Today CSI & Co is also a part of JPA International, a member of the Forum of Firms – an international association of accounting firms that specialise in cross-border audit services.
The role of any international association is to drive forward the purpose and professionalism of its members whilst maintaining quality and control standards. For the JPA International network this meant encouraging its member firms to move away from manual audit processes and instead implement automated audit software, designed to introduce a raft of practice-wide benefits.
CSI & Co recognised this was a great opportunity to review its digital roadmap for audit and professional services software, re-vamping its approach to IT infrastructure and day-to-day operations under the firm’s second generation leader, Joan Choong, Director and Audit Partner.
How technology impacts employee wellbeing
“Growth and scale are always on the mind of any accounting firm and to achieve that today you need to automate manual processes and increase the efficiency and performance of your team. But it’s still important to enhance the work environment at the same time – people matter,” she outlined.
High on the priority list for this technology and change management program for staff was the focus on employee wellbeing. Auditing is a demanding role and manual processes can dictate long hours, leading potentially to staff churn.
However, Joan was adamant the technology change program would benefit the team by making the audit review process more enjoyable, reducing overtime and ensuring staff left the office earlier. Mobility and remote working also needed to become part of the cultural shift as the audit team members were often travelling or working onsite via laptops at client’s offices.
It was this goal to deliver complementary technology and workplace benefits that led to a full review of competitive professional audit solutions, with Wolters Kluwer CCH being selected as the successful technology partner. Joan recognised the benefits of the tools and processes within CCH® ProSystem fx® Engagement and additionally decided to implement CCH iFirm Practice Manager to further streamline the firm’s efficiency. The firm also recently added TeamMate® Analytics as part of its overall confidence in Wolters Kluwer solutions.
