The Newest Accounting Consultants?

In the dozen or so years that I’ve been affiliated in some way shape or form with the public accounting profession, I’ve written and spoken to firms and practitioners about competition and the importance of being aware  about exactly who and what, pose competitive threats to their practices.

But, as consultants, advising firms on best practices – along with numerous hours of teaching CPE – comprise a large part of our jobs.

And practicing what we preach, we’re each acutely aware of others in our field, including those with stellar reputations and those who, to be kind, are a step or two below that.

Lately, those on this side of the fence are seeing a determined charge into the practice management arena by technology vendors – a movement that goes beyond the traditional marketing of their products or providing installation expertise.

I don’t often write about technology, save for my overall ineptness in the field as a whole, but a host of recent announcements has forced me to look at tech vendors in a different way. As potential competitors.

As an example, sales and use tax concern Avalara, recently partnered with the Kansas Society of CPAs, allowing KSCPA members to access to the company’s portal for educational aids and resources for best practices.

One of the recent trends that I frequently address in my presentations is BPO – an acronym for business process outsourcing, an increasing client service where the CPA firm basically operates as a virtual CFO for small businesses by handling all their back office work.

In an attempt to promote its Dynamics and Navision offerings, tech giant Microsoft is establishing said BPO program for CPA firms, following in the footsteps of smaller companies that have made inroads in that field, namely Intaact and NetSuite.

And just last week Sage North America at its user conference unveiled the Competitive Edge for Accounting Professionals” a new CPE program for accountants in conjunction with the Maryland Society of CPAs’ Business Learning Institute offering three separate learning tracks.

Apparently, Sage had spent the last 18 months researching the accounting community to basically see how it could better reach them with needed services. But here’s the kicker, the company’s vice president of partner programs and channel sales Jennifer Warawa told attendees that “research shows that 29 percent of CPA firms only speak to their clients once a year primarily during tax season.”

Sage could have saved themselves countless thousands in research money had they just called our toll-free number.

Our principals have been telling firms and CPE attendees about the infrequency of face-to-face client contact for 10 years. And incidentally, not to be the dorsal fin at the shipwreck, the percentage of firms that see their tax clients just once a year is a lot higher than 29 percent.

I’m not convinced that this new consulting paradigm from the tech sector poses an immediate threat to our livelihood, but like any competitor, it’s probably worth monitoring from time to time.