A Culture of Integration & Change With the shifts came dynamics that influenced how people connected inside and outside the firm . For instance :

· During the early COVID days , team members came together and many firms saw them stepping forward in ways they might not have previously . Some firms began to see qualities in team members they needed in succession and growth . This was a communication / conversation learning point for firms to take the opportunity to explore and expand . It was an opportunity to learn what happened and how to nurture it . Of course , COVID brought chaos , making it hard to find out more about this “ pulling together ” phenomenon .

· In addition , new awareness of how firms could operate in a more engaged manner began to become a bigger part of the overall landscape . This included diversity , equity and inclusion . Mental health awareness had been on the horizon for some time , but became much more a component of how firms worked and what could be done to help everyone be more effective and more successful with our well-being .

· Then , as COVID waned a bit and dynamics changed and more people wanted to find other places to be , the recruitment period became an essential firm focus . Remote took on a new face when firms began hiring permanent remote team members from other parts of the country , creating another aspect to firm culture .

· Clients experienced as much or even more chaos than firms , with some failing or having to course-correct in such a dramatic way they don ’ t look like the businesses they were before . In certain cases , many client projects were put on hold or not addressed at all . Business clients , in particular , have succession issues , growth challenges , operational business model changes , their own recruitment endeavors , ownership challenges , ownership agreements that need to be updated , merger and acquisition exploration and on and on . Often , these projects require collaboration with other professionals — all requiring an effort to reach out , to be proactive .

Conversation as the Driving Energy Where do conversation and dialogue enter the scene ? Everywhere ! Why ? Because each of the areas mentioned requires unique attention .

For instance , each client has their own way of communicating ; some have changed dramatically and don ’ t act or react as they did before . The areas of DEI and mental health have their own language with structures that are new to firm leadership and to team members .

For these areas to become stronger parts of the culture , there are conversations that need to happen to bring everyone together . What ’ s needed ? Ways to talk about these changes where everyone is on

A big part of helping conversation work is creating a business model that everyone can embrace . New and existing team members need to know their part and their path to their own success , as well as an ongoing conversation to keep everyone on track . With this much change in place , it ’ s essential to keep people informed about the firm and each is part of the equation .

Where do we start bringing more engagement , involvement , inclusiveness , respect and conversation into play ? For me , the point of interaction ( intersection ) is team members , all of them , being more involved with clients .

Clients have more needs than we may understand or even know , which can be a benefit for the firm and for the client if these needs can be identified , addressed and acted upon .

This might be best described by Bryan Gruber , CPA , managing partner at Lance , Soll & Lunghard , LLP ( LS ): “ Maybe , that looks like we ’ re just putting clients on extension , but it gives us time to do things differently to add the most value and figure out what ’ s more important — and it ’ s probably not getting their tax return out right now .” ( The State of CPA Firms and Where They Are Going ; California CPA ; July 2022 ) The area of Client Advisory Services ( CAS ) is predicted to have a 20 percent growth rate in terms of net client fees per professional , according to CPA . com and AICPA surveys . ( Courtney Vien , Journal of Accountancy , Oct . 13 , 2021 ).

I can only imagine that the total need is much , much more considering the stress that tax processing has had . From my experience , business clients have additional needs of five to 15 times current annual CPA firm billings . What better place to be than to put team members in front of clients and be there for them .

Amping Up Our Skills Client connection is the ultimate conversation point — an opportunity to be of service in many ways , even if it ’ s only just being there . You might say , “ We do that already .” But how might it be even better for everyone — team members and clients ? As trusted advisors , there are several considerations for connecting :

· Client Need Leads : In Client Advisory Services , many times , the actual client need is vague and can be quite complicated . What might look to be a cash flow problem is really a misunderstanding about client or customer duties and responsibilities or poorly defined agreements . You may find that the person , who you thought was in charge , isn ’ t . It can range from very simple to quite complex . It is also essential to try to distinguish www . calcpa . org JULY 2023 CALIFORNIA CPA 9