The 2024 Top 100 People: What's next?

December 26, 2024 9:00 AM

What's on the horizon for accounting? The Top 100 Most Influential People offer their predictions for the near future, responding to our question: "What do you think will be the biggest change in accounting in the next 10 years?"

The vast majority of this year's influencers expect artificial intelligence and its transformational impact on technology, operations, the workforce and much more to be the most significant change catalyst. But other prognostications include new business models, new methods of recruiting and training professionals, and shifting trends in transactional activity and funding sources for the profession.

(To see the full responses of all the candidates for the Top 100, click here. And to see who the Top 100 voted the most influential, see here.)

The biggest change will be the transformation of accounting firms into cutting-edge, comprehensive technology solution providers. This will include integrating compliance and advisory services and delivering them on a global scale.

— Kane Polakoff, principal, client advisory services practice leader, CohnReznick

Managing client expectations with the right offerings, using the right tools, with the right effort, with the right profit.

— Randy Johnston, CEO and founder, EVP, NMGI and K2 Enterprises

The effect of private equity and the mergers & acquisitions activity we have seen in recent years on the future of how we work and what career options are available. AI will also have a profound impact on the work we do and what new careers it will create based on the volume and speed of information that will result from all the innovation.

— Amy Vetter, CEO, The B3 Method Institute

We talk about the notion of trust, opportunity and prosperity is our mission. And if we do that as a profession, we make the world better in those areas. How will the profession continue to evolve? And what are the opportunities of the profession going forward? The reality is this profession, rolling the clock forward five years, ten years, twenty years, fifty years, is going to have a very important part in where the world evolves and how the world evolves. And that is the most important thing from today forward, for the profession to be focused on the future not on what we have done in the past. Rather, focus on the future and how we align with business and regulation and the change world for the success of society. Not on the things that we have already done to help drive success. But the most important thing now is how we get to those to those years in the future.

— Barry Melancon, president and CEO, American Institute of CPAs; CEO, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants

The importance of advocacy and protecting the license is going to accelerate in the years ahead. There are more than 40 states that currently have one party controlling the governor's office, the House and the Senate. When this particular alignment is in effect, sweeping legislation is passed. In recent years many states have faced a wave of anti-licensure legislation. In those states with a strong anti-licensure political climate, the risk for further devaluation of our regulatory system is growing. Each bill has a common goal: to chip away another layer of power from occupational licensing regulators. This can very quickly escalate to redefine what regulation, if any, will exist, having significant impacts on the value of the CPA license.

— Shelly Weir, president and CEO, Florida Institute of CPAs

While most will cite the impact of artificial intelligence as the biggest impact in the next 10 years, I often wonder if we are at the peak of the hype cycle. I do think AI will have an impact on our profession, but I'm not sure if it will be truly transformational.

I think the biggest impact on the profession will be how the many new ownership models of CPA firms will evolve over the next decade. As outside ownership comes into the profession, will we still see the same priorities and investments as we have in the past? Will assurance continue to be a valued service line, or will some firms opt to spin that off to ease regulatory burdens? Will all firms continue to value the CPA credential, or will that be discounted as firms focus more on consulting services? Will the future value assumed to come from private equity be realized and valued by future generations, or will they prefer the more boring, but perhaps more predictable, career security of the traditional partnership model?

All of this will be fascinating to watch and create a significant opportunity for some firms to succeed and take advantage of their unique market position.

— Tom Watson, CEO, Forvis

I believe the biggest change in accounting over the next decade will be an increase in both the scope and depth of financial disclosures. We'll likely see more detailed and impactful statements in financial reports, particularly around tax. Companies will need to provide more transparency on where they pay taxes, how much is owed, and any liabilities related to their tax provisions. Additionally, there will be a growing emphasis on how businesses impact the communities they operate in, further expanding the role of accounting in communicating corporate responsibility.

— Michael Bernard, VP, chief tax officer, Vertex

In the next 10 years, we can expect to see significant evolution in how we train and develop accounting professionals.

Accountants will need to sustain deep subject matter expertise in financial reporting and regulatory requirements, while meeting the demand for reporting and attestation of non-financial measures such as ESG, cyber-risk and AI. They will need to be fluent in data and emerging technologies, understanding how to leverage them to perform their core work. And they will be expected to bring deep insights to clients about core business processes, sector trends and emerging risks.

