At the last meeting, Russell Bedford Managers and Young Partners were asked by delegates how they saw changes in the accounting industry. Network members pay attention to the need for direct contact with the customer and the advantage of soft skills over hard ones.
As the accounting world evolves rapidly, new challenges continue to arise. Certainly some of the most difficult ones are in the IT sector. As Steven Hills from the Dutch company Stolp+KAB rightly pointed out, we all have to face new developments in the area of accounting software.
However, paradoxically more important than technical skills are soft competences. Customers and consumers need more today than ever. We can easily check who they are, and with the Internet we can get information about what they need. But that's not enough. They want our experience, personalized service and individual contact.
Opening up to the customer, not succumbing to the temptation to limit yourself to virtual contact and use mainly IT solutions – this one of the biggest challenges facing the industry