Welcome back to Count Me In,

IMA's podcast about all things affecting
the accounting and finance world.

We're happy to have you back
for episode 149 of our series.

This is Mitch Roshong,

and I'll be your host getting you
ready for today's conversation.

In this episode,

you will hear from Kevin Au - bill.com's
head of product marketing, accountant,

and wealth management. In a moment,

you'll hear him talk about lessons learned
in the accounting industry and what

the profession can anticipate as far as
roles changing and skills needed in the

future. So without further ado, let's
transition over to the conversation now.

So Kevin, thank you so much for
coming on the podcast today.

We really appreciate you taking some time
out of your busy schedule to be a part

of count me in.

Great. Yeah. Thanks so much. Thanks for
having me. I'm a big fan of podcasts,

so great to be here.

Thank you. So there has been
a tremendous lessons learned,

and changes across society and
business over the past 18 months,

we've all been affected by it.

You and I were just chatting about
it before we started recording.

What have you seen in
the accounting industry?

And do you think those
changes are here to stay?

Yeah.

So what we say in the accounting industry
as small to size business markets is

that the innovation and the adoption
it's been accelerated about three to five

years.

And while every industry has been
disrupted by digital transformation as a

result of pandemic and
working from home, right?

This industry in particular has been
ripe for disruption like for years.

We've been just saying that
over 90% of SMBs rely still on

paper-based processes and checks,

and that realization will be
over-reliance on outdated labor and manual

intensive ways to do
business. As you know,

bill.com works closely with the accounting
community work with 85 of the top 100

firms plus 5,000 firms in total.

And I remember I was talking with a
couple of accounting partners and one

partner in particular. I heard a horror
story, literally during the pandemic,

they had to use Uber and Lyft to transport
documents between houses to get them

signed. And they even use
bike messengers. Like, I mean,

this isn't sustainable, whether
it's pre pandemic or post,

and we believe that this
community deserves innovation
and we're here to deliver

it.

So when I hear innovation, I think of
keywords like automation and AI, the,

the buzzwords that we're
hearing all around,

and these are powerful tools that
accountants need to have in their toolkit.

Can you tell us a little bit about what
bill.com harnesses, in your solution?

Yeah. So as, as part of the industry
deception that we talked about earlier,

you know, we believe that
digital tools that all,

that all three help our customers and
partners to see it's really important,

right? And automated those back office
tasks and day-to-day activities.

It gives our campuses actually more
time and focus on areas of interests and

right. So like inviting
automation into the office,

ultimately it just provides the accounting
professionals just more time take

control of their careers and just have
more of a better work-life balance.

As an example, you know,

one of bill.com's customers is a wealth
management firm and they mentioned that

when they use bill.com,

they experience a say percent time
savings by streamlining all their accounts

payable processes,

but just then allows them to do something
more that matters to them around

financial planning and then
managing their clients assets.

An example for us on our platform,

we do use artificial intelligence and
we have a tool that we named, IVA,

which stands for intelligent
virtual assistant. And what IVA is,

is a feature that just uses advanced
technologies like machine learning that

helps us extract invoices and vendor
information from documents in our inbox.

So that helps you actually
create vendors and bills faster.

So it takes information like
the invoice number, like the,

the amount you have to pay the due date,
the amount. And it makes us so simple,

like just literally imagine if you had
a camera and he took a snap shot of your

invoice and it gets automatically loaded
in and IVA can read it and put all that

data very easily for you to just help
you get paid, to get paid faster.

And that's, what's really exciting
about, you know, automation and AI space.

That is very exciting.
Cause it, it allows you,

it takes time away from the menial tasks,

sometimes those tasks that take up more
of your time and allows you to do other

things right?

Exactly. Exactly. It's always about
like the stuff that, you know,

what would you be doing on a Friday night?

Would you rather be doing all
the manual checks and everything,

or would you be going out
having dinner with your family?

And what we do is like with
our technology and systems,

it allows you to do the latter.

So it sounds like the accountant's role
is expanding and has been expanding,

especially during the pandemic, you
know, maybe they're saying, "Hey IVA,

print me out my invoice". I don't,
I doubt it's voice activated,

but you've talked about a new
Renaissance of the adversary accountant.

