Ep: 98 Top experts answer: "What are your top 3 predictions for the accounting world in coming years?"
The Accounting Answers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, asks critical questions of the experts, leaders and influencers who shape the decision-making of accountants, CPAs and finance professionals. Today we ask:
What are your top 3 predictions for the accounting world in coming years?
You'll hear insightful and passionate answers from these 5 experts and influencers:
Liz Farr | CPA and ghostwriter for thought leaders in accounting
Lucy Cohen | Co-Founder and CERO of Mazuma, subscription accounting with proprietary tech
Margot Roodi | CFO at fintech enthusiast from Uku, accounting practice management software
Mark Walker | CEO (VFD-Pro) Helping Entrepreneurs Survive, Thrive, Scale & Exit Successfully
Matthew Banker | Marketing Strategist and Host of the "Marketing for Accounting Firms Pocast"
Tune into more on this daily show for short, sharp episodes that keep you informed of what's happening in the accounting world and the whole ecosystem of consultants, organizations, vendors and advisors who serve them.
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But you go for the insights and intel that keep you informed. It's easy to find tons of news and how to stuff, but what about the commercial acumen, the business awareness that separates the good from the great professionals, the insights, the trends, the nuances, the patterns, the predictions, the drivers of change. Well, I'm a brown and that's exactly what we're doing here. With this brand new accounting answers podcast, I've interviewed 111 people who care about accounting, who talk to tech experts, fellow professionals and clients every day. These people are on the front line and seeing what's working on what isn't. And you can't be a variety of experts that comes from not just a couple of conversations or talking to your people in your own bubble. You need diversity of thinking and perspectives. So we're asking a range of experts in accounting finance and tech the same five questions about change, talent, people, tech and the future of accounting. And in this daily show of 10 to 15 minutes, you get over 500 brilliant passionate and articulate perceptions, insights, viewpoints of professionals with a stake in the game. And each episode gives you five answers to one of these questions. So you step ahead of everyone else in knowing what the world is thinking about the topics that matter. Let's jump into today's episode. In this episode, we're continuing to ask our experts and influencers this question. What are your top pre predictions for the future of the accounting world and the technology ecosystem that supports it? You will believe the variety of answers that come out of that one question. Some common themes and repeating topics. Yes. But the nuances and implications are staggering. Let's find out from five of our experts. What's really coming up. It's time to listen to Liz far CPA ghost writer for thought leaders in accounting, translating complex accounting concepts into accessible and engaging content and amplifying the voices of industry leaders. The only one thing that's going to happen is that more banks are going to be offering their own GL products. And this may become a requirement for small businesses that want to borrow funds through that bank. Banks have been able to connect their GLS to the accounting systems of users for decades. But few have taken advantage of that. If they do that, then what do you really need an audit for? So that is one change that will have big implications. Another change I see is that the existing GL vendors will be adding more data analytics and automation to their products. And this will mean that more of these small businesses out there will be able to do it yourself in getting their books done, getting a better product for their tiny investment. And they'll be able to create their own insights. And this I think will really help small business to move forward. My third prediction is really more of a hope than a prediction. And that is I hope that more firm leaders at all levels, whether they're leaders of an accounting firm or their leaders in industry will recognize that they need to better support their people, their existing hires, so that they will stay with them for a longer time. I've talked to a number of people who say it won't help at all to fix the pipeline problem at the entry level if people are leaking out in the middle. So until we figure out how to give people more mentorship, more guidance on how to be leaders, how to teach people below them, how to delegate and how to become leaders themselves, we're going to keep losing things. You can't fix a leaky bucket from by just filling the top faster. Welcome into the show. Now Lucy Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Mizzuma offering subscription accounting with proprietary tech, redefining accounting services with a focus on accessibility and technological innovation. So prediction wise, I think we're going to see a pairing back of technology by accountants. No more Magpie syndrome, no more shiny object syndrome. People are going to start really thinking about what they use and why. I think we're going to see vendors respond to that. I think we're going to see far more focus on developing really good core products instead of lots of additional ads and extras. And I think we're going to see a reduction in the number of vendors out there. There'd be the big boom in it. And when that happens, there's always some that make it and some that don't, the ones that are going to stay and the ones that do the simple things really well. Let's dive into the insights of Margarude, CFO and FinTech enthusiast from UQ, where she leverages accounting practice management software to streamline operations and empower accountants with innovative tools. So number one, rapid technological growth will continue. AI agents will support accountants in the tailored tasks. Not only provide templates, but also adjust daily goals by learning from user behavior, thinking about health and sports apps. Also productivity apps can strive to be a personal coach. So they will optimize your daily work life. But these technological solutions will also provide better insights into the data. Number two, there will also be more and more specialized software and success will follow for those providers who grow with their partners. There are and will be even more different specialized software apps for practice management, payments, digitization, financial analysis, AML, document management and whatever. And the most successful will be the businesses that work together with partners to grow together. So our vision also is to provide the accountants with a functional ecosystem. One software doesn't have to do it all, but an accounting practice will still need an all around solution. And number three, success through relationships. Successful will be those who still remain in a relationship with the people they serve. Also firm