State of the Profession and Disrupters for the Future

Christina Camara, INSIDE Public Accounting

Consider starting an accounting practice from scratch. Would you use the same business model in place today? Maybe not.

So suggests Mark Koziel, the AICPA’s vice president of firm services, in a recent, wide-ranging AAM High webinar titled, “State of the Profession and Disrupters for the Future.” In fact, he says if firm lead­ers could do only one thing to become more future-ready, it would be to re-examine the traditional, pyramid-shaped business model in place at most firms – with many workers bearing the weight of day-to-day tasks at the bottom while the few at the top hold the power and expertise.

Koziel says firm leaders should be ask­ing themselves, “How do we have to be organized to be able to serve our clients better?” The AICPA predicts the model will change. Automation and outsourcing will eliminate more routine tasks, and while the strong base will still be there, the greatest concentration of expertise will be among the managers in the middle with fewer partners at the top.

Accounting firm marketers, Koziel says, can play a key role in helping their firms navigate disruption and adapt services in a rapidly changing business environment.

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