This is a presentation made at the mPower Summit arranged by Infotech & 4i Committee of Bombay Chartered Accountants' Society. It covers issues that would typically be faced by a small sized CA/CA firm when he/she/it merges with another larger firm. It also covers some thoughts on Innovation and the concept of Delivery v/s. Discovery. The Summit was about Mergers, Managing Growth & Mentoring Talent in the context of CA firms.

1. mPower Summit
Infotech & 4i Committee
Bombay Chartered Accountants’
Society
10th May, 2013
Mumbai
Innovation
CA Ameet Patel

2. An extract from ―A Letter from the
Chairman‖ from IBM’s Chairman, President
and CEO – Virginia M. Rometty
―IBM is an innovation company. Both in what
we do and in how we do it, we pursue
continuous transformation—always remixing
to higher value in our portfolio and skills, in
the capabilities we deliver to our clients and
in our own operations and management
practices.‖
Innovation

3. Putting aside the past and looking at future.
Leaving one’s inhibitions behind and aspiring for
a more exciting future.
Changing the mindset.
Innovation means trying things out
and failing
The importance of innovation in
professional services firm

4. Delivery v/s. Discovery
Discovery skills focus on new
opportunities, trends and creativity while
delivery focuses on execution. You need
both, but the tendency amongst CA firms
is to focus on delivery

5. Most important discovery
characteristics
• The ability to connect and associate different
perspectives (clients, multiple
advisors, trends, technology and etc.)
• The ability to question the status quo
• The ability to hold self and others accountable
• The willingness to participate in "safe haven"
meetings with peer leaders
• The ability to manage, not avoid risk. The
quantity of new ideas improves the quality.
Create the environment to promote, not stifle
innovation.

6. ―Innovation is part of a firm's culture
and DNA. It requires leadership and
the willingness to manage risk. Not
every idea is a great idea, but the
quantity of ideas determines quality.
Successful firms balance discovery and
delivery skills. Does your firm have the
discovery skills necessary to meet your
clients' demands in a rapidly changing
world?‖

7. Discovery – Client Focus
• ―Clients don't want you sitting in the back of
the truck filling out their tax returns and
conducting compliance work; they want you in
the front of the truck driving along with
them‖
• ―And that means listening to your clients'
needs and not just speaking about why your
firm has what they need‖

8. Discovery – Client Focus
―How much time do you spend talking to your
prospects and existing clients about your firm
and what you can do for them versus listening
to what keeps them up at night? If you do
more of the latter, you can determine some
additional services you offer that your clients
may need, but they don't know you offer.
Or, perhaps you currently don't offer those
services, but you have the talent pool, so why
not?‖

9. Where does our spare time
go?
Based upon recent studies, most
firms are less than 50 percent
chargeable. What better use of the
non chargeable time than innovation,
training and new business
development?

10. Innovation occurs with
vision,
hindsight and
insight
Which out of these three is lacking in
you or your firm?

11. Three important drivers
of innovation in the days
to come
SOCIAL MEDIA
VALUE PRICING
TECHNOLOGY

12. Social Media
 Social media is at centre stage across the
world
 Your staff would be on some social or
professional network or the other
 Your child/children would be on some social
or professional network or the other
 Your younger partner(s) would be on some
social or professional network or the other
 Have you noticed how popular some
members have become in the profession
due to their social media presence?

13. Social Media
 Where are you?
 Have you shown your thought
leadership to the world?
 Is there any visible proof of your
expertise anywhere on the internet?
 Would someone in Tokyo or Oslo find
you if he was looking out for a CA in
Aurangabad/Goa/Delhi/Secunderabad
/Dehradun?

14. Value Pricing
 Lump sum pricing v/s. hourly billing
v/s. value pricing
 Clients are conscious of value
 Clients are willing to pay for value

15. Tttttt
The ever changing skyline
Technology

16. Technology
 Is there any one who needs to be
told about technology?
 It is all pervasive and far reaching
 Narendra Modi wants to bring wifi
to all villages in Gujarat
 If you do not have latest
technology, you will find it more &
more difficult to perform
effectively and efficiently

17. Technology
 Latest software and apps are mind
boggling
 Everything is online
 Clients also want everything
yesterday
 Cloud technology can transform your
practice
 Flexi timings, Working from home
etc.

18. Putting aside one’s past
 When you merge with another
firm, you need to be ready to put
aside your past
 If you carry your baggage
around, your merger will not succeed
 Merger begins with meeting of
minds
 What does putting aside one’s past
entail?

19. Putting aside one’s past
Pre Merger Post Merger
You were the only decision maker You are one of the decision
makers
You made all decisions which you
felt were right
Your new partner(s) may not
necessarily agree with your
decision
You had a say in everything Some decisions may be taken
without your knowledge
You were signing audit reports, tax
audit reports, Transfer Pricing
reports, certificates, preparing tax
returns, attending to scrutinies &
appeals – lots of things
You are handling a specialised
line of practice. You are not to do
any other work
You were servicing some clients
for past 20-30 years
You suddenly stop servicing such
clients as the work is now done by
somebody else

20. Putting aside one’s past
Pre Merger Post Merger
You signed cheques, approved
vouchers, sanctioned leave,
appointed people, decided the
holiday list, designed the layout of
your office, decided which computer
to buy etc etc
These functions are now
decentralised and you may not even
have a say in any of these
All the financial benefits that came
from your clients went to you
Other partners now get some of
these benefits
Your office was located in a place
that suited your convenience
You are now suddenly having to
travel 2-3 hours extra everyday to
reach your new office
Nobody questioned you You have to accept challenges and
questions

21. Putting aside one’s past
Pre Merger Post Merger
Autocracry Democracy
Ownership and management
were in one and the same hands -
yours
You may not have either of these with
you now
You were the highest earner in
your firm
Merit will determine who earns what.
A much younger person may earn far
more than you
One ego Many egos

22. Excitement about the
future!
 You need to take a call option on
your future
 You can continue to live on the basis
of your past
 Else, you could start out on a fresh
note for a different future
 Whether the future is better or
not only time will tell
 But do you want to try?

23. How would the future be
different?
 Responsibilities can be shared
 Burden of administration can be
delegated
 You can focus on what you are good at
 You can get more time to upgrade
yourself professionally
 Your firm can provide more services to
the same clients
 Your firm can provide services to more
clients
 You can have multi state/city presence

24. How would the future be
different?
 Your firm can attract talent /
better talent
 You can afford better
infrastructure
(offices, computers, software, webs
ite etc)
 You can afford to be choosy about
the type of clients that you take on
 You can afford to invest
time, efforts and money in
training, processes, manuals etc.

25. Any Questions ?

26. patelameet@hotmail.com
@patelameet Ameet Patel
Ameet Patel