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PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

Until the pandemic is to boost employee retention. “We were discovering
that it was really difficult to retain people in San
squarely in the rearview Francisco,” she said.
The shift has allowed the firm to identify and
hire high-caliber workers, many of whom live
mirror, it will be difficult in lower-cost regions and therefore require less
compensation. But while no longer paying for office
space in the Bay Area’s high-cost market might
to predict the exact appear to be an added benefit, Kruze said the move
has not saved the firm money. “Make no mistake,
this is not a cost savings initiative: What we no
ramifications of the rise longer pay in rent we make up for in increased IT
costs, IT security, cultural initiatives, and off-site
of remote work. events,” she said.
Until the pandemic is squarely in the rearview
mirror, it will be difficult to predict the exact
ramifications of the rise of remote work. But with
real estate and location wielding increasingly less
influence over organizations’ outcomes, firm owners
should invest some time reexamining exactly where
Kruze Consulting, which provides tax and they want to be and why.
finance help to startups, saw benefits to relocat-
ing even prior to the pandemic. The business was HOW TO FRAME YOUR THINKING
originally located in San Francisco and San José, Whether or not to move or to go virtual is a
but in 2018 founder and CEO Vanessa Kruze, giant decision for any organization, with a huge
CPA, decided to close the physical office and allow range of factors to consider. Here are a few points
all employees to be fully remote. Her objective was of advice:
Be comprehensive
AICPA RESOURCES There are usually between 40 and 60 geographic-
specific variables that need to be assessed when
Articles considering any kind of move, Buelow said — from
“Rethinking Real Estate: The Benefits of Workforce Segmentation,” JofA, the availability and cost of real estate to taxation poli-
Nov. 12, 2021 cies, residents’ median education level, and the risk
“How Stack Overflow Raised Millions While Working Remotely,” CPA Insider, of natural disaster. “There’s a whole host of factors;
Feb. 8, 2021 companies need to think of everything before they
do this,” he said.
“Housing Costs and the Talent Crunch,” JofA, Feb. 1, 2020
“Don’t make a decision based on just one
“Remote Team Building and Culture,” AICPA.org, May 9, 2019 (free for thing,” he said. For example, incentive packages
members) some states offer to attract new jobs shouldn’t be
the driving force in a company’s deliberations.

IN BRIEF

■ The rise of remote work has led many ■ Moving to a smaller city can come with ■ When contemplating a move,
organizations to consider whether they benefits such as lower real estate costs, organizations should consider the
should relocate, reduce their physical lower costs of living, shorter commutes, many financial and nonfinancial factors
footprint, or go entirely virtual. and better work/life balance. involved.

To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Courtney Vien at Courtney.Vien@aicpa-cima.com or
919-402-4125.

20 | Journal of Accountancy June 2022