CPA firms are highly regarded as dependable, accurate business partners to their clients. This perception can be hard to achieve without a strong emphasis on accountability.
Accountability in the workplace has been shown to improve employee performance, increase engagement, and foster a sense of commitment among employees to their work and their team. Without accountability, creativity can be stifled, morale can drop, and employees are likely to feel unvalued.
Accountability starts with company culture. This article discusses why accountability is particularly crucial for CPA firms and how your firm can focus on the correct principles to help create a culture of accountability.
Why Is Accountability Important for CPA Firms?
When organizations trust your firm with complex financial affairs, including audit, tax, and tax planning, your accounting clients expect correct information and attention to detail. CPA firms that lack accountability can encounter a number of problems that have heavy consequences for their future.
Reputation
Accounting errors, no matter how small, can create large financial discrepancies for your clients. These errors can also affect client and prospect trust levels in the employee and your firm.
Since more than 80% of accounting firms rely on referrals as their primary source of leads, any damage to your firm’s reputation can be detrimental. Employees need to feel accountable for doing their best work and taking ownership of any mistakes.
Accuracy
Accuracy in accounting is crucial, as many businesses rely on accurate financial statements to make informed decisions. If this information is inaccurate, it can mislead decision-makers into making poor choices that impact their business.
Stress Reduction
At least 90% of accountants feel stressed out by work, and one in three report feeling stressed every day. Considering that 99% of accountants suffer from burnout due to heavy workloads and multiple deadlines, anything that can ease the stress of everyday work in your firm is invaluable.
To avoid burning out top talent, CPA firms need to make it easier for employees to organize and track their projects and responsibilities. This will help employees prioritize their schedules and plan for the future.
Key Factors to Help Create a Culture of Accountability in CPA Firms
While shifting the culture within your firm to embrace an ownership mindset takes time, there are a few areas you can focus on immediately to help support these changes.
Project management technologies, especially workforce management software, can make this a much easier feat with tools that automatically provide these benefits.
Well-Defined Roles
Accountability requires a knowledge of each employee’s roles and responsibilities. After all, you can’t take ownership of a project if you never knew it was your responsibility to begin with.
Consider implementing technology-related tools that are designed to provide clarity around tasks and expectations. For example, with workforce management software, anyone in your firm can see:
- Who’s leading each project?
- Who’s responsible for smaller tasks within a project?
- Important milestones and due dates
- When a task has been missed or is overdue
This level of transparency encourages employees to perform their best work because anyone in the company can see their real-time progress on assignments.
Team Alignment
Team members need to feel a connection to your CPA firm and its mission to feel a need for accountability. This is most easily done by aligning team members of all levels and informing them of the firm’s goals and successes.
When employees feel informed of company changes and like their voice matters, they are more likely to:
- Stay with your firm for longer
- Be motivated to do their best work
- Become emotionally attached to their work
- Engage with firm initiatives
All of these factors inherently lead to increased accountability for their work.
Effective Communication
Effective communication on both the employer and employee end is critical to creating a shared definition of accountability. Communication can also remove the negative connotation associated with the word “accountability” by encouraging learning from when mistakes do happen.
This concept is especially important for your firm’s leadership. If you expect employees to be honest about errors they’ve made, management needs to communicate clearly when they’ve made mistakes as well.
Leadership Without Micromanagement
When firm leaders aren’t sure exactly where a project stands, it can be easy to fall into the micromanagement trap of constantly asking your employees for updates. This can make employees feel like they’re not trusted to turn in high-quality work on time.
Leaders can see where each project stands in real-time by creating transparency with task tracking through tools like workforce management software. Thus, you can get the information you need without hovering over your employees’ shoulders.
Dashboards like these are especially helpful for accounting firms that are navigating remote work environments.
Achieve Accountability in Your CPA Firm With Workforce Management Software
Creating a culture of accountability in your CPA firm has never been easier. coAmplifi’s workforce management software for accountants comes with tools for collaboration, transparency, and more that provide your firm with the organization you need to improve accountability.
Better accountability starts here. Schedule your demo now!
