What does the power of smart business mean for CPAs and their clients? In this era of change for the profession, digital transformation, globalization and other forces in play, this is one of the most challenging and exciting times to pursue a career as an accountant. Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com, will discuss aspects of the changing technology landscape, the challenge of staying relevant and the great opportunities that lie ahead for those who embrace technology and specialization. He will be joined by a panel of tech-savvy firm leaders who will offer insight into how they developed smart business strategies and advanced their role as trusted advisers to clients.

1. ERIK ASGEIRSSON
President, Chief Executive Officer
CPA.com
BUILDING A BRIDGE
to the CPA Firm of the Future.

2. CPA.com an AICPA company
• Empowering CPAs and Businesses for the Digital
Age
Erik Asgeirsson, President and CEO, CPA.com
• Industry leader with over 20 years of experience
leading technology organizations
• Consistently recognized as one of Accounting
Today’s “Top 100 Most Influential People”
• BS Electrical Engineering, George Washington
University, and MBA in Finance, NYU Stern School
of Business

3. Empowering CPA’s
in a Digital World

4. THEPOWEROF
SMARTBUSINESS
Future readiness
Changing technology & regulatory
landscape
Staying relevant
Capitalizing on opportunities
ahead

5. Today’s Discussion
Smart Business – the Digital Imperative
Changing Era for Accounting Services
Changing Technology Landscape
Staying Relevant
Panel Discussion
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6. SMARTBUSINESS–THE
DIGITALIMPERATIVE

7. Client Perspective: Driving Firms
• Business transformation key to future success (KPMG
CEO noted 75% of their clients are in some type of
business transformation)
• Need to focus on relevance of services and value
proposition. Many feel services they are providing
today will not be relevant in 5 – 10 years.
• Evolving your business critical to future success. Firms
need to play a key role.

8. 8

9. CLIENTBEHAVIORS
&MARKETSTRATEGY
Work
Smarter
Be
Specific Innovate
VERTICAL EXPERT

10. Firm Service Lines
Audit Tax BPO
Impact of Technology
to Major Firm Service Lines
• Efficiencies
• Innovation
• Efficiencies
• Innovation
• Transformative
• Revenue Growth
New Opportunities Emerging
Dramatic Change
Past Few Years

11. “In times of disruption the bridge
builders win.”
- Nicholas Carr, author of “The Glass Cage”
2014 Digital CPA Conference Keynote
Digital Imperative
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12. CHANGINGERAOFACCOUNTINGSERVICES
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13. Changing Firm Value Proposition
Value
Automation
Today Tomorrow
Trusted
Advisor
Trusted
Advisor
Growth
Specialization
Business Insights
Commoditization of low end
Higher Margin
Low margin/fee pressures
Automation
Of Services
Transactional
Decline
Transactional
Bookkeeping

14. Effectively Communicate
14

15. 1990
2000
Today
Client Accounting Over Past 20 Years
Today’s Opportunity
• Cloud based
• Strategic
• Paperless
• Dashboards
• Real Time
Small Businesses push work
back to firms to focus more
on their business
Role of Firms Reduced
QuickBooks introduced
to small businesses
Helping Firms Reclaim Trusted
Advisor Role

16. Virtual
Controllership
Collaborative
Advisory
Services –
Virtual CFO
Write-Up
Wide Spectrum of Service Levels for Client Accounting
Business Process
Outsourcing
Advisory $
Transactional
Firm Service
Spectrum
Specialize in Client Industry Verticals
 Healthcare
 Not-For-Profit
 Technology
 Professional Services
 Property Management
 Charter Schools
 Retail
 Franchises

17. “If you look at the history of the American capital
market, there's probably no innovation more
important than the idea of generally accepted
accountancy principles.”
- Larry Summers
Former Secretary of Treasury
Standards are Evolving as Well…
17

18. New Standard for Client Accounting Services
Most Significant Non Audit Standard Change of Past 35
years (SSARS 21):
• Creates a bright line between accounting (preparation) and
reporting (compilation and review) services
• Adapts the older standards for the current electronic and
cloud based environment
• Very significant change for Firm Client Accounting/BPO
Practices

19. Copyright © 2013 American Institute of CPAs. All rights reserved.
19

20. New Thinking Required
Key Areas:
• Revise Positioning and Services
• Write-up & Compilation Service
• Client Accounting & BPO Services
• Value of CPA Firm
• Updating of Engagement Letters
• Updating of Service Delivery
• Legend requirement is an
OPPORTUNITY to highlight firm
value

21. EVER
CHANGINGTECHNOLOGY
LANDSCAPE

22. The Cloud is the Computer
‣ Next stage of IT democratization
‣ User-friendly online interfaces: easy buying,
easy configuring, easy monitoring
‣ New applications
(what is the cloud’s spreadsheet?)
‣ IT as enabler, not gatekeeper
Source: “The Big Switch & Beyond” – Nicholas Carr, author, 2014 Digital CPA Conference Keynote

23. Growth of Amazon Cloud Services
More than a million active customers in 190
countries, including 900 government agencies,
3,400 education institutions and more than 11,200
nonprofits.
11 Regions in the U.S., Brazil, Europe, Japan,
Singapore, Australia, and China with 28 Availability
Zones.
Global network of AWS Edge locations now
consists of 52 points of presence worldwide,
including locations in the United States, Europe,
Asia, Australia and South America.
Reduced prices 47 times since AWS launched in
2006 [Dec. 2014].
Every day, Amazon Web Services adds enough
new server capacity to support all of Amazon's
global infrastructure when it was a $7 billion
enterprise.

