Will change make or break your firm?

Most of us are very happy to leave 2020 behind. But there’s one thing that won’t disappear any time soon from last year — constant change.

Legendary entrepreneur Peter Diamandis liked to say, “The only constant is change, and the rate of change is increasing.”

We rang in 2021 in a world that no one could have foreseen at this time a year ago. We’re working from home, we’re communicating with remote teams, and we’re relying on technology to manage relationships with clients. Many expected these changes to come to our profession eventually, but certainly not as rapidly as they were adopted in 2021. Who could have imagined employees never coming to the office, or clients of all ages connecting with us on Zoom? Hard to believe, but we had no choice.

This remarkable period of transition and adjustment won’t end with the pandemic, by the way. Changes to your role as a client’s most trusted advisor will only accelerate. On top of sweeping technological and communication changes, the recent election brings the possibility of new tax laws and your clients’ businesses will continue to deal with new complexities.

How do successful accounting firms meet new challenges and come out on top? Here are three strategies:

1. Adopt an anti-fragile mindset.

In his book, “Anti-Fragile: Things That Gain From Disorder,” Nassim Taleb talks about building an “anti-fragile” mindset in which you not only don’t get rattled by change, but learn to lean into change and actually welcome it. As I wrote in a past Accounting Today article "Becoming an anti-fragile CPA)," a fragile firm crumbles under pressure, but an anti-fragile one gets stronger and better in the face of adversity and volatility.

As CPAs, our knee-jerk reaction is to resist change and brace ourselves against other stressors that could impact our businesses. Isn’t that the way most organizations met the pandemic?

Sure, resilience and contingency plans are important strategies. But everyone knows that spending all of our time defending and absorbing hits won’t allow for growth. The CPA firms that saw last year’s challenges as opportunities will start 2021 at an advantage. Here are some examples:

• More clients than ever relied on trusted advisors to navigate PPP loans. Rather than bracing for a heavy workload, some firms expanded both their workforce and client base by becoming trusted thought leaders and attentive communicators.
• As working from home became the norm, some firms saw the opportunity to bring in talent without geographic boundaries.
• As clients adjusted to video conferencing, many CPAs found they were able to communicate with clients more efficiently than ever. This enabled them to build trusted relationships and raised the client-service bar dramatically.

If you’re a leader who is constantly finding yourself in defense mode, try leaning into change for once. Look for opportunities to provide higher levels of service and value instead. Where can you play offense this year? Remember, you don’t have to be on the bleeding edge. Just make sure you’re keeping up with trends and best practices that affect our profession. Spend time on new ideas without throwing out the reliable components of your business.

2. Adjust your tools, not your philosophy.

With that in mind, it’s important to stay grounded in your work as a CPA. Even in the most chaotic and accelerated times of change, you should remain focused on the key foundations of your business:

• Communicating with your clients;
• Solving problems for your clients;
• Listening and asking questions; and,
• Building relationships.

Possessing the qualities above will ensure your job never becomes obsolete, no matter how many changes you face in your communication tactics and technology. Rather than spending time trying to predict what will change in the future, focus on what won’t change. Look for what will stay the same, and become excellent in those essential areas of your business.

With so much change around us, you need to find an anchor. Instead of trying to do a thousand different things at once, stay focused on a very small number of high-priority actions for your business and do them really, really well.

3. Stay client-obsessed.

There’s nothing more important than your client relationships. If you’re entering the new year tired, stressed or beaten down by 2020, guess what? So are your clients. Even the least tech-savvy among them learned to use Zoom and your client portal during these unprecedented times. They made substantial adjustments to their professional and personal lives. Now, it’s your job to remain a proactive problem-solver, a trustworthy presence, and a consistent ally for them.

Change is scary. But one thing 2020 taught us is that we can emerge from even the most life-altering changes intact. With an anti-fragile mindset and an unwavering commitment to clients, you’ll survive (and thrive) in 2021 and beyond.