Change management related to technology, including the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), ranked as CPA firms’ leading issue by expected impact in the next five years, according to the latest CPA Firm Top Issues Survey.
That may not come as much of a surprise in the current technological climate, but firms of different sizes ranked a variety of issues alongside technology and AI in the survey, conducted by the AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS).
According to a news release, the division of firms into six groups based on size is a recognition that perspectives of small firm practitioners are often substantially different from those of CPAs employed by a midsize or large firm. Despite varying priorities among the groups, the results often identify trends and emerging concerns across the profession.
In the previous Top Issues Survey two years ago, technology-related issues showed up only in the smallest and the largest groups of firms and ranked only fourth or fifth on those lists. This year, changes in technology/rising adoption of AI ranked in the top two among five of six firm sizes (minus firms with between two and 10 employees, which ranked it third). Tech-related issues claimed both of the top two spots among the two largest groups of firms: Tech adoption/integration ranked just ahead of changes in tech/AI for the group with between 101 and 500 employees, with the order reversed among firms with more than 500 employees.
However, a mix of other issues ranked first in the other group sizes: tax law complexity was first among solo practitioners and firms with up to 10 employees; hiring experienced staff was first for the group with between 11 and 30 workers; and next-gen firm leadership development was first for the group with between 31 and 100 employees. While solo practitioners and the up-to-10 group both ranked IRS challenges and data security in their top four, the four larger groups all ranked staff workload management somewhere in their top four.
“The top issues for firms tie into the transformation we’re seeing in technology, people skills, and operating models,” Lisa Simpson, CPA, CGMA, vice president–Firm Services at the AICPA, said in a news release. “We know keeping up with rapid developments in AI and technology capabilities can be a challenge, but the survey also revealed that there are challenges with integrating technology and leveraging it to enhance service offerings.
“On the people side, we’re seeing more focus on reframing job skills, managing staff workload, developing leaders, and evolving services to meet client expectations. Regardless of technology capabilities, accounting is still a people business.”
Firms look ahead
While AI was at the forefront for all firm groups when asked to identify issues that could potentially affect them over the next five years, staff retention cracked the top five for all firm sizes as well (save, of course, for solo practitioners). Job skill shifts ranked in the top four for all but the two smallest groups; staff recruitment as well as bolstering quality management (QM) systems made the cut in four of the six groups.
Survey respondents were asked to rate the top issues they’re currently facing and those they expect to be most impactful over five years. The 629 participants, who responded online between April 20 and May 22, were asked to rank the impact of issues on a 1-to-5 scale, with 1 being “minimal” and 5 being “extreme.”
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Bryan Strickland at Bryan.Strickland@aicpa-cima.com.
