Parting thought from ENGAGE: Don’t let tech changes overwhelm you

Byron Patrick, CPA/CITP, CGMA, took time from his schedule during AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE a few weeks back to join the JofA podcast.

Patrick, recently named CEO at a startup company, has been a regular on the show over the years, talking mainly about technology topics. He continued that theme in this episode, discussing artificial intelligence, how the roles of chief technology officer and chief information officer have changed over the years, and why accounting professionals shouldn’t feel overwhelmed by all the tech-focused changes taking place.

Also, click here for the podcast episode from nearly five years ago in which Patrick discussed the use of emojis in email.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• Why Patrick calls ENGAGE “the premier event of the year.”
• Details about the AICPA and CPA.com Startup Accelerator.
• A summary of key messages and themes from a technology-focused ENGAGE session.
• Patrick’s advice for fellow accountants who might feel overwhelmed by the speed of technology-based changes.

Play the episode below or read the edited transcript:

— To comment on this episode or to suggest an idea for another episode, contact Neil Amato at Neil.Amato@aicpa-cima.com.

Transcript

Neil Amato: Welcome back to the Journal of Accountancy podcast. This is Neil Amato. For this segment of the show, live from ENGAGE, I’m welcoming back a repeat guest.

He’s the only CPA I’ve ever known who attends the Preakness Stakes with at least some regularity. His name is Byron Patrick. Byron, live from ENGAGE, welcome back to the JofA podcast.

Byron Patrick: Thanks for having me as usual, Neil. I really appreciate it.

Amato: Start with the conference. Again, it’s Tuesday of ENGAGE when we’re recording. Why go back every year?

Patrick: This is the premier event of the year. The networking alone, I think this year, I heard this is the largest crowd to date, and it’s definitely there. Being around all of the amazing people here is always just energizing and exciting.

The sessions are fantastic. This morning session, the keynote session, was super exciting. The 25 most powerful women awards was today, which is always exciting. I wouldn’t miss it at all. If I’m choosing conferences and places to be, this is definitely one of my favorites.

Amato: I’ve definitely seen on social media today there definitely is some ENGAGE FOMO from the people who are not able to go this year. I am one of those. It’s working out fine for me, but I’m definitely seeing some CPAs I know who are wishing they were there if they weren’t.

Patrick: No doubt.

Neil Amato: So, VERIFYiQ? What’s up with that?

Patrick: Yes, sir. We just announced I am stepping into the role as CEO of VERIFYiQ. Really excited to do it. You may know that VERIFYiQ was part of the CPA.com accelerator program. I’m just super excited to jump in and begin growing it.

Amato: CPA.com, you mentioned them, they are the technology subsidiary of the AICPA. Can you explain a little more for maybe people who don’t know. What is the CPA.com accelerator program?

Patrick: Absolutely. The accelerator program, I’ve actually been involved with it a few times in a few different roles. It’s a really great program where they pick a selection of new technologies that are supporting the accounting profession. They bring them together and provide resources as far as any education about the market, the way that accountants look for solutions, help them navigate those types of opportunities. Provide exposure for the solutions at Digital CPA, at ENGAGE, at other venues.

They’re really a partner to these solutions to help them support the accounting profession and drive the direction that we’re going in and how technology is supporting that.

Amato: Now, speaking of technology, obviously one reason you go to ENGAGE is to stay up to date on all the trends and issues. We’ve had many discussions over the years, both for podcasts and for articles, about technology. I’ll ask, any new technology catching your eye while you’re out there?

Patrick: I haven’t honestly had much of a chance to run through the exhibit booth. That is on my list of to-do’s today, to see what’s out there. I am pretty confident there’s going to be a lot of solutions that are putting their elements of AI into the solutions.

I’m really excited to run through the booths and see who is using AI and in what ways. That’s certainly a major theme. You can’t take many steps without seeing or hearing somebody mention generative AI. I’m sure that it’s probably popping up in a bunch of solutions in the exhibit hall.

Amato: Exactly. It’s a rather large exhibit hall. It may even be two exhibit halls, from my recall.

Patrick: It is two. That’s correct.

Amato: Plenty to see and hear and learn about. Your session has a tech focus, I think. What are some of the highlights and why do you think some of those highlights, some of those key messages, are important?

Patrick: The session that I’m in is on Thursday, being facilitated by Amanda Wilkie, who many of your listeners probably know.

Amato: Tech roundtable alum Amanda Wilkie, yes.

Patrick: Absolutely. The idea is to take a look at the evolving role of the CTO or the CIO within accounting firms. My participation in it, I’ve been around for a few decades now, which is terrifying to say.

Amato: Just mind-blowing.

Patrick: The other panelists also have some pretty seasoned experience, and we’ve seen this evolution of technology leadership within firms go from the early days of really just making sure the technology turned on when people sat down at their desk. Now it’s moved to so much more of a strategic role where we’re evaluating new technologies, we’re looking at the opportunities to support the firm in a much more strategic capacity, rather than just making sure the computer turns on when you sit down.

We’re going to take a deep dive into some of those places and how that role has evolved, and how different roles are showing up in accounting firms, and also the different sizes of firms and what resources are available to them.

It should be a really interesting conversation because we’ve definitely seen a lot of change. A theme that you talk about frequently of just the pace of change is continuing to accelerate and that the leaders of technology and firms are having to really keep their finger on what is going on and looking ahead to make sure the firm is in a position to be successful.

Amato: Now, I’ll give you a chance to have a general closing thought to this very brief conversation. But I’ll also, as a two-part question, say, general closing thought, but also, when are we going to have the sequel podcast to the email emoji discussion we had? Come on.

Patrick: We’ve got to schedule that one. That was definitely one of my favorites. We need to revisit that. With the mediums of collaboration continuing to expand, I think there’s probably plenty more to talk about there.

Amato: I’ve never really gotten into email emojis. Text emojis, sure, but email emojis – you were an early adopter.

Patrick: Very much so. Absolutely. I like to make sure there’s some emotion in the black-and-white text. Emojis seemed to be the way to do it. The number of emojis and types of emojis, that’s moving as fast as AI, I think, right now.

Amato: That’s true. For those who have no clue what we’re talking about, in the show notes for the episode on the JofA page, I will hyperlink to that episode in which Byron and I talked about email emojis. Byron, anything else from ARIA in Las Vegas that you’d like to add in closing?

Patrick: I would just say we are living in a pretty spectacular moment in time right now with technology just evolving so quickly. The solutions and opportunities that are being presented to us [are] just really fascinating.

For anybody out there who is maybe feeling overwhelmed by the number of solutions, the technology that is changing, there’s so many good resources out here. Obviously, the Journal of Accountancy, the podcast, the conferences. I can’t imagine trying to navigate these waters without all of these great resources to stay engaged with and learn from. If anybody’s out there feeling overwhelmed, don’t be. There’s plenty of good content out there that can really help you figure things out.

Amato: That’s great. Byron Patrick, thank you very much.

Patrick: Thank you, sir.