What does that look like?

Yes. So even before the
COVID pandemic, we saw,

we heard businesses had a clear, and
active need for advisory services.

During the pandemic they
became the go-to person,

when they're helping clients
through their PDP loans,

through changing regulations and so
much more. And they were the lifeline,

they're literally the heroes,

I think for a lot of the SMBs
offering their clients the best,

the latest information and
advice actually keep them afloat.

Like it was a really tough time.

And we heard like accountants were just
working endlessly nights and weekends to

make sure, like they have to figure
out how to do the PPP loans. Right.

And that was a big thing that they did
and their SMBs where their clients were

also thankful for that. So now, as we're
kind of getting out of the pandemic,

right,

accountants are just taking
the opportunities to redesign
their day-to-day jobs,

especially by putting more time and
focus through these advisory services.

And they also offer things like
client analysis and strategic counsel.

And the goal here is not to add
more hours to their already busy

Workday, but instead it's about
optimizing the work. And so for instance,

you know, build a compromise, a lot of
different tools, insights, and data,

and we believe that data is going to be
necessary to provide that efficient and

essential path for that
advisory services. How?

It's that it can raise up all those data
insights by unlocking that data in real

time, in, in ways that they couldn't
have done before. We're like in the past,

this data will be trapped in some hidden
spreadsheet or in a separate system

that you can lock up.

Now you have these systems and tools to
bring this up to light and show it at

the right time.

And so we believe that the shift in like
the bookkeeper's role is going to be

actually more rewarding.

It's also a really smart time for these
firms in terms of growth and what we

did like bill.com, in 2019,

we had a fire hire index survey and
we just asked them like what they're

doing.

And one of the things they said is like
more than half of the S&P participants

are actually looking for,

accounting firms that offer a wide range
of services around accounting tax and

advisory services.

And what we even said that there was about
almost half that said that they would

stop referring their accounting firms
if they wouldn't offer strategic advice.

So now strategic advice is almost the
norm that a lot of these firms and these

clients are looking for.

So you mentioned the end of the pandemic,

obviously we've got different variations
of the virus happening. So there's,

there's different things that are
happening with the vaccines and all those

things happening,

but that brings in new challenges and
new changes that are on the horizon.

Companies going from completely remote
to hybrid situations or even fully in the

office. There's so many
different things happening.

So how can companies best prepare for
a potentially unpredictable future?

Yeah, so I always learned the only
constant in this world has changed.

And as we always move into the
future, changes is inevitable.

And I believe that treating new
technology and using automation,

it's an opportunity as a key to
imagine the future of accounting.

And what we find is like, you know,

finance and accounting leaders will
need to be increasingly clear about any

changes, that their company does
in terms of processes or programs.

And what this will do is it'll allow
you to prepare for that shift and

communicate any concerns before anything
is set in stone, right? And as we know,

speed, bumps are always
going to be enough, right.

And businesses should
plan for it. For instance,

having a buffer in their
budgets for unexpected expenses,

making sure that you have the right
technology updates to happens,

even have a plan for crisis management,
that if, and when it happens.

And lastly,

I think one of the things I always
think about when you want to prepare for

changes, like stay on top of those trends.

So kind of think you're
joining accomplices and
just reading what, you know,

what are the things that are coming
up so that you have a sense and have a

little bit of a north star of what
may be coming up in the not so distant

future.

So speaking of the future,
let's put our, you know,

let's look into our crystal ball, five
to 10 years from now, you know, Kevin,

when you're looking at an accountant,
what makes a good accountant?

Like what are the good skill sets and
approaches that you anticipate will make

that good accountant in the future?

Yeah, so accountants,

I believe their role is morphing and
in the not so distant future they'll be

called upon to do more than just what
I call the traditional bookkeeping,

the debits and credits of bouncing box.

And we've already seen these professionals
step into these multifaceted roles,

such as financial advisor, wealth manager,

and even like a therapist as our world
becomes more interconnected and just more

complex. Right. And I believe
the truly successful CPAs,

will be able to balance the
client relations and ad-lib
consulting with the work

that they've been traditionally
been associate with.