— Julie Boland, U.S. managing partner & Americas managing partner, Ernst & Young

The threat of the super big firms going downstream using technology to wipe out the smaller firms working on smaller clients. It won't be an adapt or die process. It will be a merge into me or die process.

— Bob Lewis, president, The Visionary Group

I believe the most significant change in accounting will be the increasing importance of data-driven decision-making. As technology automates repetitive tasks, the role of accountants will shift toward interpreting data trends and providing advisory services. This means accountants will need to become more skilled at leveraging technology and analytics, focusing on delivering actionable insights rather than just compliance. The pace of changes in technology, especially AI, is a key factor in this shift. The data opportunities we'll see 10 years from now are being shaped by the decisions firms are making today—how they invest in technology, adopt new tools, and build a culture of data strategy and data literacy. Firms that can capitalize on these advances will significantly redefine their value and impact on clients today and well into the future.

— Arianna Campbell, shareholder and COO, Boomer Consulting Inc.

Donny Shimamoto of Intraprise Techknowlogies

Accounting firms will change to be business services firms, providing all the integrated accounting, HR, IT and marketing services needed to ensure their clients' success.

— Donny Shimamoto, founder and managing director, IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC

Robert C. Bain

A change in the hierarchy structure of CPA firms that will focus on many types of contributions (practice development, technical service and human capital service) with appropriate use of technology to allow for a desired work-life balance in the profession and will attract more people to the profession.

— Annette Nellen, professor and director of MS taxation program, San Jose State University

I'm excited about what's happening in accounting, and I think we will see a resurgence of the category in the next decade. I think it will start attracting more talent, and as accountants shift into more of an advisory role to their clients, I think the profession will get the attention and excitement it deserves.

Accounting plays a critical role in our broader economic systems, and the daily lives of our clients. We are there with them side-by-side at most of life's inflection points — and that is a special opportunity. As the industry continues to shift, as new technology and models of operation continue to emerge, as old ways of doing things die, and as the value of accounting to individuals, businesses and the economy continues to shine, I think accounting is going to get a rebrand as cool, fresh and innovative (something we in the category have believed all along).

I think people and firms who recognize the value they're providing, are willing to shift with shifting times, and hold true to the things that have set this category apart from the beginning, will reap the benefits and rewards.

— Reyes Florez, CEO and founder, Platform Accounting Group

Steve Ridzon

Though I can't predict the future, I hope to see continuous improvement in audit quality in the next 10 years. The work the PCAOB does day-to-day is directly tied to that goal. Each day, we set out to modernize our standards, enhance our inspections and strengthen enforcement. They are each important individually to our mission of protecting investors. But they are strongest when they work together. As long as I am chair, I will continue to push this work forward and do my part to foster more sound capital markets.

— Erica Williams, chair, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board

The shift in leadership from founders and boomers to millennial and Gen Z leaders, which will bring a host of business model enhancements, the move toward increased transparency, an enhanced focused on the value of talent, max automation for compliance and other process-heavy service, the move away from time as a core value and the move toward measures that matter and drive the right behaviors. I could not be more excited to see how the profession improves in the next 10 years.

— Jennifer Lee Wilson, co-founder and partner, ConvergenceCoaching LLC

Allan Koltin at the 2024 Accounting Today PE Summit

The biggest changes in accounting in the next 10 years will be outside ownership, reinventing the pay scale in the accounting profession, and the implementation of artificial intelligence.

— Allan Koltin, CEO, Koltin Consulting Group

Ian Londin

I hope that the biggest change in the accounting profession will be how we navigate DEI in the workplace. I recognize that there are legalities happening that feel like they may hinder growth in this area, but if we want a workforce of the future, we must change and evolve.

The world is becoming more diverse and both clients and employees are demanding to be in workplaces and environments where the employees have a diverse mix of backgrounds and perspectives, where everyone has equitable opportunities to grow and thrive, and where everyone feels valued, open to contribute safely, and a sense of belonging. DEI practices must be embedded within the fabric of the organization and built into everything that is done.

I hope that being the only one is no longer a thing. I hope that people from diverse backgrounds will no longer being experiencing "firsts" in DEI, but rather "third" and "fourths." I hope that we'll all embrace difference and feel uncomfortable with all voices aren't being heard.

