to email some pictures to his daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His daughter had emailed Ken already a few times, so her contact details were right there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Ken didn\u2019t know this. Why would he make such an assumption?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This really shows the fundamental barriers presented by modern technology for the older generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s talk about Molly. She\u2019s three years old. One day while her mother was out, Molly found her father lying on the floor<\/a>, convulsing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Molly grabs her father\u2019s tablet and makes a video call to her mother to tell her that Daddy is sick. She turns the tablet around so mom can see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it happens, mom is a nurse so immediately calls an ambulance. Unfortunately, Molly\u2019s father had a stroke but the great news is that he is now recovering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Molly was never taught how to make a video call. She had never made one before. But she just knew what to do. She either learned it by watching others, or she figured it out for herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can there be a starker demonstration of the technical divide? Ken is perplexed by the basic stuff, which is literally second nature for Molly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Molly is your customer of tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they come into your firm and they want a job, the millennial\/Gen-Zers expect the latest technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not optional. It\u2019s part of how they exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019ll require a very different workforce than has been in existence up until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IBM\u2019s Institute for Business Value surveyed millennials. It found people in that demographic want to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n