‘Evolution not revolution:’ how Pitcher Partners is adapting to new technologies

Adam Irwin, managing partner at Pitcher Partners Sydney, shared that one of the most important aspects of embracing new technology was getting employees on board with change.

“Finding time to think about the projects is important, but [so is] taking the time needed to be comfortable with the change and make sure everybody's comfortable,” Irwin told Accounting Times.

“Our people are very responsive to change. And they're certainly willing to embrace anything. The caveat to that, though, is it's got to make sense.

“I think it's important that we take the time to really show them what's in it for them.”

Given that technological changes often meant that employees had to learn new systems or put more work in upfront, Irwin said it was important to communicate the utility that new technologies could bring to teams and processes.

For example, Pitcher Partners’ transition to cloud-based technologies made it smoother for their employees to work remotely, boosting their flexibility.

“Making sure staff and partners could access the information from where they need it has always been pretty key to our business, so shifting to that cloud based environment allowed us to do that,” Irwin said.

“In the last 12-18 months, we've gotten to the point where basically the majority of systems that we use have moved into that cloud environment.

“It certainly allows us to be more agile and adapt to things quicker.”

Pitcher Partners’ long-running partnership with digital solutions company Nexon Asia Pacific (Nexon) had been important to crafting its successful digital transformation strategy, Irwin added.

“My advice first and foremost is really find that partner that is willing to invest just as much as you're about to invest. So certainly, our relationship with Nexon has been very much of a partnership. We're working together to achieve the right outcomes for our business,” he said.

“I think [partnerships are] super important once you get into the actual rollout or the transformation, being very deliberate around understanding what the milestones look like, making sure that you're hitting them, and then making sure you keep very focused [and] do get to that end goal.”

Irwin also underscored the importance of viewing existing processes holistically when integrating new technologies. Sometimes, the processes themselves needed to be overhauled, not just enhanced with technology.

“I think it's very easy to get caught up in using tech to just replace the process, when maybe the process is not the right thing to be doing, or maybe the process needs to be developed a little bit as well,” he said.

“So very much taking that holistic approach, pulling apart what we do, why we do it, and then thinking about how we can holistically improve it moving forward.”

Irwin was also optimistic about emerging technologies such as AI, and their impact on the accounting profession. In his view, emerging tools could help accountants spend more time on engaging, challenging work, and make the profession more attractive to upcoming talent.

“When it comes to what I think our clients value from us most, that consulting and advisory piece, I still think there's a pretty significant bit there for human beings,” he said.

“A real challenge for us is making sure that we keep younger people coming through engaged in our business, and engaged in accounting. I see the use of technology as a means of making sure they're doing challenging work, [which is] really important in helping drive that engagement.”