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Top accounting blog posts of 2017

Mary Ellen Biery
January 4, 2018
Read Time: 0 min

Public accountants and business advisors will face many of the same trends and issues in 2018 that captured their attention in 2017.

Balancing the challenges of tax season and the need to keep up with various technologies, such as blockchain and advances in automation, will continue to test accounting professionals. In addition, CPAs and other advisors will explore opportunities to generate more revenue from advisory services and to make existing services more efficient, particularly in the area of audits and tax preparation.

Below are the top 10 accounting posts on the Sageworks blog during 2017, ranked by readership. Many of these address topics mentioned above, and they will remain relevant for the current year’s work as accountants strive to deepen client relationships, balance work-life demands and grow their practices.

These 20 Tweets during #busyseason show the struggle is real for CPAs — Who says accountants don’t have a sense of humor? Sageworks compiled social media posts from accounting professionals in the thick of providing tax services, and many of their comments are hilarious.

3 top tech trends for public accountants to watch in 2017 — Many accountants could make a full-time job out of simply trying to understand the various types of technology that can make their personal lives easier and their practices more profitable and secure. However, three technology trends are of particular interest to public accountants because of their potential to transform major aspects of the profession. This post explores blockchain technology, the continued shift to the cloud, and advances in automation.

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Infographic: Is your firm future ready? — With only 10 percent of accountants viewing themselves as technologically innovative, it is important to assess your firm’s disposition to upcoming industry changes that will help accountants become more deeply connected with clients and offer more consultative services. This post offers a glimpse into the future readiness of the accounting profession.

The two biggest challenges public accountants face — Two of the biggest challenges that partners face when undertaking an audit engagement is risk mitigation and efficiency. In this post, Becker CPA exam review instructor Jackie McLaughlin, CPA, discusses how technology can help auditors perform a more efficient audit while maintaining an acceptable level of audit risk.

Cash flow analysis: Providing value to business owners — A repercussion for accountants and business advisors utilizing hourly-based billing is that technology can lead to reduced income as the time required for compliance work shrinks. Experts say professionals can counter pressure on income by offering new value-based services, such as cash-flow analysis, that offer tangible benefits to clients.

Small U.S. accounting firms and their consultative future — The recent Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey (AFOT) found that 77.7 percent of small firms provide business consulting to their clients. This article discusses some of the factors to consider when it comes to offering value-added services.

What are analytical procedures and their benefits? — This post takes a closer look at how analytical procedures can be used to help auditors develop expectations, which are the cornerstone of success in an audit. It also explores how technology can enable analytical procedures to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of audits.

The most useful (and rarely used) types of data analytics — Data analytics are gaining momentum as they are increasingly being used during the audit process. Learn about the various types of analytics that can be employed and how technology can make it easier to employ analytics.

Why business owners don’t buy coaching from their accountant — Discerning how your clients are wired psychologically is foundational for selling advisory services. Learn about different types of business owners and how to identify their pain points in order to offer them meaningful services.

Additional Resources
eBook: Next-Level Accountants: Your guide to growing a firm of trusted advisors

On-demand webinarExpanding Your Firm’s Advisory Services

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Help businesses generate cash and improve their overall financial performance with ProfitCents, a web-based suite of financial analysis and benchmarking solutions. Learn more >>

Image credit on blog home page: Sean MacEntee via Flickr CC

About the Author

Mary Ellen Biery

Senior Strategist & Content Manager
Mary Ellen Biery is Senior Strategist & Content Manager at Abrigo, where she works with advisors and other experts to develop whitepapers, original research, and other resources that help financial institutions drive growth and manage risk. A former equities reporter for Dow Jones Newswires whose work has been published in

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Abrigo enables U.S. financial institutions to support their communities through technology that fights financial crime, grows loans and deposits, and optimizes risk. Abrigo's platform centralizes the institution's data, creates a digital user experience, ensures compliance, and delivers efficiency for scale and profitable growth.

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