CPA Practice Advisor - 22

A D V E RTO R I A L

2020

EXECUTIVE

&

PREDICTIONS
YEAR IN

REVIEW 2019

Q&A with
Roman Kepczyk

Q:
A:

What trend do you see having the biggest industry
impact through 2020? (e.g. CAS, outsourcing,
acceleration of automation etc.)

Roman H. Kepczyk
Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA is
Director of Firm Consulting
for Right Networks. Roman
is responsible for helping
firms throughout North
America effectively use
information technology and
accounting applications by
optimizing their tax, audit and
administrative production
workflows. Roman was named
by INSIDE Public Accounting
as one of the profession's Most
Recommended Consultants
for each of the years from 2005
through 2017, CPA Practice
Advisors Top 25 Thought
Leaders from 2011 through 2019,
and Accounting Today's Most
Influential People in Accounting
thirteen times.

Digital automation consisting of ingress, workflow
and team collaboration-The next generation of
digital tools and applications are automating much
of the manual entry and calculations traditionally done
by accounting staff. Firms are utilizing APIs (application
programming interfaces), machine learning, and robotic
process automation tools for streamlined data ingress
allowing financial data to be captured and utilized in a
more timely fashion and without errors. In addition, the
integration of Right Networks' "always on" capabilities will
allow accountants to synchronize data between QuickBooks
Desktop and applications like the way QuickBooks Online
works. This will result in near real-time information
management and the adoption of KPIs (Key Performance
Indicators) and dashboards allowing the accountants to
provide more proactive guidance and advisory services.
Workflow tools are also rapidly evolving to manage all
projects and due dates and provide real-time updates to
all accounting personnel to collaborate more effectively
within the firm and, increasingly, with their clients in a
completely digital format. This collaboration will extend
beyond the traditional use of email and secure portals to
communications and data sharing applications such as
Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams, which can be accessed
anytime and anywhere through the mobile device of choice
(computers, tablets, smartphones, etc.). Both firm and client
data is significantly more secure within enterprise cloud
providers compared to the security tools and capabilities
found within most accounting firms. Overall, it has become
obvious that firms that have all their applications integrated
in the cloud have a competitive advantage over those with
traditional in-house networks, so the time for technologyresistive firms to move is now.

Q:
A:

How do you see the impact of this trend playing
out in 2020?

Evolution of applications to cloud will help
accelerate transition of traditional services to
Advisory/Coaching model-Traditional compliance
work will atrophy as automation takes over bookkeeping,
payroll and middle- to lower-level tax returns beginning,
for instance, with those individuals that transition to the

22

DECEMBER 2019 ■

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

standard itemized deduction. Firms will need to focus
on value-added services for their clients where they are
best suited to provide forward-looking direction, pointing
increasingly to specialization of business or targeted wealth
clients. Firms will need to cast a "wider net" to capture their
specific target clients beyond their local marketplace, which
again is supported by having all applications in the cloud.
The transition towards the Advisory/Coaching model is
already playing out as represented not only by the number
of firms adopting this strategy but by the significant number
of trainers and consultants focusing in this area. We are
also seeing a significant uptick in the interest of training
for specific data analytics skills and automation tools.

Q:
A:

What's one thing you think accounting firms
large and small should be doing now to
prepare for the future?

Focus on business coaching/financial metrics and
analytical skills-Not only will accountant skills need
to evolve to being more of a business coach, but
accountants will need to develop an understanding of the
key performance indicators (KPIs) that will make their clients'
businesses more effective and even predictive in nature,
leaning towards niche specialization. Accounting firms
will also need to develop or acquire the technical skills to
confidently capture, analyze and interpret client information,
utilizing the digital tools that are already here as well as
those that are evolving (artificial intelligence, blockchain)
which more than likely will be optimized in the cloud. This
will include not only the data ingress and automation tools
described above, but also data visualization tools that will
identify issues, opportunities, and serve as precursors to
client decision-making. Firms can begin by utilizing tools
such as Microsoft Power BI/Power Query, Tableau, Domo,
and Qlik internally to optimize the firm's own production KPIs
and then transfer these skills to client advisory engagements.

Company Description:

Right Networks gets all your critical accounting and business
applications into the cloud so you and your team can be more
productive, collaborate more effectively, and scale with ease.
We bridge the gap between legacy and full online solutions with
a cloud-connected ecosystem of 250+ best-in-class accounting
applications. All the applications in our ecosystem are pretested, configured, and packaged to meet the unique needs of
accounting and tax professionals.
http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
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