— Crystal Cooke, director, diversity and inclusion, AICPA

Gary D. Newlen

Further expansion of areas where there is a demand for some type of assurance (e.g., climate reporting, AI) and further automation of routine tasks.

— Barbara Vanich, chief auditor and director of professional standards, PCAOB

I am excited to see how technology will enable practitioners in firms of all sizes to benefit from increases in efficiency, drive improved quality and support more meaningful relationships with clients.

— Lisa Simpson, vice president – firm services, AICPA & CIMA

The profession will continue to be more transactional than relationship.

— Gary Shamis, CEO, Winding River Consulting

If we do it right, in 10 years I see CPAs as bringing trust, growth, and opportunity to a broad base of business situations — not just audit and tax prep. In 10 years, CPAs should own the professional advisory space, informing business decision-making (either from inside the company in corporate finance or outside the company in a professional services firm).

CPAs will be technologists that use a range of tools, constantly applying their knowledge of the "language of business" to optimize business outcomes. I really see CPAs, 10 years from now, as the leaders of the teams running businesses.

— Jennifer Cryder, CEO, Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs

Dobek-Sarah-Inovautus Consulting NEW 2023

How we model our businesses (governance) and how people do the work. AI and technology will continue to work and I am already seeing opportunities arise for how people are working with clients and what they are focused on. Compliance will be an afterthought with the real impactful work being at the forefront. We are already moving there and I am excited to see how that will evolve.

— Sarah Dobek, president and founder, Inovautus Consulting

I think automation and technology will continue to impact the way we work. This will change the way firms sell work, do the work and serve clients. It will impact the way we hire, train and promote talent and will influence the level of support and service we provide to clients. It is all connected and is changing, and I think the pace of change will continue to accelerate.

I do think a constant will be that this profession will continue to be seen as a noble one and that client service and support will remain a top priority. This is what sets us apart from other professions.

— Angie Grissom, owner, chief relationship officer, The Rainmaker Companies

Photoshot/Photoshot

My view is that technology is going to continue to drive incredible change in the accounting profession, as well as for internal auditors. One of the biggest implications is that all of us will be expected to have baseline skills and fluency in technology, along with the capacity to learn new programs and platforms as they arise.

In turn, skills like persuasive communication, change management and leadership will become more important in the senior ranks to ensure that organizations are nimble enough to continue to adapt to the impacts of emerging technology.

The rise of artificial intelligence is a tremendous opportunity to free humans to perform higher level tasks, however we need to understand and embrace this technology to be able to fully harness it. I think the adoption of a lifelong learning mindset from early on, where there is an expectation that our careers will be regularly disrupted by new technologies, will be the biggest change, but also a great opportunity.

— Anthony Pugliese, president & CEO, Institute of Internal Auditors

Many firms have struggled to modernize and develop management models that significantly differ from the outdated frameworks of the past. This has created an opportunity for private equity companies to step in and address these challenges. As a result, the transformation of the business model in accounting is expected to accelerate over the next decade, leading to the resolution of several longstanding issues. These include the talent shortage, leadership transitions within firms, team education, process and technology improvements, and the shift toward advisory and consulting services. This period of change will likely bring solutions and new opportunities to reshape the profession.

— Sandra Wiley, president, Boomer Consulting Inc.

I think the profession will decrease in size significantly both in number of firms (through M&A) and number of professionals through AI. We will be a smaller profession but will retain a powerful and more focused role with audit (especially technology audits), tax representation services, and back-office administration services, where the latter will include regulatory and managerial compliance services.

— Joe Woodard, CEO, Woodard

MIKE_BUSADA

There is a fairly level playing field today, creating room for firms of many types and sizes to be successful. I think the gap between the haves and the have nots will massively widen over the next 10 years. What I mean by this is that firms with corporate governance, strong leadership, ambitious strategies, growth capital, innovative technology, effective outsourcing and modern currencies for rewarding their people will attract a larger and larger share of great talent and great clients, leaving those who stick with the legacy partnership model far behind, if they can stay in business at all.

I believe we are poised to see a seismic remake of the profession over the next 10 years.

— David Wurtzbacher, founder & CEO, Ascend