Firm Management
Business Continuity and the Cloud for Accounting Firms
When hurricane Harvey approached Houston, Wesley Middleton of MiddletonRaines+Zapata didn’t have to worry about his firm’s business continuity plan. At the recent CCH Connections: User Conference 2017, Middleton talked to Jody Padar (the Radical CPA) ...
Nov. 20, 2017
From the Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Blog.
When hurricane Harvey approached Houston, Wesley Middleton of MiddletonRaines+Zapata didn’t have to worry about his firm’s business continuity plan. At the recent CCH Connections: User Conference 2017, Middleton talked to Jody Padar (the Radical CPA) and Wolters Kluwer’s own Shari Dodgen about his firm’s experience in the face of disaster. During trying times, having the firm’s infrastructure in the cloud gave the partners some much-needed peace of mind.
Instant Disaster Preparedness
In the past, the firm would have had to spend time and energy securing its servers in safe, dry locations. This time around, though, preparation took just minutes, as the firm sent staff home with their laptops and power cords. According to Middleton, “It wasn’t until after it was all over and done and we looked back that I thought, ‘Wow, we didn’t have to do one single thing…’ The cloud allows you to just not worry about it.”
Business Continuity
Not only were staff members able to evacuate to safety, but they also continued working throughout the ordeal. When the firm’s Chief Administrative Officer reached out to staff to get an idea of downtime, she was pleased to learn that most staff experienced minimal downtime. Because the firm uses cloud-based software, staff that had internet connections could still be productive. As Middleton explains in the interview, “When they had things to get done – because we have clients out of state that weren’t affected… they kept working.”
Giving Back
MiddletonRaines+Zapata has a strong focus on family. So in stressful times, it’s important to them that they didn’t have to worry about business continuity. Instead, partners and staff could focus on what matters – the human element. The firm all pitched in together to help others in need. Instead of spending time recovering the firm’s operations, they could offer assistance to others in need. “One of our partners, James Zapata, had his house flooded,” explained Middleton. “We had crews of people just show up at James’ house and clean the house up in just a matter of hours. It was incredible.”
Cloud-based Transformation
Moving to the cloud offers firms many benefits. Business continuity is only one part of the bigger picture. Watch the full interview to hear Wesley Middleton discuss why his firm is thriving in the cloud. Then, download our whitepaper, “The New Firm Transformation: Technology, Growth and the Future,” written by Jody Padar.