And part of that balancing that
interpersonal and strictly I call them

logistical aspects that we kind of lens
will involve knowing when they could

pass off the certain responsibilities
and rely on technology and acknowledging

the use of that automation taking
advantage of the capabilities will

differentiate the good
accountants from the great.

So to what extent do you think those
roles and responsibilities will change by,

like, let's say 2025.

Yeah. There's a lot. And, you know,

considering what the pandemic
that businesses have pivoted

already so much and their policies and
procedures in a matter of days and weeks,

four years in 2025 is actually a long way.

But I believe that the role is
changing and for the accountants

and bookkeepers, it's,

it's going so fast from that traditional
sense to more of the CFO advisory

services. And our focus for us is
to help them make this transition,

providing the tool sets to make them
successful, which is around data,

the more automation
leveraging AI to do it.

And this also includes investing
in employees with quality training,

and also includes educational resource
to help them ease into these new

responsibilities so that when you
do have to adopt new technology,

it's not a big detractor reduction.

I believe that upscaling will be a
big priority in the coming years.

What we did see, you know,

the lights stay at the AI
and the enterprise reports
show that once automation

solutions having to establish, you know,

those good business leaders actually
more sought after than those technology

engineers. Why?

Because they got to figure out what's
the other technologies built up.

They've got to have some person with a
business sense, to make sense of all the,

all the data and then actually figure
out what you want to do in terms of the

business going forward. And as more
and more firms transition to digital,

we expect the accountants.

They can actually additional
responsibilities for
managing clients and offering

strategic advice. I think, you know,

most important about this role by
having all the technologies use the

accountant's role is actually it can be
driven by more what they want to do as

opposed to what they have to.

And it's because those
increase automations will
just allow them more time to

pursue more of their
professional interests.

So what do you think the accountants
are focused on now? You know,

as we look at the next, you
know, two to four or five years,

what should accountants be looking at?
Or what should they be focusing on?

You know, you said what
they're interested in,

but they also need to worry about, Hey,
what does my job require me as well?

So how do you find that balance?

Yeah. So there's the so many things
I think of that, the jobs morphing.

So if I were like, say like,

if you're a new accountants and here's
the five skills that you want to have,

here's where I think: number one,

because of what we're
saying about the advisory,

I think number one skills that you want
to have around the strategic client,

right? We're just seeing just more
accountants, just doubling the hat.

You can be the countless, but you're
the advisor, you're the therapist.

So you having the ability to think
through strategically what clients are

looking for. I'm thinking a little
bit ahead is going to really help.

Number two, technology's our friend.
And so as an accountant, yes,

you not, you're not that technology savvy,

but you will have to be able to manage
technology and be technology forward

thinking. All right.
The fact is, you know,

using the technology as part of like one
of your arsenal and your toolkits will

really help and having accountants who
will become the experts in managing and

retaining these programs. It's kind
of really be helpful. Third one,

as I mentioned, it's about the
customer relationships. You know,

I count this is not simply just
doing the books and going away,

or you gotta be able to work
closely with clients, address their,

their questions and answers.

And you have to build that relationship
over time and just be able to adapt and

really listen to what they really want
and then figure out what you want for

them. Fourth one is creative thinking,

know our world is so complex and the
standard way of what we did even a decade

ago is much harder now.

And so what we see in a lot of accountants
is that they had the pandemic was

this one of the situations where they
had to do something that's totally

different for what they
ever had done before.

And they had to think about creative
solutions that could meet the needs of

every single one of their clients.

And so the accountants to be
successful is going to have,

be able to think outside the
box and outside the books,

it's going to become the
norm. And then lastly,

I think the last skill I
think for accountants to be
successful is finding that

work-life balance, right?
That pandemic collapse,

all the boundaries about
work and home life, right?

We're still all working from home.
And as we emerge from COVID-19,

I know both employees and employers are
advocating for practices that promote

just better mental health
and permit that flexibility.

And so automation and AI simultaneously
putting that time back on the

accountant's calendar.

So there'll be able to take more time
for themselves without sacrificing their

career aspirations.

This has been Count Me In,

IMA's podcast providing you
with the latest perspectives
of thought leaders from

the accounting and finance profession.
If you like what you heard,

and you'd like to be counted in for
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education, visit IMA's
website at www.imanet.org.