Reengineering your accountancy practice is about outsourcing and technology – but your people must drive the change, writes Vipul Sheth. 

The reengineering of an accountancy practice is a complex and entangled process. There is no silver bullet, despite the promises made by software and services providers to the profession. 

Crucial to the success of change within a practice is its people. They are pivotal in understanding the workflows and processes that need improving; the impact of making change; and then the implementation and use of a new, hopefully improved, system of working. 

But change can be scary or viewed as a waste of time and resource. If change involves new working patterns, then there can be hostility. 

We’ve written before about how practice’s leaders must put careful communication plans in place when it comes to change. I’ve also spoken more recently about the ongoing nature of change within business, and how its pace is increasing. 

The optimal use of outsourcing within practice reengineering leads to greater efficiencies and better processes. These have the virtuous effect of freeing up resources within a practice for the provision of higher value services and/or greater profitability. 

Making such change in the practice isn’t easy, but outsourcing bakes in flexibility and scalability – helping make further change easier to cope with. 

People buy-in 

However, your people must buy into the plan. More fundamentally, I’d suggest that their ability to understand that their roles and working patterns will change more frequently than ever, will become integral in their career. Inflexibility will not be a good trait for those wanting to work in a successful and sustainable accounting practice. 

I like to think that at Advancetrack, we operate in such a way. Our people are used to their roles developing; with new tech and iterative processes the norm. 

As practices focus more intently on compliance production as means to an end – better information with which to support clients – than as the end itself, then they will need services providers to support that strategy. As important, they’ll need their people to support it too. 

Vipul Sheth is founder and MD of Advancetrack 

We’d like to support your practice on its journey. Please click here to get in touch.