Don't drink and tweet: advice from Illinois CPA

“E-mail is so yesterday. It's all about Twitter and LinkedIn,” Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS) president Elaine Weiss told the recent Midwest Accounting and Finance Showcase near Chicago.

“When it comes to recruiting employees and generating business, social media is the way to go.”

Weiss comes from the generation that subscribed to the mantra “never trust anyone over 30”, but has moved with the times by keeping up with the latest technology developments – partly from the influence of her children. With the profession facing a demographic timebomb, she advised her colleagues to do the same by reaching out and communicating more effectively with younger staff members.

“Listen to your younger staff, embrace social media,” she said.

“A couple of years ago we were talking about the fact that all the Baby Boomers would retire and no one would be left to take over. Thanks to a bad economy, we're worrying that the Baby Boomers will never retire.”

With both clients and recruits increasingly coming from the so-called “digital native” generation, understanding how to use social media was a key way to overcome generational barriers, though there were still some obstacles that needed to be overcome.

“You have to learn how to use it, then you teach your younger CPAs not to go overboard. I tell my children, ‘Whatever you do, do not drink and tweet’,” Weiss said

One of the most popular attractions at the Illinois event was the ICPAS’s Social Media school, where delegates could get some first hand training with tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. “It's one of the most popular booths. It's surprising how many members are stopping by,” Weiss said.

This article is an extract from a longer report on Midwest Accounting and Finance Showcase on our US sister site, AccountingWEB.com.