How does project management related in CPA firms? Our client's Project Manager is concerned with the movement of tasks through the company. This role makes a distinctive line between (a) sales team (b) the movement of back office services.
This distinction is very important as our client scales larger over the time. With 3000+ active client, they can't afford to keep adding middle management to monitor the work progress when sales expand. It takes a lot of head space for the the team focus on its production work, and to stay focused on the inputs and outputs of this knowledge. They would therefore minimise the need to file folders floating around the office, or deliverables driven by a government. The stuff flowing through CPA firms is professional knowledge that enhances the businesses of the clients.
SOLUTION & IMPACT
After considerable thought, we propose to client to implement project management tool to manage the day-to-day operation.
1. Project Management frees management team to focus on professional client service. The team gets to be even more professional in the presence of a PM. A Project Management role is a guarantee of sorts that the promises of deep, intense expertise is being delivered consistently and timely. Do you offer complex services? Do you serve in a deep niche? Then you need a PM. The PM will always be pointing them to the client, the ultimate delivery, and when things need to be completed.
2. Project Management is a ‘work movement’ care role. Project Management helps the team manage the flow of many moving parts, and allows the team to do their best work. The PM takes care of the movement while the backend team takes care of the service side of the firm. The CPAs and other team members get to lean on the PM to help them prioritize, and know the service view of the firm and its service. If a CPA wonders what is due next, they get to ask the PM to help them prioritize their minds as the CPAs focus on the client.
3. Project Management carries the responsibility of processes and software that enhance the firm’s service. As the firm grows, your software, your processes, and the movement and ‘box checking’ of various pieces of software just becomes more taxing for your technical team. The PM gets to worry about those processes, and the related software. The software has to be maintained after all. The PM can do that well. They know what needs to be running through the software in the first place.
After implementation, our client can populate new processes in the software, and they can keep it updated, and they can build new processes that make the firm even better. With the implementation of the Project Management Tools, productivity improve by 20% and no longer require last minute over time.