Pipe Dreams with Don Emery

 

 

Summary

 

 

 

• • Today we sat down with a special guest, Don Emery. Don is the General Manager of Doc.It and has been with them for over 10 years. Doc.It was acquired by Iris in 2021. On our show we’ll cover:

     

    • • Transition of going from a paper-based to paperless practice 
    • • Consolidation and build outs across the industry 
    • • Talent, team management, retention & much more 

 

 

From Today’s Conversation: 

 

 

 

• • Doc.It By Iris 

• • Iris Global 

• • Cloud Technology 

 

 

About Don Emery 

 

 

Don has been the general manager at Doc.It for 10+ years, working in client solutions and sales. On top of a decade at Doc.It, Don has been in the accounting industry for 35 years. His experience ranges from public accounting, consulting, and working with software organizations. We’re excited to have Don on the show!  

 

 

A Bigger Pipe

 

 

As mentioned, the interview covers a large conversation on talent and retention. This happens to be the opening topic for Don and Dave. 

 

 

From the perspective of the employment market, or what may be considered the great resignation in today’s world, Don mentions that many people are exiting the accounting industry. He recalls an article that stated in the US nearly 300,000 professionals had left the industry in a two-year period. 

 

 

The deeper meaning of the conversation may be attributed to less individuals aspiring to become accountants, while a large portion of them are leaving the profession as well. 

 

 

David commented  on the opposing views of the accounting community. He tells us, on one hand it’s interesting that conversations are floating around regarding the advancement of technology and its effect on accounting, while on the other hand firms cannot hire professionals fast enough to meet the demands of their clients. 

 

 

A real catch 22. 

 

 

Don continues the conversation by complementing Dave’s point of view. Firms today are interested in advising and involvement, not bookkeeping and tax returns with low communication. 

 

 

So, if the problem is less people coming in and more people exiting – how is it solved?  

 

 

Don provides us with a great visual about productive tools. The analogy he gives makes sense. 

 

 

“How do you put more through a pipe? Well, in one case, you can only put so much pressure on the pipe. Eventually you need a bigger pipe. So the bigger pipe is technology. And that’s going to allow more throughput, which is going to allow them to do more. – It’s the old adage, ‘work smarter, not harder.’”

 

 

Firms may impose the idea of producing a higher percentage of work completed year over year, but the consequences of this, according to Don, are burnout. 

 

 

The implementation of tools (technology) are what create efficiencies in the businesses, and ultimately help them focus more time on their clients. 

 

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Where to Begin?

 

 

If technology is the answer, then a more significant question rises to the surface, where do firms begin? 

 

 

Dave asks Don his thoughts on this during the conversation. 

 

 

Don begins to narrow down the question into more specific questions. Yes, technology, but also: 

 

 

 

• • How do we bill easier?

• • How do we get documents into the system easier?

• • How do we integrate software? 

 

 

The final question happens to be an important one, as Don tells us so many dollars are left on the table due to the lack of integration. 

 

 

Everytime something is touched and moved from A to B, this is a potential problem of wasted time. Integration and automation are the ideal solutions here, and computers just so happen to be programmed for that. 

 

 

The reality here is to start small. There are many issues within every organization, so in essence there is not one blanket solution for every problem that exists. It is the combination of piecing together macro solutions to create small change first, which will lead to bigger change over time. 

 

 

The implementation of tools towards specific problems while still being able to integrate them to a main workflow could produce the results that are desired. Yet this still begs the question of how do the tools work?

 

 

Well, Don and Dave talk through this as well. On a basic level, everyone who uses Excel, for example, understands its design. However, those who dive deeper into the tool’s functions and seek to understand it further can produce results that actually make a difference. 

 

 

What’s Next?

 

 

The conversation around technology drives a large portion of Dave and Don’s conversation. Dave wraps up the interview with the question(s): 

 

 

 

• • What are you seeing on the horizon from a technology perspective? What’s real? What’s overhyped? 

 

 

Don shares that cloud is here now. Cloud technology, according to SalesForce, gives users access to storage, files, software, and servers through their internet-connected devices. 

 

 

AI or artificial intelligence is also something Don sees on the horizon. This is no secret to us today with the hype around ChatGPT, for example. 

 

 

AI can be used specifically for business analytics and finding unusual data. This is a part of the automation conversation; instead of looking for this information manually or spending significant amounts of time finding it, AI can do the work for you. 

 

 

For more information about Don, you can find him at irisglobal.com or on Doc.It’s website as well. 

 

 

If you enjoyed the interview, leave a review. It helps us get the word out. Also, if you really enjoyed it and there is a shift in how you think about the future of your firm, share it with a fellow firm owner that needed to hear something Don talked about today.  

 

 

If you’re looking to grow your firm, check out this free resource with a walk-through on how to double your accounting firm.