Episode description

Ever wondered how top accountants stay ahead in a fast-evolving industry?  

Rob Brown hosts a panel of influential voices in the accounting world to discuss the current state and future of the profession. The conversation delves into the threats and challenges faced by accountants, the need for rebranding and attracting new talent, the role of technology, and the opportunities that lie ahead.

The panelists, including Paul Surtees, Leslie Shiner, Denise Froemming, and Adam Lean, share their candid perspectives on the commoditization of accounting services, the importance of shifting from compliance-focused to advisory-focused roles, and the need for accountants to speak the language of business rather than accounting jargon.

They emphasize the necessity of embracing technological advancements like AI and automation to free up time for more meaningful work and the imperative of fostering financial literacy in society.

Key Takeaways:

• Accountants must move beyond compliance and embrace advisory roles to stay relevant.
• The profession faces a talent shortage and needs to rebrand itself to attract and retain the next generation.
• Firms should focus on helping clients be profitable and speak a language they understand.
• Financial literacy should be prioritized from a young age to foster a deeper understanding of numbers.
• Embracing AI and technology can free up accountants to provide more purposeful and impactful work.

Quotes:

• "They should be listening to their clients. They should be asking for and being proactive in helping their clients instead of retroactive." - Leslie Shiner
• "You cannot talk like an accountant. You got to talk like to a human, because your customer is a human, not an accountant." - Adam Lean
• "I would love to see financial literacy, like, in every high school, community college, so we could start from a, and it's in about 25 different states, but we're working on it." - Denise Froemming
• "You can't go and speak to accountants to tell them how to do their day job because we're not accountants." - Paul Surtees
• "Accounting is the language of business. And I think this is a great time for accountants to remember that and realize that their job is to be an interpreter of accounting in a way that makes sense." - Adam Lean

View this episode in video on YouTube here:

https://youtu.be/aS_eaA5zVtg

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