CPA Practice Advisor - 7

COVER STORY
AS THE COVID-19 pandemic continues its devastating spread across the globe, businesses
in every industry are striving to weather unprecedented disruption and operational impacts.
With no end to the coronavirus-fueled disruption in sight, companies are searching for ways
to sustain business continuity while dealing with dramatic shifts in operational norms.
Major disasters like the coronavirus pandemic are
fluid situations and, in order to make it through, companies must be able to adapt and change course as new
information comes in and situations change. Clinging
to established processes and comfort zones because
that's the way the company has always done things
will not help firms effectively manage the challenges
they are currently facing.
Successfully coping with new operational norms
requires companies to be agile and adaptable. A Sequoia
Capital post on Medium underscored the importance
of adaptability saying, "as Darwin surmised, those who
survive are not the strongest or the most intelligent,
but the most adaptable to change."
To survive in this new normal of economic turbulence and uncertainty, companies will need to adapt to
new working paradigms, new ways of servicing clients
and customers and new technology to improve processes.

ADAPT TO NEW WORKING NORMS
As social distancing has become critical to helping slow
the spread of the virus, more and more companies have
shifted employees to remote working. For new remote
working norms to be successful, company leaders and
owners will need to adapt their management strategies
to foster collaboration and productivity. They will also need
to focus on forming teams that can function remotely and
developing workflows that can be successfully executed
away from the office. Meetings will need to be adapted
to virtual gatherings and company leaders and managers
will need to ensure employees have the tools and support
they need to transition to remote work.

ADAPT TO NEW WAYS OF
SERVICING CLIENTS
Many professional service firms will also need to adapt the
way they communicate with clients. Shifting this communication to digital channels such as video conferencing,
messaging and email will help ensure the safety of both
clients and employees.
With the uncertainty of the situation, firms will also
need to increase the cadence of client communication. For
example, accounting firms will need to keep clients updated
on local, state and federal relief programs and policies.
Firms will need to advise clients on the implications of
any new programs to businesses and taxpayers as well as

By Lil Roberts

help advise clients on how they can access relief resources
that can help them survive.

ADAPT PROCESSES WITH TECHNOLOGY
To help weather this crisis, companies will also need to
adapt operational processes to become more efficient. As
companies continue shifting to remote operations, technology can play a key role in keeping their businesses running.
Cloud technology can provide businesses with secure,
anytime, anywhere access to information from any
Internet-enabled device. Cloud software platforms, often
mistakenly perceived as technology designed only for large
enterprises, are becoming a fixture in a majority of business
operations today to drive operational improvements. This
technology can help companies save on infrastructure
costs, gain flexibility to scale up or down with business
conditions and eliminate the need to keep up with the
latest versions of software.
Firms can leverage cloud-based accounting platforms to improve operational efficiency by automating
many repetitive accounting, bookkeeping, and tax filing
functions, speeding them up while delivering improved
accuracy and efficiency. For professional service firms,
automating these processes can free up time to provide
more strategic counsel and services to clients.
These solutions also provide firms with the data and
analytics they need to monitor the status of their company
and quickly make decisions as the economic climate
changes. For example, cloud-based accounting platforms
can connect into bank account and credit card transactions
to track expenses and cashflow, providing a clear picture of
financial performance to better inform business strategy.
The economic fallout resulting from the coronavirus
will test the ability of companies to adapt to a business
climate that is changing daily. Companies that are agile
enough to adapt to new working paradigms, new ways
of servicing clients and new technology will successfully
weather this crisis and become stronger and nimbler in
navigating a post-COVID-19 future. ■
Lil Roberts is CEO and Founder of Xendoo, a South Florida-based
fintech company offering innovative online accounting and
bookkeeping solutions, along with data-driven insights to small
business owners. A South Florida native, Lil prides herself on
building customer-centric companies that are built on teamwork,
technology and integrity. A serial entrepreneur with a passion for
small business, she is known as an innovator with an enviable
ability to foresee market trends.

MAY 2020 ■

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