By Ted Callahan.
As many of us prepare for year-end and busy season while also balancing time off with friends and family during the holidays, it’s easy to push aside what’s just around the corner: 2025.
As we turn the page to 2025, it’s vital that firms be proactive, not reactive, in creating their firm and team goals. This goal setting process should include a project plan that evaluates, identifies, and prioritizes where and how to ensure your firm is set up for success and benefiting from the latest technologies available. From automation and artificial intelligence to integrated, end-to-end platforms, implementing and using the latest technology advancements can create efficiencies and opportunities for firm growth.
Let’s take a look at what you can do to thrive in 2025.
Embrace New and Innovative Technologies … or Get Left Behind
A staggering 95% of accounting professionals in the 2024 Intuit QuickBooks Accountant Technology Survey said a willingness to learn and adopt new technologies is just as important as traditional accounting skills to succeed as an accountant.
That’s good in theory, but are firms actually learning and adopting new technologies into their workflows? The answer is a resounding “yes.”
According to our survey, accountants are prioritizing the investment and use of artificial intelligence, with 98% stating they have used AI to help manage business processes, from writing engagement letters, managing client portfolios and client communications to invoicing and payments.
If you’re one of the few firms that has yet to use AI in your firm, start small. Use a GenerativeAI tool to draft a client newsletter or translate accounting terms into language better suited for a client to help them understand your suggestions and recommendations. AI is here to stay. And while it will continue to evolve, the start of a new year is the perfect time to put a plan in place to experiment and implement AI technologies across your firm.
AI is the Future, but Firms and Their Clients Want to Know It’s Secure
The conversation about the impact of AI has changed dramatically over the last few years. Many practitioners initially feared AI and thought it would replace their jobs. Today, according to our survey, less than 10% are concerned AI will replace them. Instead, accountants are most concerned about data privacy and security, the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated information, and the cost of implementing and maintaining AI technology across their firms.
To help curb these fears, accountants are using formal ethics guidelines when implementing AI, with 2 in 3 saying they inform their clients on exactly how their firms use AI in their workflows. In addition, 61% use a code of ethics and/or best practices, 57% have a committee or panel overseeing the ethical use of AI, and 54% are leveraging informational training.
Implementing guidelines and policies may seem daunting and taking the first step is often the most difficult. Designate a driver to help initiate and keep the process moving forward. This driver should also be in charge of periodically assessing the policies to ensure they’re implemented on an ongoing basis. Use one of the many active accounting communities that exist across social media platforms to ask questions and learn from others. Research and consult external experts. Once you start gathering information and insights into what’s needed to create and implement AI safeguards, you can build a timeline with clear goals and outcomes.
Fewer Accountants + More Small Businesses = Greater Opportunities
Roman Villard, CPA, a member of Intuit’s Partner Council, recently posted an article in The Wall Street Journal about the shortage of accountants in the profession. The reality is that while there are fewer accountants in the profession, the number of small businesses is increasing every year—up to more than 33 million in 2023. This provides a tremendous opportunity for accountants to seek and acquire new clients or hone in on a niche to be seen as an expert in a specific area.
According to the new Intuit QuickBooks Entrepreneurship in 2025 Survey launched this month, a combined 47% of entrepreneurs who responded stated they do not currently have an accountant or bookkeeper, with 21% of those respondents stating they plan to hire an accountant in 2025. In addition, 54% of survey respondents said they plan to start a new business in 2025. This creates a growth opportunity for firms. Developing and implementing targeted advertising strategies and campaigns could result in new clients. Meeting businesses where they are—at trade shows, through local chambers of commerce, and at business groups—is one way to invest in your brand and connect with potential new clients, resulting in a positive impact on your firm’s success.
Tackle Staffing Shortages Head On
Serving more businesses, however, often translates into needing more staff to meet the needs of your growing client list. But fewer students are pursuing accounting degrees. As a firm owner, you can balance meeting client needs with limited staff by implementing a few key strategies.
Use new technologies, such as AI and machine learning, not to only attract and retain talent but also to help automate more manual tasks traditionally handled by entry-level employees. This alleviates the stress of manual tasks and helps eliminate errors while accelerating the skill set of your staff by freeing up their time to focus on higher-level work.
Prioritize offering advisory services. Clients want to benefit from your expertise. According to our entrepreneurial survey:
- 35% want to expand e-commerce or online sales,
- 48% want to increase revenue, and
- 59% want to create financial resolutions, such as sticking to a budget or saving for the future.
Understanding your clients’ priorities and long-term goals elevates your role, allowing you to provide strategic advice on the right workflows and strategies to implement in order to drive their growth.
Pursue and grow a niche by hiring non-accounting specialized pros. According to our 2024 Accountant Tech Survey, 94% of respondents said soft skills are just as important as traditional accounting experience for success as a modern accountant, with problem-solving complex issues and effective communication being the most important soft skills for today’s accountant. These soft skills, coupled with real-world experience in a niche, like hospitality, law, or retail, can increase your firm’s knowledge of an industry, create a more diverse skillset, and widen the talent pool from which you hire.
Are You Ready to Thrive in 2025?
Embracing and viewing change as an opportunity for growth can help ensure your firm’s future success and ability to better meet client needs. Leveraging new technologies, implementing strategies to grow and retain staff, and growing your skills as a trusted advisor may seem daunting.
Take that first step. You don’t need to boil the ocean. Instead, proactively decide what opportunity you want to prioritize across your firm in 2025. Create a timeline, set clear goals, and get buy-in from others to help keep your firm on track. Evolution and change is a constant. What’s important is that you also evolve, see change as an opportunity for growth, and adapt proactively, not passively, or you may be left behind.
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Ted Callahan is director of Partnerships and Strategy, QuickBooks Partners Segment, at Intuit, where he focuses on further deepening Intuit’s partnership and relationship with the accountant community. Ted and Jessica McCracken just launched On the Books, a new podcast for the accounting community.
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Tags: Firm Management
