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Regardless of how long the pandemic lasts, it’s “Things don’t have to be the same as they were
worthwhile to take a moment to pinpoint how you pre-pandemic,” Kaigler said. “Use this to your
have grown or adapted to the difficulties it brought advantage, and create something that is going to
about. Here, accounting professionals consider how benefit everyone.”
they plan to apply what they learned to improve As organizations consider how they want to
their personal and professional lives. operate post-pandemic, Kaigler recommends gath-
ering input from all levels of the organization and
YOU’RE MORE ADAPTABLE THAN YOU THOUGHT deciding which aspects of remote and in-person
Times of crisis tend to test our limits, and this work to keep or discard.
pandemic has surprised many of us with how “Let’s throw all of the ideas out there — noth-
adaptable we can be. ing is too far-fetched,” she said. “This is a great
“Sometimes you have to be pushed against a wall opportunity to reduce your turnover and not only
to really figure out how much power you have,” said retain your employees, but make sure they’re happy.”
Bridget Kaigler, CPA, CGMA, president at Bring-
ing Leadership Back LLC, a leadership consulting THE PROFESSION IS EVOLVING FASTER
firm based in Baton Rouge, La. “We are stronger THAN EVER About the
than we think, and we have so many talents and The pandemic accelerated change for the ac- author
gifts we didn’t even realize we possessed.” counting profession, simultaneously highlighting Hannah Pitstick
Many accounting and finance professionals have the importance of technological innovation and is a freelance
had to make a rapid shift to remote work, figure out advisory services, according to Yoder. writer based in
how to present and network virtually, and bal- “For public accounting, what impacts our clients Pennsylvania.
ance the increased demands of their personal and ultimately impacts firms,” she said. “We were all To comment on
professional lives. Take a moment to acknowledge forced to implement technology at a faster rate, this article or to
that you survived a very difficult couple of years and as well as analyze our processes, procedures, and suggest an idea
consider how you can build on that adaptability systems to ensure they were effective in a remote/ for another article,
going forward. hybrid environment. The pandemic also continued contact Andrew
Charles E. Davis, CPA, CGMA, Ph.D., profes- to separate those that are investing in innovation Adamek at
sor of accounting at Baylor University in Texas, from those that are not.” Andrew.Adamek@
recommends making a habit of stepping outside of At the same time, clients increasingly turned to aicpa-cima.com.
your comfort zone, even during times of “normalcy.” practitioners for support throughout the pandemic,
For example, you could volunteer to be involved in as they navigated emergency relief funding, tax
the implementation of a new program or system at changes, and economic uncertainty.
work, raise your hand to lead a project, or request “Accountants were well positioned to help
a stretch assignment outside your normal scope — clients through the pandemic, including supporting
anything that takes a bit of courage and forces you them through the multiple layers of funding and
to become more adaptable. credits,” Yoder said. “The pandemic confirmed that
trust is imperative to our profession and, in many
BUSINESS AS USUAL MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THE cases, helped practitioners build deeper levels of
BEST WAY trust with their clients.”
During times of relative calm, we are less likely to Kaigler recommends firms and practitioners
challenge assumptions or question whether our embrace cloud-based storage, automation, and
current processes could be improved, according to other technologies so they can concentrate on
Davis. The pandemic has made many things worse, value-added services, such as helping clients make
but it has also revealed a few advantages to remote smart business decisions, mitigate risk, and navigate
and flexible work that might be worth carrying over change.
into a post-pandemic workplace.
Kaigler and Yoder pointed out that remote or IT COULD BE TIME TO REASSESS YOUR
hybrid workplaces can allow organizations to access PRIORITIES
a larger talent pool and client base, reduce travel On a more holistic level, the pandemic has forced
and rental costs, increase autonomy for employees, many of us to rethink our priorities and the way we
and allow for more seamless work/life integration. live our lives.

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