CHAIR COLUMN
Transforming Our Profession Together
NEWSACCOUNT
A bimonthly publication of the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants Vol. 66, No. 6 March/April 2021
Officers
Sharon S. Lassar, Chair Randy L. Watkins, Vice Chair Peter J. Derschang, Treasurer Benjamin T. Hrouda, Immediate Past Chair Mary E. Medley, Secretary
Directors
James N. Brendel, Toby D. Clary, Audra Dixon, Renny Fagan, Mary-Margaret Henke, Kelly A. Kozeliski
Editorial Board
Jack Allgood, Steve Corder, Georgia Z. Phillips, Lori Anne Reinwald, Laura J. Theiss, Barbara J. Tedesko, Steve Van Meter, Michael D. West, Charlie Wright Mary E. Medley, President/CEO, Editor Natalie G. Rooney, Contributing Writer Ariana Cassard, Blue Ocean Ideas, Design NewsAccount (ISSN #10899952) is published bimonthly by the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants, 7887 E. Belleview Ave., Suite 200, Englewood, CO 80111. NewsAccount is published in January, March, May, July, September, and November and reports information, news, and trends in the accounting profession. The Colorado Society of CPAs assumes no liability for readers’ business decisions in reference to advertisements or other information included in this publication. Membership dues include a $12.00 one-year subscription to NewsAccount. Periodical postage paid in Englewood, CO, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NewsAccount, Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants 7887 E. Belleview Ave., Suite 200 Englewood, CO 80111 Net press run = 5,794 copies; sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, and counter sales = 0; paid or requested mail subscription = 5,736; free distribution by mail = 0; free distribution outside the mail = 20; total free distribution = 20; total distribution = 5,756; office use, leftovers, spoiled = 38; returns from news agents = 0; total sum = 5,794; percent paid and/or requested circulation = 99%. 303-773-2877 • 800-523-9082 Fax: 303-773-6344
NewsAccount is available online at www.cocpa.org.
BY SHARON S. LASSAR, PHD, CPA (FLORIDA)
Over the course of this past year, we have experienced firsthand the resiliency not only of our profession but also much of the U.S. economy. Many businesses struggled, but others transformed almost overnight. Restaurants shifted to delivery and pick-up services. Retailers refined ship-to-store and curbside pickup. Educators and other service providers moved online. The pandemic forced the adoption of technology solutions and started a flywheel that will continue to accelerate.
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e’ve seen our organizational cultures evolve as well. Before COVID-19, many workers resisted change, but when faced with no alternative, they adopted technology-enabled solutions and are now ready for more. The pandemic also made us think about safety and how solutions like contact tracing can compromise privacy. TRUSTED ADVISORS – NOW MORE THAN EVER Now, as we envision a post-COVID world, CPAs are perfectly positioned to help their companies and clients plan their next steps in the digital transformation taking shape. We know this guidance is badly needed to keep our information and money safe from cyber criminals, which unfortunately was demonstrated last spring when the U.S. government distributed money to assist individuals who lost their employment. The result has been billions of dollars lost to fraudulent unemployment insurance claims (related story on page 12). My own identity was stolen – twice. Some say technology will result in us moving to a never trust, always verify system. I prefer to think of technology as a means to automate trust. It’s critical for systems to utilize multi-factor authentication so the public has confidence in its transactions in a digital world. Over the coming year, we will see a continuing convergence of technology tools to help us address problems and make better
decisions. As we automate processes, we’ll have access to an unprecedented amount of data allowing companies to connect the physical world to the virtual world through the Internet of Things. Our ability to extract and analyze big data is improving. We are building artificial intelligence (AI) systems, and we are programming machines to learn. The fourth industrial revolution is well underway. THE HUMAN SIDE OF THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Although we have become accustomed to conducting both our personal and business interactions in a digital environment, most of us long for the human interaction we experienced before the pandemic. As we imagine what a post-COVID world looks like, we are not likely to give up the
Although we have become accustomed to conducting both our personal and business interactions in a digital environment, most of us long for the human interaction we experienced before the pandemic.
