Public accounting rebels

During the last few of years, the author has had the opportunity to meet and talk with a few CPAs who, to her, represent what the future of accounting is going to look like. She is beginning to think of them as the "accounting profession rebels." She has also had the opportunity to meet and talk with hundreds of traditional, conservative, highly skilled CPAs who are embracing change at a snail's pace. They represent what the CPA profession still looks like, for the most part. Her assessment is they need more rebels. And, the best part is that all of those traditional, conservative, highly skilled CPAs can actually become rebels -- they just have to want to change. Traditional, conservative, highly skilled CPAs may be forced to become more rebel-like as their practices must evolve to address these themes, such as: 1. technology, 2. pre-certification and lifelong learning, 3. trusted advisor, 4. demographic shifts, and 5. marketplace.