Author: Tanya Hits, CPB
We are so proud to announce that in November 2018, we were awarded the title of the Global Firm of the Future by Intuit. This was a tough contest, competing against accounting and bookkeeping firms on a national level before advancing to the global level.
The application process this year included questions as to why you felt that your firm embodied the qualities that is expected of a firm of the future but how you leverage technology to the benefit of your clients. This process was familiar as we were runners up for Canada in 2017. This year, there was a twist. You had to submit one of your clients that technology has helped to improve the way you help them with their financial data and illustrate how this has changed the client's business. That was the hard part. Trying to decide which of our small business clients had the largest and most favourable impact on their business, and whose relationship with us has evolved into more of an advisory role.
We selected Brighton Sport & Wellness Center, which is a physiotherapy business locate in Brighton, Ontario. The owner, Holly Trinkwon, had been a client for over 8 years, and our relationship has surely evolved over the years into one of the utmost mutual trust and respect.
Receiving the news that we had won for Canada and were advancing to the global part of the competition was thrilling, to say the least. It was a validation that we were doing things right, and they had come to fruition. But the hard work was just about to begin. We didn't only have to impress the judges with our initial submission, but there was a voting aspect to it. We had to plan and implement a social media campaign. We would compete against the country winners for the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and India. Now, population wise, we, along with Australia are the underdogs. So we planned even more carefully. Intuit added in a charitable aspect to this leg of the competition. For every vote, they would donate to Kiva.org. So we made sure to make this part front and centre of the social media campaign. We certainly didn't expect to win, but Kiva.org could come out a winner, so we made Kiva.org the centre of our campaign. Instead of asking people to vote for us, we asked people simply to vote and reminded them about the donation to Kiva.org. Thankfully, Leann Ballard, my Operations Leader, has a strong background in social media and marketing, which was obviously, proven quite useful.
The voting period ran for several weeks, and the results were reveled at Intuit's annual conference, QuickBooks Connect, in San Jose California. We got to meet the other country winners and their clients, the morning of the announcement and we all sat together with bated breath, when mid-morning the global winner was announced.
Fast forward a few months, and I finally have a chance to breath. Our team has grown, and we are continuing to make changes and advancements that will enhance our own flows and our clients.
I also want to take a moment and extend my congratulations to all the country winners.
Please see the link below for Intuit's official press release, and more details of the contest.
https://tinyurl.com/ycjbsqna
Until next time,
About the author: Tanya has earned her Certified Professional Bookkeeper designation through CPB Canada, is an Advanced Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor, and a Member of the Intuit Trainer Writer Network. To Tanya, being a forward-thinking entrepreneur means constantly increasing her own knowledge level and obtaining more certifications, education, and experience in order to not only increase the services and benefits she can offer her clients but to spread that awareness to other members of the accounting community. Tanya's passion for advancing the accounting profession has lead her to regular speaking engagements. Tanya's publically known enthusiasm for the industry has led her to become a current Director of CPB Canada. www.TanyaHilts.com