Tools like AI have changed the U.S. market forever—and this is even more true for accounting firms. Now, if they want to succeed, businesses have to redefine what they thought accounting was and adapt to the brand-new world in order to succeed.
When you contact any American CPA firms, remember that these companies must consider AI and automation, security and IT investments, revisiting accounting culture, and growing their consulting services to fully understand and address your needs. If they don’t, you might want to consider whether they’re worth the investment!
In this blog, we’ll explore how companies can redefine accounting and provide quicker and more accurate accounting services for your business while addressing international challenges with a modern workforce and innovative advisory services that add value to any strategy.
A Solid Foundation Starts with Understanding Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
Let’s get back to the basics for a moment. Understanding and following GAAP is crucial for keeping your financial records accurate and safe. GAAP is a set of rules that guide how U.S. financial records should be kept. Like its international counterpart, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), it ensures that financial information is clear and can be compared from one company to another.
Why Redefining Accounting Goes Beyond GAAP Principles
GAAP helps build trust in the financial market. Investors feel more comfortable because they can easily understand and compare financial statements. But that’s not everything. GAAP helps you reduce the risk of data misrepresentation, making any accounting firm transparent to investors and stakeholders.
While GAAP doesn’t redefine accounting on its own, the core values behind these principles are worth looking for in any accounting company that is compliant, consistent, sincere, honest, and prudent. Redefining accounting should start by redefining how companies operate in terms of what they believe and value the most.
Why AI and Automation Are Crucial in Any American CPA Firm
Using manual accounting processes vs. AI process automation is like comparing a flip phone and a smartphone. Both can make calls, but the smartphone has handy features that will improve your everyday life, like a GPS and favorite apps to listen to music and play games, just to name a few.
So, if you choose to go with an American CPA firm with AI automation, you can benefit from:
- Faster Turnarounds and Improve Access: Cut down on hours billed and make any interactions smoother with AI-powered tools.
- Streamline Tax Processes: Easily handle taxes with automated systems that reduce risk and boost efficiency.
- Get Customized Tax Insights: Move beyond standard solutions with tailored tax strategies that fit your business perfectly using advanced analysis tools powered by AI.
For small-sized businesses and entrepreneurs looking, tools like QuickBooks or Xero are affordable, quick, and effective solutions. But if you want a tool to optimize your M&A or cross-border logistics, you’d probably need something more specific and customizable for your business, like a 1:1 consultation with an American tax and accounting services expert.
Making Accounting Secure and Efficient
Keeping financial data and your employees’ data secure is part of redefining accounting for the modern economy. Not only that, but every CPA firm team plays a crucial role in protecting their clients’ data. Security factors like Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), encryption, and a trained team should be part of every modern accounting firm.
Why Security Concerns May Be on the Rise
Unfortunately, anyone can be prone to mistakes and data breaches. A recent report from IBM Security showed that the cost of data breaches for several sectors, including the financial, industrial, technology, and energy sectors, exceeded USD 5 million in 2023. On a more concerning note, the number of financial data breaches spiked from 15% in 2022 to 21% in 2023.
This is a point of concern as sensitive information may be available to any hacker who knows where to look, like the Capital One breach in 2023 due to a vulnerability within one of their partner systems, NCB Management. An undetected security weakness caused sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, account and credit card numbers, and more, to be leaked, leaving Capital One customers at risk of identity theft and financial fraud.
Can Accounting Be More Secure Against Increasing Threats?
To make any accounting organization secure, businesses need to go beyond internal strategies like 2FA or secure firewalls and also update their privacy policies to include rigorous security measures that tackle vulnerabilities at their core.
To support these security measures, cloud accounting helps companies use online applications and services securely hosted on remote servers. By providing real-time software updates and following the industry’s best practices, cloud systems can adapt to meet every company’s demands.
Another security measure is the four-eyes principle, which states that any activity, such as a decision, transaction, etc., must be approved by at least two people. This simple yet effective controlling mechanism facilitates the delegation of authority, increases transparency, and can be facilitated by electronic approvals and workflows.
Revisiting Accounting Culture for Modern Success
One fundamental aspect of redefining the American CPA firm is adapting to a modern working culture for continued success and growth. In 2023, women made up almost 60% of U.S. accountants and auditors alone, and the need for a diverse, flexible, and balanced workplace is becoming an increasing necessity. Take Orbiss, for example, whose commitment to creating an inclusive workplace has led to a majority of our managerial and leadership roles being held by women.
For international businesses like yours, surpassing cultural and language barriers is an increased concern. When major differences exist in labor markets, laws, work norms, etc., these companies need specialized, diverse teams to create customized CPA services that lead to smarter decisions and cost-effective results.
This also should include a “people-first” approach, where flexible working environments, competitive compensation and benefits, trust, and autonomy are principles that lead to better productivity, better relationships, and a better place to work.
That’s why a modern accounting culture should be ready to handle modern challenges. Encouraging a flexible and balanced space where work-life balance brings several benefits to mental and physical health, creativity, and productivity can also bring better client relationships and retention along the way.
Let’s Redefine Accounting Together with Orbiss
For us and our clients, success goes beyond the numbers. Having said that, we recognize that security challenges, new technologies, and different regulations may be too much in the American market, but we want to help you.
Our objective is to develop opportunities that elevate your business. We follow strict security standards, use the best tech on the market, and understand your needs to ensure lasting success in your ventures. We are redefining what it means to do business, one satisfied customer at a time.
Time to take your business to the next level and get the most out of our customized CPA services. Get in touch with us today and take the first step toward scaling up with Orbiss!
By: Yoann Brugiere, Co-Founder
