The COVID-19 pandemic has been good for the accounting profession. There is no denying the business opportunities it has brought, as companies across the U.S. — and the globe — scrambled to get through a financially difficult year, with the help of accountants. The challenge to firms now is to harness the opportunities that arose through the crisis, and carry them forward to the future.
A survey conducted by Sage Intacct of its Accountant Partners during the height of the pandemic last year revealed that firms were responding to the new, uncertain reality in various ways — adding free or paid services based on new client needs, cutting spending in some areas but investing more in others, and of course adopting technology at a rate faster than ever before.
“The survey was done during the eye of the storm, and very little was known about where the pandemic would go, and the political landscape was roiling,” explained Kevin Cumley, senior director of the Sage Intacct Accountants Program. “In the last few months, once firms realized it wasn’t the end of the world, and things weren’t going to fall off a cliff, business actually increased for the majority of the partners surveyed. COVID worked as a driver of and accelerent for client accounting services.”
For firms that chose to increase spending, particularly in marketing and technology investments, the benefits were clear. “Some of the growth was staggering — there were firms that saw 100 percent year-over-year growth,” Cumley said.
This is not to knock firms that chose to be conservative and cut back on spending. Verticals matter, and firms that serve primarily hospitality clients, for example, had a different experience than firms who serve health care or financial services. But no matter what verticals a firm serves, and what choices a firm made during the pandemic, there are lessons to be learned from the experiences of the past year. Here are some opportunities firms can embrace going forward.
