In today’s landscape, accounting firms are more than just compliance engines. Clients expect insight, agility, and proactive advisory. To meet those expectations, firms must modernize — and the pivot point is technology. But technology alone won’t transform your practice. What matters is choosing the right technology and embedding it into your firm’s vision.
1. Start with Vision, Not Tools
Before you evaluate software or tools, begin with a blank slate: ask, if I were building a new firm today, what would it look like?
- What services would it offer?
- Which clients would it serve best?
- What would the delivery model be?
From that exercise, back out: what technology would enable that vision? Don’t reverse-engineer your strategy to fit the tools. As Donny Shimamoto argues, one should “justify business value enabled through technology investments,” not just justify the tool itself.
Once vision and strategy are clear, you can map which technology capabilities matter (e.g. analytics, automation, AI, integration).
2. Build Incrementally & Experiment
Change doesn’t have to be disruptive overnight. A phased rollout lets your firm adapt, absorb lessons, and course-correct.
Some tactics:
- Pilot new tools in one team or business line before firm-wide adoption.
- Use small “skunkworks” or innovation labs to test emerging tech (for example, generative AI or internal chatbots).
- Encourage experimentation (with guardrails) rather than stifling new ideas in favor of rigid efficiency. Efficiency is important, but it should not block innovation.
3. Invest in Training and Capability Building
New tools are useless without people who can use them well. Many firms underestimate the training effort. Journal of Accountancy
To make training effective:
- Ensure training includes not just “how to use the tool,” but why and how that contributes to business objectives.
- Give staff space (time) to explore new tools outside of billable pressure.
- Incentivize mastery—tie learning goals to performance metrics.
- Use group-based learning, especially for features like generative AI where collaborative brainstorming helps.
4. Leverage In-House Talent & Champions
Don’t treat technology adoption as an IT-only project. Internal champions—staff who already use tools proactively—are a valuable resource.
Actions to take:
- Identify staff who are already experimenting with ChatGPT, Copilot, or other tools.
- Create a “tech user group” within the firm to evaluate what is working, what isn’t, and drive peer-to-peer learning.
- Build custom tools internally, if feasible (e.g. internal knowledge bots that “understand” past agreements or HR policies) to embed firm-specific knowledge and reduce reliance on external vendors.
5. Watch the Balance: Efficiency vs. Innovation
A firm optimized for sheer efficiency can lose sight of client relationships, differentiation, and future growth. Journal of Accountancy
For example, fully automating tax returns might remove human touchpoints where valuable advisor-client discussions occur. That’s a loss of opportunity.
Allow room for experimentation. Accept that not every pilot succeeds—and learn from failures.
6. Reframe What “ROI” Means for Technology
Measuring return on investment in technology is rarely straightforward or immediate.
True ROI may include:
- Gaining new capabilities or competencies in the team
- Reducing risk of falling behind competitors
- Enabling new service lines or business models
- Long-term cost savings or improved quality
Don’t default to requiring a one-year payback. Some benefits realize only over several years.
7. Drive Change with Human-Centric Change Management
Technology adoption is ultimately about people, not systems.
Key principles:
- Communicate through line managers, not just top-down from executives or IT. People trust their immediate supervisor more for understanding impact.
- Be explicit about why change is necessary and how it benefits the user (not just the firm).
- Acknowledge change fatigue. New initiatives shouldn’t be piled on continuously without support.
- Provide ongoing support, feedback loops, and opportunities for staff to voice concerns.
8. Embrace Human-Centered Outcomes
At the end of the day, technology should elevate humans—both inside the firm and in client relationships.
By automating repetitive tasks, staff are freer to focus on higher-value advisory work. This helps with retention, job satisfaction, and establishes a stronger value proposition to clients.
Key Takeaways (for Your Firm)
- Begin with strategy, not software shopping.
- Roll out change incrementally, allowing learning and adaptation.
- Train thoroughly—not superficially.
- Empower internal champions and user groups.
- Maintain a balance between efficiency and innovation.
- Define ROI broadly and for the long term.
- Manage change in a people-first way.
- Use technology to amplify human potential, not replace it.