Accounting as a Strategic Partner: Moving Beyond the Numbers

The accounting industry is shifting in our rapidly evolving business landscape – gone are the days where an accountant comes to work in a cubicle, spends the day in solidarity crunching numbers, and navigates through regulations and compliance issues in isolation. Accounting is evolving from this reactive function to a proactive, strategic partnership with others within the company. However, this shift of moving beyond the numbers doesn’t happen overnight.

If you are trying to assist your accounting team with this shift, it requires a fundamental change in culture, mindset, and even the daily workflow within your organization. Accountants should be recognized as strategic partners and business advisors, not just bookkeepers, number crunchers, and compliance upholders.

What does this evolution look like exactly? In this blog, we will discuss three changes you can make to help your accounting team so that they successfully move from accounting and audits to strategy and growth. This means moving from the following:

From Reactive to Proactive
From Data Entry to Data Translation
From Independent to Collaborative

Today’s successful accounting teams are already moving past their traditional role to becoming a strategic partner within their organization, and this move actually ends up producing more for the company with less. By adopting new technologies, redefining how accountants handle data, and implementing more communication, the accounting industry has been revamped into a more dynamic role of strategic business advisor.

1. From Reactive to Proactive

If your accountants are stuck in a “reactive mode,” they will never move beyond the numbers to become a strategic partner. A reactive accountant focuses on past data, while a proactive accountant focuses on future insights. How is this done?

When your accountants become strategic partners, they are moving past simply presenting numbers and, instead, bringing insights into the company to help shape present and future decisions. This means investing in new skills that go beyond traditional bookkeeping and reporting in order to delve deeper into understanding what actually drives your business.

First, ask yourself these questions:

What does leadership actually care about? KPIs and non-GAAP metrics? The future market trends?
What adjustments need to be made to attain positive outcomes in the future?
How can you focus on the bigger picture by not getting caught in a cycle of tedious, manual work?

Accountants can help answer these questions, and more, in two ways: financial modeling and scenario building. First, financial modeling includes using real-time, dynamic spreadsheets that can predict and forecast the future of a company’s financial performance.

The key here, however, is to also build in different scenarios depending on your industry, market trends and fluctuations, economic conditions throughout the year, competition, etc. That way, your accountants can proactively assess the financial implications of the business decisions being made to help with the following:

Develop financial projections for budgeting and decision-making plans.
Evaluate the timing of new product launches or business ventures.
Assess and compare different investment options.

Accountants need to offer guidance to the organization that goes beyond the numbers, so that leadership can make better business decisions that are going to not only affect the financials, but also the future of the company.

2. From Data Entry to Data Translation

In order for your accountants to move from reactive to proactive, your accounting teams will need to change their mindset about data. That is, they need to go beyond simply crunching the numbers and analyzing the data to telling a story – what do the numbers mean?

This is actually easier “done” than “said,” as new technology and AI features have made it simple for accountants to become data analysts. In mere seconds, they can analyze complex data, identify trends, and obtain significant insights for the company. Again, first ask these three questions:

What is the accounting team, the leadership, the board/stakeholders, and the company as a whole concerned about?
How is the business performing and how does that compare to the same time last year?
How do the current financial transactions drive value within the company?

Answering these three questions is a starting point, but you will need the RIGHT technology to help get to the RIGHT answers. There are many forms of AI technology that can handle routine tasks, integrate real-time financial reporting, and help the “human” accountants tell a story that guides the company towards actionable, forward-looking decisions.

I know “Artificial Intelligence” is still scaring some accountants into thinking they will be replaced by AI, but technology isn’t replacing jobs – it is just changing how we work in our jobs. Accountants still bring critical thinking skills, sound judgment, ethics, and business expertise that AI cannot replace.

AI technology isn’t replacing accountants – it’s elevating them.

First, you can let your AI technology handle the mundane, automated, and routine tasks faster and more accurately than your human employees. That way, your accounting team is free to focus on analysis and strategy. Not only that, but new AI technologies give us real-time data. That way, your accountants can:

Monitor the performance of the company continuously.
Identify problems and issues immediately to assess potential risks and rewards.
Develop strategies and give timely recommendations on how to move forward.

If your accounting team gives pushback on implementing AI technology into their day-to-day, remind them of one thing: AI may produce a quick, error-free, clean spreadsheet, but only a human being can explain what that spreadsheet means and use it as a roadmap for the future. Just think about this number: 75% of practicing CPAs in the United States are baby boomers. Luckily, the upcoming millennials and Gen-Zers looking for the next jobs in accounting have grown up with technology and they don’t fear it, but embrace it.

3. From Independent to Collaborative

Moving from accountant to strategic partner doesn’t happen in a bubble. In order to become a strategic partner, accountants need to move from an independent to collaborative role through constant communication.

Communicating outside of the accounting bubble may be difficult for those individuals who have always had a numbers mindset. For one, this is because they are now communicating financial data and information to non-financial audiences. Trying to explain data can be tedious, so here are some tips on how your accounting team can get started:

Explain complex financial information using clear and concise language without financial acronyms or jargon.
Customize communication styles to different audiences – your team will need to communicate differently with non-financial stakeholders.
Actively meet with the different departments to ascertain their needs and priorities.
Foster collaboration to build strong relationships and achieve the shared goals within the company.

The best accounting teams work with everyone – human resources, marketing, legal, and any other departments involved in setting strategic goals for the company. Now, you may think this advice is stretching your accounting team thin, but using the right tools and processes can help move your team from number-crunching to strategic planning in less time than you may think.

Challenges to Overcome

We understand that change brings challenges, but remember that your accountants are no longer defined by the limitations of time, outdated systems, and impending financial deadlines. Here are three challenges we have heard from our own clients and how they overcame them:

Handling more data – the proliferation of data means someone needs to analyze it. One of the first steps to helping your accounting handle this data is implementing the right AI tools for your organization.
Resistance to change – This is a main stigma among accounting professionals. The best way to handle this resistance is to remind your accounting team that the cumbersome processes and systems they use today actually makes their job harder. Yes, Excel spreadsheets still have their place, but they aren’t the end all to strategic thinking.
Timing pressures – Accountants feel the increasing amount of pressure to “close the books” each quarter, especially so they can focus on strategic planning. As a business leader, you should have a plan in place to help your team embrace technology that can do this for them.

With the right tools and resources, your accounting teams can move beyond once was seen as traditional roles to strategic partners. This move not only helps your accounting team, but your company.

About Critical Connexion:

Critical Connexion is a distinguished business management & consulting firm that focuses on leveraging a foundation of leading finance, HR management, strategic sourcing, risk & operations experts to accelerate brand success for clients.

We specialize in navigating the evolving landscape of corporate growth by adeptly addressing changing systems, processes, and people requirements. Recognizing the substantial nature of technology and changing business needs, we ensure that these resources are directed with foresight and expertise. We are your extended partners for business growth, scaling seamlessly and brand elevation.

Contact Us:
Ph: 213-798-6676
Email: info@criticalconnexion.com