Innovation showcase: CPA employers on the cutting edge

Completely virtual workplaces. Flat hierarchies. Employees who set their own hours. Vacation stipends.

Silicon Valley? Not quite.

Even in the fairly traditional world of accounting, some employers of CPAs have adopted cutting-edge practices associated with startup culture. They’re promoting transparency, knowledge sharing, employee ownership, and flexible working environments that far surpass typical notions of work/life balance. And they’re doing so not just because they want to improve recruitment and retention (though that’s often the result), but because it’s part of their culture.

Meet seven employers that have radically rethought the ways they relate to their CPAs—and learn how their innovative practices make their organizations more purposeful and productive places to work.

Click on the images below to read about the employers who are reinventing the accounting workplace:

• BNA: A completely flat hierarchy
• IntrapriseTechKnowlogies: Employees set their hours
• High Rock Accounting: Vacation stipends
• Frank, Rimerman and Co.: A coaching culture
• ClearPath Accountants: Transparent financials
• GMLCPA: Cross-training
• SoulCycle: An intentional focus on culture

About the author

Lea Hart is a Durham, N.C.-based freelance writer. Courtney L. Vien, an AICPA associate editor, contributed to the sections on BNA and ClearPath Accountants. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact her at Courtney.Vien@aicpa-cima.com or 919-402-4125.

AICPA resources

Articles

• “Keys to Successful Virtual Teams,” CGMA Magazine, Dec. 1, 2016
• “Building Trust in the Workplace,” CPA Insider, Sept. 6, 2016
• “A Coaching Approach to Line Management,” CGMA Magazine, May 4, 2016
• “Coaching Programs Get New Partners Off to a Great Start,” JofA, Feb. 2016
• “Remote Working: Is It Right for Your Firm?” CPA Insider, Oct. 19, 2015

Publications

• The Engaged Employee: 10 Initiatives for Successful Firms (#PPM1402P, paperback; #PPM1402E, ebook)
• Management of an Accounting Practice on Track (#MAPTKD, online access)

CPE self-study

• Organisational Culture (#165605, online access, #GT-EOM-PRM3, group training)

For more information or to make a purchase, go to aicpastore.com or call the Institute at 888-777-7077.

Online tools available to PCPS members

• 10 Initiatives for Employee Engagement, www.aicpa.org
• Flexibility Toolkit, www.aicpa.org
• Staff Development & Culture section, www.aicpa.org