Leverage and accounting firms go hand in hand. This is a statement most partners intimately understand, as it's their paychecks that are dramatically impacted, positively or negatively, by the firm getting the leverage equation right. While many of us grasp the staff leverage concept, we rarely understand how to properly leverage other aspects of our business effectively. That said, the chief tool in each of our offices is technology.
Here are two definitions to consider before we take a deeper dive:
Tool: the use of non-life to enhance life - spear, rock, pencil, computer;
Organizational leverage - the streamlining of operations to increase effectiveness
These are very simple definitions that, if properly understood in the context of your firm, can make a world of difference not only with year-end earnings but also year-end enjoyment- the YEEs if you will.
Gaining Leverage: Where's the best place to start?
In other words, "What is the lowest hanging fruit when attempting to gain organizational leverage?" I find that the two biggest areas for improvement are internal collaboration and client interaction.
Internal Collaboration
In 2011, meetings do not equal collaboration, thus many organizations are left scratching their heads when attempting to make sense of organizational effectiveness. Siloed information can go a long way with a sole practitioner but does very little good in a leverage, multi-partner model. What are firms doing to take steps in the right direction? Here are some tools that can help:
Tool No. 1: Internal Social Media (the new intranet)
By deploying an internal social media site an organization can enjoy a living, breathing place for the organization to stay up to date on all aspects of the ‘organism' (client wins and issues, firm news, tax updates). I talk at length here about these kinds of sites and why they are good.
Here, I will speak first hand of one example. At Xcentric, we used to have a management meeting every Monday for 1.5 hours going around the room addressing different departmental issues. That was before we implemented ‘Talk' (our name for the internal social media tool we use).
Now, two years later, we meet for 1.5 hours once a month. On top of that, 90 percent of the time the meeting doesn't even last 1.5 hours. Why? Because all major and minor issues are being discussed in the web. What's better, it's all documented, searchable and never stale. The skeptic would be right asking, "What about the time you spend using the tool?" I will not argue that it's another place to log in and another site to check and update; however, if implemented correctly, it's a no brainer as far as we are concerned.
Who provides these tools?
Campfire
SocialCast
Yammer
Tool No. 2: Cloud
By moving to the Cloud, firms can truly enjoy the leverage that comes from employees working effectively and securely location independent.
Today's culture is going mobile and most accounting firms are entering this new reality kicking and screaming. Many partners think that if they have smartphones that makes their firm ‘mobile.' This is far from the goal we should all have for our organizations.
Here's a good litmus test on whether your firm is truly mobile or not: if your office burned down, would it impact your business? The answer is an obvious yes; however, would it cripple it? Many accounting firms write disaster recovery plans to mend this gap; however, as soon as transparency enters the conversation, the firm would be completely crippled if they lost their physical location. If this is the case for your firm, you are not mobile yet.
Who provides these tools?
CCH
Thomson Reuters
Xcentric (yours truly)
Client Interaction
"No news is good news" is no longer the maxim of the day. When new business poured in you weren't all that concerned with how often, well, or uniquely you communicated with your client base. But now, in 2011, the wind has largely been sucked out of the net-new revenue category and client retention is the top priority of most firms. Luckily, tools have matured over the last three years and are ready to be utilized by your firm. Here are a few:
Tool No. 1: Portals
People have come to expect 24-hour service but not necessarily via personal interaction. They want information at their fingertips and now there is a way to provide this without working until midnight and answering emails at all hours of the day. Becoming self-service to a greater degree, so long as you maintain personal touch, allows you to grow deeper, more dependent relationships.
Who provides these tools?
CCH
ShareFile
Thomson Reuters
Tool No. 2: Content
Each time you help one client you can possibly help 100 more. Of course, I am not talking about nuanced billable work, but the general questions every individual/business has regarding their finances and getting them in order. You are the trusted voice on this matter and, if you help one client, chances are you can turn that answer into an article, blog, or other piece of content that can be leveraged on your website, local news media or Twitter.
Making content available and using it as a tool to deepen client relationships as well as inform prospects of your knowledge is a no brainer. I wrote another post on how to leverage your blog here.
Who provides these tools?
YOU! If you haven't already, it's time to start learning and developing content yourself.
Tool No. 3: CRM
It's painful when the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. This is one of the reasons CRM exists and why, ultimately, they will find their way into your organization. As communication continues to get more fragmented and frequent, keeping tabs on both the client and internal resources will only grow in importance.
Using an Excel document to keep tabs on business development efforts, marketing campaigns, client cross-selling and referral initiatives is like using a hammer and nails to build a sky-scraper. Having the proper tool in place to enhance the efforts mentioned above is crucial before rallying the troops around a cause that, if attempted without the tool, will likely lead to a false start.
Who provides these tools?
SalesForce.com
37Signals - Highrise
Templeton & Co.
