Your Office of the Future

by Kimberly Scott, CAE

Virtual or Hybrid World
Many offices went virtual at some point during the pandemic, and according to industry surveys and what I’m hearing from firm leaders, most offices appear to be considering maintaining a hybrid working model moving forward. This has created many new challenges and benefits.

Perhaps the most significant benefit for staff is the time gained due to the lack of commuting every day. Many have also taken this opportunity to move out of the city or to other locations, allowing more choices in their work-life structure. If we compare member addresses from pre-COVID to now, there is a noticeable difference in where members are living based on chapter area. During the pandemic, many staff combined work with a vacation or travel, often for a month or longer. Whether this trend will continue is unknown, but it is unique. These benefits appear to be extremely valuable to employees and are pursued by those who are considering new opportunities.

For organizations, virtual or hybrid operations offer the opportunity to reduce their footprint or move locations and cut overhead office costs. This is not unique to firms, as the Puget Sound Business Journal has reported that many organizations are decreasing their office size.

Another benefit to firms is the ability to look outside of the immediate location to hire. I have heard from firms of all sizes in our state that they have new staff living and working in other states. This can give a competitive edge if it works for your organization, as the cost of living and wages in our state are higher than other areas.

Although the benefits are enjoyed, the challenges seem to be growing. Last fall a group of partners from small, mid-sized and large firms shared the challenges that were keeping them up at night. Technology remains a top consideration. Cyber security is a tremendous concern with staff working in multiple locations. However, finding software that meets the needs of the office and clients, while being easy to learn and use, and yet able to incorporate the complexity of the laws often feels like a unicorn. Most are excited that technology has allowed us to create a mobile workforce, yet almost all felt it was also overwhelming.

Staffing & Training
So what is the biggest challenge keeping everyone up at night? Nearly unanimously everyone stated STAFFING. There is a definite labor shortage in the current job market and in the pipeline. However, it goes beyond a current shortage; burnout, training and making staff feel connected all seem more critical than ever. The mentoring and training that historically took place in the office is not happening. Many expressed that ensuring proper training and skills enhancement in this virtual environment feels like a new experiment.

The CPE Pipeline
While CPE and training along with peer group discussions can help with many of these issues (and if you want to join a WSCPA resource group, please contact us), there is an issue we all need to work on together to make progress—the candidate pipeline. The CPA profession provides opportunity for individuals and protection for the public. It is also unknown to many students.

State societies, the AICPA, NASBA and educators are all working together on the CPA Evolution as well as trying to get accounting considered part of STEM. As a CPA, you understand that technological skills are necessary today in order to understand businesses and to help enable them to thrive.

Connecting with schools in your area to participate in career days is a great way to get involved. Many professionals say they learned about the CPA profession from a family member or someone who came to their school.

You also can learn about, support, and/or volunteer for the Washington CPA Foundation, which provides more than $500,000 a year in scholarships to accounting students from community college through Ph.D. programs. The Foundation also provides grants to organizations increasing the diversity in the CPA pipeline (learn more here).

The experiences of the last couple years are unique to our place in history but are shared by us here today. While many of the challenges of the office of the future feel overwhelming, I am confident that we can collaborate and help create positive outcomes for these challenges that are keeping the profession up at night.