Today, accounting and advisory firms face increasing pressure to innovate, streamline operations and enhance client service. However, a common stumbling block for many firms isn’t deciding what technology initiatives to pursue but when and in what order to undertake these projects.
Prioritizing technology initiatives plays a crucial role in resource optimization and aligning technology with firm-wide strategic goals.
Beyond what: Determining when
The challenge of prioritizing technology initiatives is about more than just selecting the right projects. It’s also about determining the right timing.
The question of "when" depends on several resources—time, space and money. Even with the best intentions, tackling technology projects without the necessary resources can lead to wasted effort and missed opportunities.
For example, if your firm plans to move away from data centers and transition to a cloud-based infrastructure, you need to have certain prerequisites in place. One of these might be an active directory in the cloud, which sounds simple in theory, but could require software upgrades or server upgrades to ensure everything has a stable “home.”
External factors, such as vendor timelines or regulatory deadlines, also influence when you should prioritize certain projects. As a result, any decision-making around technology investments must consider these variables.
Building a framework for decision-making
Given the complexity involved, you should have a structured framework for making technology decisions. This framework should bring together different stakeholders, including the innovation team, project managers and firm shareholders, to assess project readiness, resource availability and executive approval.
The innovation team ensures all project requirements are met, such as verifying that technology components integrate smoothly with existing systems or identifying potential bottlenecks.
Project managers provide insight into resource availability, such as staff capacity and budget limitations, ensuring the firm is not overcommitting itself.
Shareholders determine whether a project needs executive approval—particularly for large-scale initiatives that may require significant capital expenditure or changes to firm-wide operations.
Using data to drive prioritization
One of the most critical aspects of technology prioritization is making data-driven decisions. Relying solely on leadership preferences—such as the CEO’s favored project—or IT’s enthusiasm for a particular technology usually results in misaligned priorities.
Instead, adopt a scoring mechanism to evaluate potential projects objectively.
At Boomer Consulting, Inc., we use a Project Hopper to evaluate and score projects in nine categories:
Alignment with firm vision and strategy. Does the project support the firm's long-term goals? Will it contribute to the firm’s growth or market positioning?
Improves employee experience. Will this technology improve day-to-day operations for our team members? Do we expect it to reduce manual processes or improve productivity?
Improves client experience. Does the initiative directly impact how clients interact with the firm? Will it increase client satisfaction or create new service offerings?
Marketing and sales capacity. Can the technology help the firm introduce new sales or marketing capabilities to attract and retain clients?
Financial impact. Will this initiative generate cost savings, increase revenue or deliver a strong return on investment (ROI)?
Opportunity value. Does this project seize a market opportunity or position the firm as a leader in a new area?
Urgency. Are there regulatory deadlines, competitive pressures or other time-sensitive factors that necessitate immediate action?
Impact of change. How disruptive will the implementation be? Can the firm manage the transition smoothly, or will it significantly disrupt operations?
Resources needed. Does the firm have the required financial, human and technological resources to undertake the project at this time?
By assigning scores to each project based on these criteria, firms can prioritize initiatives that offer the greatest strategic value while avoiding the pitfall of letting less critical projects take up valuable resources.
Prioritizing technology initiatives will always be a balancing act between strategic vision, resource constraints and operational realities. You can make informed decisions that drive long-term success by leveraging a structured, data-driven approach.
Technology will continue to shape our profession, so firms that can prioritize and execute their technology projects will be well-positioned to outperform their competition and deliver exceptional value to their clients.
In the end, prioritization is about more than managing a list of to-dos. It’s about ensuring the firm’s technology roadmap is aligned with its broader business goals while navigating the constraints of time and resources.
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Marc Staut, Shareholder and Chief Innovation & Information Officer at Boomer Consulting, Inc., helps meet the growing needs of CPA firms by leveraging his experience to provide strategic technology assessments, planning, visioning and coaching. He feels that “technology should be an enabler – something that’s approachable, aligned with and integral to the success of each firm.” Marc is a regular speaker, author and panelist on technology in the accounting profession, cloud computing, mobile technology, leadership and vision.
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