Is this a viable strategy?
“We are no longer a capital-light profession, we’re a cap-heavy profession,” said Francesca Lagerberg, chief executive of Baker Tilly International, whose 110 member firms had $5.2bn in annual revenue. “There’s an amount of spaghetti against the wall as everybody is trying different things, but no one wants to be the network that didn’t make the moves and wasn’t able to take advantage of the opportunities.”
“US accounting firms rethink global networks,” Financial Times 7.30.24
We’ve always said firms should take more risks and learn to be proactive rather than reactive but I’m not sure this is what we had in mind.
For shits and gigs, I pulled out my tarot deck to get a quick single-card insight into the near future for accounting firms.
After a thorough shuffling of the deck and a brief reflection on the current state of the profession — particularly the PE deals of the last couple months — I pulled chariot reversed (deck is Blooming Cat btw).
Says Labyrinthos of chariot reversed:
Reversed Career Meaning Reversed Finances Meaning lack of ambition, too aggressive in career goals rushing into or hesitant about financial decisions Career Meaning – Reversed Chariot
Reversed, the Chariot can signal either a lack of ambition, focus or drive, or alternatively, too much of it. Ultimately, this card brings up questions about how forceful or aggressive you are when pursuing your goals. Are you someone that waits around passively for things you want to happen, hoping that they’ll fall in your lap? Or are you so forceful, that you are inconsiderate of others in your pursuit of success? Both approaches can bring you trouble. Being aggressive to the point of hostility can backfire on you, while being so passive can never bring you the kind of happiness you desire. Are you okay with either of these options? What does a healthy middle ground look like?
I’m sure it’s fine. Anyway, feel free to sound off in the comments about the direction things are headed or, if you prefer, you may ruminate to yourself. Have a good weekend.
The profession is heading wherever the Big 4 want it to head. The AICPA, NASBA and the heads of accounting depts at major universities across the US are all in their pocket. They can advocate for policies that clearly harm the profession to give them an excuse to outsource for cheap labor overseas, they can cheat on inspections and get a slap on the wrist, they can accept contingent fees on tax work with no repercussions. Everyone else is just along for the ride.