owners will still need valuable insights from experienced people who helped them with business setups, consult them when they're stuck and react quickly and agile to changes and support their accountants. So in the midst of all the speaking offered on the market, you will need to carefully select and choose which software actually benefits your company. So people who understand processes and have conceptual thinking are still needed as ever. Here with us now is Mark Walker, CEO at VFD Pro, helping entrepreneurs survive, scale and exit successfully. Offing strategic insights and tools to enhance business performance and prepare for successful transitions. Okay, so top three predictions. The first one will be probably the same on everyone's lips. And that's the rise of AI and automation. However, I don't think so. So it will naturally come. It's a stable. This started to grow and grow and grow and grow and grow. There will be, we're automating tasks and reducing errors and enabling accounts to focus on other things. But the fact that it will happen is inevitable. It doesn't necessarily mean that it will naturally make the accountancy profession more profit. Because the key is in the mindset and the key is in the mindset of the individual to embrace that change and adapt with it. And you know, there are some people that will do it and will do it very well. And the ones that don't do it, well, I think will end up with a, they'll still have their client base, but that client base will just dwindle over time because they aren't able to act as quick and, or they aren't able to be as adaptable as other firms are. The second one is the changing needs of people new to the accounting profession. And again, this is inevitable because we see it already. Young people need a purpose. They need to go to work and know that they've made a difference. And that's just going to increase more and more and more. I got a 13 year old daughter and a 15 year old daughter and they talk about what they want to achieve and get out of their role, not what they want to earn. When I, when I was like age, I was all about what I wanted to earn. And everything else was secondary. I kind of do anything to earn that amount of money, earn your age, what is what I was always told, earn your age. But now it will have a completely different saying because it will be, okay, well, what am I going to achieve? What am I going to get out of it? And to hear that come out of my 15 year old daughter's mouth and think, would I ever have said those words? No, never. So that's going to be a real big prediction for the coming years. The third one is pretty boring, but it's the regulates three landscape. It will change, it will always change. The only certainty about that is that it does, it happens. Whether this will have a substantial impact on SMEs, who are the majority of people that accountants serve, don't know. And how the tech vendors can adapt to that, don't know. But stuff will happen in the regulatory landscape over the, over the coming years that will be the entire professional have to adapt to. So when I talk about regulatory change, probably more because it's close to my heart, more in the, in the area of data. So right now, we've got an expansion of data. It's on an exponential curve, and it's just going up and up and up and up. We've got AI information, which is now using that data. We've got, we've got things like chat GPT and people going, can I, can't I use that with the certain data that I've got? So at some point, there's going to be, and I know, and we've got, we've got think tanks that they're, they're, they're, they're right now talking about, you know, the, the ethics of AI and, and automation and how it's used, how should it be used and what, what we can do to protect that. So I think there's going to be change for everyone around data. And that can be something as simple as data security. That, that's kind of a given, but I think it's, it's going to be more about how am I using that data and am I using that data for the purpose for which it was meant to be used? Introducing to the microphone, Matthew Banker, marketing strategist and host of the marketing for a counting firms podcast, where he shares cutting edge market and strategies and insights to help accounting firms grow and prosper. Well, in coming years, I think AI is going to continue to change. The biggest thing, it's, it's a half prediction. Things will change. I don't think we really know how they will change yet. And so anyone who's saying AI will result in ABC, I'm a little bit skeptical of that because I think it's moving so fast. One of the things is we don't know all these different AI products, will they? Will it really combine to a singular meta AI where one thing can do all of the stuff that, that these individual products do? I don't know, it could be that or it could be that every one of these things has a really individual piece. I think the other big change is that advisory is becoming more and more valuable. And a lot of the technical pieces, the production, data entry, tax preparation, bookkeeping, all of those things become more automated or built into workflows where you're outsourcing things. I think that will be another major change. And then the third is, I don't know, I don't know exactly how this falls out, but there, there's a CPA shortage in, at least in the US, and there are a lot of CPA owners who are retiring. And so I think we'll see a change in the firms themselves. They'll either be acquired and merged into larger firms, or new people are going to be taking them over and they're going to be doing those services in new and different ways. And so we'll see a real, a pretty, I think, significant shift in what is available just because the people leading these companies are going to change pretty, pretty soon. I think we're already seeing that, but that's only going to accelerate in the next few years. So there you have five great answers to the question, what are your top three predictions for the accounting world in coming years? Every work in dev the week, Monday through Friday, we give you the insights of five top influencers in the accounting world on what is coming up prediction wise, what are they willing to bet and what are they seeing their crystal balls? That's 25 valuable perspectives, viewpoints and best thinking every week. And where the fresh week comes a fresh question and more thoughts from the best accounting leaders and influencers we can find. Thanks for listening to the Accounting Answers podcast and sharing this brand new show with your friends. If you want to join the conversation, you can plug into our community of influencers at accountinginfluencers.com and check out our virtual speed networking events. These happen every few months for the North American region and the UK Europe region. Great opportunities to raise your profile, build valuable connections and share your thoughts with influential peers. Until next time, this is your hoax Rob Brown saying stay informed, stay relevant and stay connected.
