"Technology is not a solution, but a vital enabler," Wayne says. "No one-large or small-will be able to stay competitive without employing technology and keeping up with its advances." For some, that may seem obvious, but Wayne, a CPA and technology consultant for Great Plains Software, speaks on technology three or four times a month. He still finds he has to preach the benefits and urge accounting professionals forward. The benefits are easy to establish, and Wayne hits hard on two issues.

Work-flow Payoff
Examine your business model and your interaction with vendors and clients. Technology can streamline that work flow for immediate payoff.

Wayne cites several examples. Administrative costs average five percent of revenue. A Gartner Group study shows that technology can immediately shrink those expenses to two percent. With revenues of $1 million, the typical $50,000 in administrative costs are reduced to $20,000.

The May 4, 1997 edition of Investor’s Business Daily shows an ROI of 1,000 percent on intranets, and an almost immediate return on the investment. At Great Plains, paper and fax are avoided. The group even submits expense reports electronically, with invoices sent in separately.

Service and Product Delivery
The Internet is transforming our basic foundation of service and product delivery. Ignore this, and you will be left behind.

Take the following statistics to heart, says Wayne. Travel agents, coasting on $50 commission rates, watched in dismay as their income dropped by five to eight percent with Internet bookings. In the product arena, Dell Computer now sells more than 1,000 computers a day over the Internet. A small gardening nursery discovered its Internet presence unearthed higher-volume sales, with an average electronic order of $100 versus $60 onsite.

What does this have to do the average CPA? In a recent CPA Computer Report, several practitioners admitted to having lost potential clients simply because they didn't have an e-mail address. But a more pressing issue is the increasingly sophisticated—and useable—software that will supplant traditional services, such as tax preparation. To stay competitive, CPAs must move into more consultative roles, gravitating their services and client contact to the electronic arena.

Get Going
As a profession, only a growing handful of CPAs use technology to full advantage, estimates Wayne. For those who haven't taken the first tech-step, it's imperative they do so now. "Sign on to an online service and send an e-mail. If you're more technologically saavy, take one work flow process, see where there's input twice - and cut! Then keep moving. Get really smart, and put together a technology plan."

In addition, CPAs with strong project management skills and an aptitude for technology face unlimited career opportunity, says Harding. He speaks from experience. "I had a CPA practice for eight and a half years, doing litigation support work, taxes, technology consulting and implementing financial systems. But I decided to do something I love, and sold the practice and went to work for Great Plains where I could devote 100 percent of my time to technology, especially as it applied to software."

Great Plains provides accounting software solutions to clients worldwide, primarily servicing businesses from $1 to $5 million in revenue. "My line of work is to carefully listen to clients, and tackle problems using technology as the heart of the solution."

Those who don't forge a career out of technology must at least understand its key role in their future. Sums up Wayne, "If you're truly market driven, you're already maximizing technology." If not, you better get moving!

For questions or comments on his high-tech philosophy, contact Wayne at wharding@gps.com.