Episode 78

Key Survey Insights: The Tech Leap for Accountants

Is your accounting firm struggling to keep up with technology? Are you curious about how tech adoption could impact your bottom line?

Rob Brown sits down with Joel Hughes of Rightworks to discuss the findings of their 2024 Accounting Firm Technology Survey. They delve into the current state of technology adoption in accounting firms, exploring the challenges and opportunities that come with embracing cloud-based, connected, and collaborative technologies.

Joel shares key insights from the survey, including the surprising statistic that firms on the technology-mature side of the spectrum reported 39% higher revenue per employee than average. The conversation covers topics such as the obstacles to tech adoption, the importance of cybersecurity, and the potential impact of AI on the accounting profession. Joel also emphasizes the need for firms to modernize their practices to gain a competitive advantage and improve client relationships.

Key Takeaways:

✓ Firms that are technology mature reported 39% higher revenue per employee than average

✓ The biggest challenges to tech adoption are lack of expertise, resources, and budget

✓ Cloud adoption can address cybersecurity concerns by providing managed security services

✓ Only 22% of firms reported a high percentage (75%+) of their clients using cloud technologies

✓ Firms need to align their technology adoption with their evolving business models to stay relevant 

Quotes:

"The shared vision of what you want your firm to be and how you want it to work needs to be enabled by technology." - Joel Hughes

View this episode in video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/opSSeLuwCZk

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The Accounting Influencers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, is one of the world's leading shows for accounting leaders, professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers.

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About the Podcast

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Accounting Voices Podcast
Accounting Voices helps people in the accounting world stay relevant visible and vocal. Host Rob Brown interprets trends reshaping the profession and gives listeners insight to build authority influence and a stronger voice in firms and markets.

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About your host

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Rob Brown

Rob Brown is the founder and host of the Accounting Voices Podcast, the flagship solo show of the Accounting Voices Network. Each episode offers sharp analysis and commentary on the trends, ideas and people shaping the global accounting profession.

Through this Accounting Voices Podcast, Rob helps accounting firm leaders, decision makers and professionals stay relevant and make sense of disruption in areas like AI, automation, M&A, private equity and soft skills beyond the tech. His perspective blends clarity, insight and curiosity, making complex issues relevant and practical for professionals and decision makers across accounting and finance.

He also leads two monthly panel shows, Accounting M&A and Accounting AI, which bring together senior voices to explore consolidation, strategy and the impact of technology on firms and people.

Rob is the author of the bestselling book Build Your Reputation (Wiley) and a TEDx speaker whose talk The Personal Brand of You has more than 400,000 views. Over his career he has hosted and moderated more than 1,000 conversations with accounting and fintech leaders worldwide.

Based in Nottingham UK, Rob is a stroke survivor living with epilepsy, a black belt in kickboxing, a decent chess player and an average player of four musical instruments.