24. Source: “20/20 Vision for 2020: The New Small Business Application Market” – Bob Anderson,
Gartner, Inc. 2014
Per Gartner SaaS,
cloud market will be
significantly larger
than on premise
software by 2020
24

25. 2020 Vision for Small Business Applications
Suites replaced by loosely coupled applications
Cloud deployment for almost everything
Importance collaborativeworkflows (internal and external)
Mobility first – Everywhere, in every application, on every device
Embedded and Predictive Analytics - Big Data Streams
Integration, Open API’s as we move from suites to federated apps
Application marketplaces
Security takes on new meaning for you and yourclients
Source: “20/20 Vision for 2020: The New Small Business Application Market” – Bob Anderson,
Gartner, Inc. 2014
25

26. Cyber Security and the Cloud
• Ongoing high profile cyber attacks
• Key is to manage, contain, and react to
the threats
• Cloud offers significant opportunities
from both capability and security
perspective
• Important to always think about
security and leverage best practices
(SOC, etc.)

27. Key to firm adoption is finding pain (value) points…
CHASM
Helping Firms With
Adoption Curve
Firm Solutions
CPA
Profession

28. Top 100 Top 500
Small Firms*
Widespread Adoption: The Great Equalizer
(CPA firms and outsourced F&A firms)

29. Staying Relevant in these
Changing Times

30. Increasing Automation
‣ Automation of “tacit” (psychomotor) skills: pilots, drivers,
soldiers ...
‣ Automation of intellectual skills: accounting, medicine, law,
management ...
‣ Efficient orchestration of commerce
‣ Concentration of profit
Source: “The Big Switch & Beyond” – Nicholas Carr, author, 2014 Digital CPA Conference Keynote

31. Dangers Ahead
Complacency, Bias, Deskilling: “The Glass Cage”
Source: “The Big Switch & Beyond” – Nicholas Carr, author, 2014 Digital CPA Conference Keynote

32. Trusted Advisors Role
‣ Transcend the routine
‣ Develop specialized knowledge
‣ Stay ahead of automation wave
‣ Be valued for expertise and insight
‣ Translate data into wisdom
Source: “The Big Switch & Beyond” – Nicholas Carr, author, 2014 Digital CPA Conference Keynote

33. “To drive a culture of innovation, leaders
realize they have to let go of the past.”
- Doug Menefee, Enterprise CIO Advisor at Amazon Web Services
“How to Become the CFO – The Chief Future Officer of your Organization”
2015 Executive Roundtable presentation

34. LET’SHEARFROMPRACTITIONERS

35. Rethinking Service Offerings
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36. AICPA
• World’s largest member organization for
accountancy
Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, Vice President- Firm
Services & Global Alliances, AICPA
• Oversees development, ongoing improvement &
delivery of services to members in PCPS/Firm Practice
Management
• Named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in
Accounting from 2008-2014
• 12 years in public accounting
• BS in Accounting from Canisius College

37. Fintelligent, LLC
• On Demand Financial Department for Growing
Companies
Rob Ripp, MBA, President, Fintelligent, LLC
• 25 years operating and financial experience in
technology, services, manufacturing industries
• Served emerging companies as C-level executive
• Founded Fintelligent
• BS from Lehigh University and an MBA from Emory
University

38. Fiscal Management
Associates, LLC
• About helping nonprofits meet their mission
Andrea Mills, CPA, Partner, FMA
• Extensive experience working with nonprofits
• Serves clients across the country and
internationally
• Adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School
of Continuing Education
• BBA from Temple University, MBA from Drexel
University

39. Rob Ripp,
MBA, President,
Fintelligent, LLC
Andrea Mills,
CPA, Partner,
FMA
Mark Koziel,
CPA, CGMA,
Vice President,
AICPA
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40. CPA.com Resources

41. Additional Resources
Digital CPA Webcast Series
o July 16th: Discussion on affordable care act and clients’ expectations of you
CPA.com Blog
Follow @CPAcom on Twitter
White Papers
o “The CPA of the Future 2015 Study,” www.cpa.com/future-ready-cpa
Digital CPA Conference
o December 7-9, 2015
o Las Vegas, NV
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43. Find a copy of this
presentation at:
Slideshare.net/CPAcom

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