AICPA PCPS Firm Top Issues Survey results for 2009 were just released. A returning item since 2005 is marketing and practice growth. The question is, do firms really know the implications of practice growth and are they prepared to absorb the costs of an infrastructure that can support the growth??
CPA’s are smart so I believe the answer, “Yes.” However, what I don’t think they know is what kind of support and cost is going to be required to expand the technical infrastructure to support their growth. While they realize it is an aspect to consider I can’t imagine they know what it is really going to take.
Well, score another point for cloud computing folks. You need scalability? For those that have already embraced the model it is a simple answer. Not only do they know their systems can scale exponentially but they know exactly how much it is going to cost them to scale their technology, X people time Y costs per seat… voila!
Let’s expand, shall we?? Darren Root, in his recent blog post, pointed out very clearly that the costs to recruit and sign new clients are significantly higher than the costs to keep them. Cloud computing is the low hanging fruit for providing your clients the tools that make you irreplaceable to them. Darren gave a great presentation at the AICPA TechPlus conference in which he shared how his firm has embraced a number of cloud providers to expand the services they are delivering to their clients. Services such as hosted accounting systems, Client Portals, and Secure Document Exchange are great ways to expand existing services and provide real value to your clients. Score another 1 for cloud computing.
OK, I will spare you the exhaustive commentary but take a look for yourself at the survey results. There isn’t an item on the list that cloud computing can’t help with.
Technology isn’t the answer to your need, but SMART technology and service is absolutely the enabler. Does your current service provider, in-house or consultant look at this stuff? Are they helping you to support your firm’s top 5 issues? They should be!
