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Technology - ignore it at your peril

4th Jun 2012
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At an international conference of  accountants recently I was told the following story:

“A partner in a top twenty firm of accountants had a meeting with a prospective new client. After the usual pleasantries had been exchanged, the partner opened his notepad – removed the top of his fountain pen and sat poised ready to take notes of the meeting. The client looked at him aghast – ‘If this is the way you still take notes’, he said, ‘you are not the accountants for me!’ And with that he got up and left.”

Now the story may be apocryphal, and, if true, the client’s attitude was extreme, even for me who embraces technology in all its forms. But it does make a valid point.

Technology is very much a major part of our lives and as professionals in practice we have to be aware that it is also a major part of the lives of prospective clients. Our willingness to adopt technology shows that as professionals we can keep up to date and make use of new ideas to enhance and improve our processes and add value to the services that we provide our clients.

It says a lot about the way we operate and the way we view business processes as a whole. It recognises the fact that today’s entrepreneurs use Twitter, Facebook and the Cloud as an extension to their right arm and expect their professional advisors to have the same views.

It is for this reason that using the Cloud as a major part of the IT infrastructure makes the statement that a practice is operating in 2012 – not 1812 – and is well placed to deal with the demands of today.

And the growth of technology is inbred from a very early age. Someone told me the other day that their three year old, when looking at a book (yes – a real book!), turns the pages by making a touch and flick motion as if turning the electronic pages on an iPad.

Scary – maybe – but an example as to how technology is inbred in us from the start.

And for those who are still reluctant about change, the following quote from Charles Darwin sort of sums it up:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

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Replies (7)

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By User deleted
05th Jun 2012 11:58

What an incredibily stupid client ...

Apart from the simplicity of pen and paper (no lugging a device around, however small), how many accountants are accomplished typists?

Would you rather have your accountant listen & make occasional notes or spend their entire time being being a secretary/copy typist - I know which one one I would prefer.

In any event, have you ever tried typing anything longer than a password into a device such as an iPad etc. - any soft keyboard is not a simple process (especially when predictive kicks in) and by no stretch of the imagination efficient

Like all things technology has its place and is a tool to increase effectiveness - it should not be used as a statement to demonstrate how up to date you are; which is what the client has done in this instance. No doubt the same client is so used to Message & Twitter slang that they would be hard pushed to write a letter, which is often the case

The comment '.. turns the pages by making a touch and flick motion as if turning the electronic pages on an iPad ..' - is surely getting things in the wrong order. Children have always taken this approach even prior to the introduction of 'readers'. Whilst it may be a testament to the fact that technology has managed to mimic real life intuitive actions, we can hardly say that children have adopted this behaviour because of technology because they were doing it way before 'readers'

I am all in favour of the benefits of technology but inevitably there is a cadre of luddites who resist everything, however, is this the real debate - surely we should be addressing the issue of 'tools for the job' and not regard technology as the silver bullet for all issues

Once technology ceases to be as effective as pen and paper then should it really be used?

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By Roland195
05th Jun 2012 15:23

On the other hand

For every techno-junkie like the client mentioned here, you will have a Luddite or Amish manual record fanatic who believes computers are the work of the devil or that if software is used in the prepartion of tax returns, it will post his personal details all over the internet.

 

   

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By Alan Davies
06th Jun 2012 08:43

if true..

If that story is true I'd say it was the accountant that had the close shave there as the client is the one with 'issues' around technology.

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By justsotax
07th Jun 2012 09:16

@jc - think you are spot on...

No doubt technology has its place in the working environment, but you only need to look at the mobile phone to see how it is business that has changed the direction of technology rather than technology being the driver.  We were heading for a phone the size of a credit card 5-6 years ago but now phones are getting bigger than ever....whilst the technology has improved what people need from them has also changed.... bigger phones with bigger displays trying to replicate a keyboard (rather unsuccesfully given the size)...so technology does help...but only if it is helpful (if that makes sense?!)

 

In the end it is about people (and always has been) - technology is merely an aid (if used in the right way by the right people)

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By jndavs
07th Jun 2012 14:18

Tech / Cloud
"It says a lot about the way we operate and the way we view business processes as a whole. It recognises the fact that today’s entrepreneurs use Twitter, Facebook and the Cloud as an ...."

and what view would that be?

Only this morning Linkedin his the headline by being cracked and having the passwords of 6.5 million users posted on the net.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/65-million-linkedin-passwords...

I for one would take a very dim view of anyone who posted my confidential information on the cloud. I can work remotely, over an encrypted link but posting this kind of information to a server over which I have no control is a big no - no.

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By maxxy
22nd Jun 2012 14:59

Interesting story and I wonder about the context...

I can relate to this but think it is very short sighted on the part of the client if that was how the event went but I wonder if this was just one out of a few things that gave an overall impression of being behind with technology. 

For me there is nothing worse than attending a meeting and people whipping out their macbooks or ipads and tap tap tapping away, faffing about with plugging power cables in if they start to lose power, or stressing if they can't get an internet signal, and not properly listening or contributing to the meeting.

I've been known to make key notes in a note pad and then photograph them with my phone and email/text them to the person I have been meeting with so they have a copy too (rather than me sit and type them) or even photocopy that page of my notebook. I might send the photo to evernote or dropbox or similar but it depends on what it was and how confidential etc. 

I have used the note facility on my phone to make a note of key things maybe just a few bullet points of things I may forget but I remember doing this one time and someone else in the room asked if I was texting and from that moment on I realised that if I was going to take notes on my phone I needed to say that from the beginning of the meeting or purposely use a notepad and pen! 

Some people just want to show off with technology and it can really grate when it takes over what the most important aspects of a meeting are. 

I agree with others about it might have been a lucky escape but... if the accountant gave off an overall impression of being a technophobe along with other things then it's certainly something to work on especially if they want to work with high-tech clients. 

 

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By Centric Logic
28th Sep 2012 18:47

Agree with you on this

 

Hi Richard,

 

I think I actually agree with the client on this one - if he wants someone that is more of a digital native and doesn't use pen and paper, then it is his prerogative to walk away.  This is even more the case when the accountant himself has tried to suggest that he delivers an up to date digital service.

 

For many young business people I meet, they take meeting notes directly into laptops and tablets as a matter of course, they run much of their business via SaaS systems – their customer service, their product development, their HR, their bulk email marketing and their accountancy software – and run their personal lives the same way (checking into Facebook incessantly and downloading newer and newer apps to help with their connected lives).  Like it or not, that is the way the world is going.

 

The point is, it really doesn’t matter whether you personally can justify whether you use pen and paper or not: it’s what you clients’ want that is most important.  If you can still find lots of clients that are happy with an analogue service then you are very lucky.  When the likes of the three year old who flicks at real pages like they are an ebook are old enough to be part of the economy (and much, much earlier than that probably), they will expect a very different service.  One that is digital, quick, online and available.  Accountants may not like it, or might not be ready to embrace it, but it is coming.

 

Hope that doesn’t sound too dramatic – I don’t want to sound like a harbinger of doom – but the Darwin quote could be very appropriate soon.

 

http://centriclogicblog.wordpress.com/

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