Accounting
The ascendance of technology in accounting
Let’s try a little thought experiment: Start by imagining a present-day accounting firm. Like many of its peer firms, it has plenty of work to do (and plenty more it could do), were it not struggling to find qualified employees to staff its engagements, manage its teams, and simply get the work out the door.
Not that hard to imagine, right? It’s the day-to-day experience of the overwhelming majority of firms in the profession.
Now I want you to imagine something else about that firm — and be warned, this is where you’ll have to stretch: Imagine that no one there has a smartphone. A few employees may have flip phones, but there are no iPhones or Androids or Samsungs, so they can’t check emails on the go, or answer a client call on the road, or scan documents, or approve a payroll from their kid’s soccer game. What’s more, this firm doesn’t have access to the cloud; in fact, let’s imagine the cloud doesn’t exist. To get client data, they have to go to the client’s office. And when their staff are outside the office, they basically can’t do any work.
What’s more, imagine there are no PDFs or CSV files — and even if there were, there’s no email to attach them to, so when clients want to send this firm their tax documents, for instance, they have to bring them to the office in a shoebox. Oh, and also this firm doesn’t have tax software, so calculations are done on a calculator (or sent out of house to be handled by a service bureau) and then added to the paper return. (They have no accounting software, either — imagine that!)
As unimaginable as all this may seem, it’s exactly what most accounting firms looked like just 30 years ago. What they had in place of all that technology was people — the people firms can’t find now. And that brings me to the point of this little thought experiment: The flow of people into accounting started to slow down in the 1990s, at exactly the same time as firms began to adopt more and more technology.
The point is not that there’s any causation here — there isn’t — but that the advent of technology has masked just how dire the staffing situation is. It’s difficult for a firm in the 2020s to operate at current staffing levels; it would have been impossible for a firm in the 1990s. Only technology has allowed the profession to keep up, which begs the question: It’s common enough to say that accounting is a people business — but how much is that still true? It seems much fairer to say that it’s a people-and-technology business, and with the trends all seeming to point to a greater and greater focus on the latter, IT is going to have to move more and more to the center of firms’ thinking.
Now — imagine that!
The deal is expected to close in early 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed.
HDA was founded in 2011 and has two partners and a staff of over 65 professionals. EisnerAmper has 450 partners and approximately 4,500 staff members. The firm’s Eisner Advisory Group ranked No. 17 on Accounting Today‘s 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $848.7 million in annual revenue.
HDA provides services exclusively to dental practice owners and has over 800 dental practice clients across all 50 states. The firm offers tax compliance and planning, monthly accounting, benchmarking, profitability analytics and revenue advice, using proprietary software tailored to dental practices.
“This combination with EisnerAmper will allow us to enhance our clients’ experience through additional expertise, technology, and service offerings,” said HDA managing partner Morgan K. Hamon in a statement Thursday. “We can now offer our dental practice clients value-added advisory services such as cybersecurity, real estate, business valuation, wealth management and much more. We’re really excited about this big leap forward.”
EisnerAmper sees dental practices as an important niche for outsourced accounting. “As the outsourced accounting sector becomes ever more focused on industry-tailored solutions, HDA represents a strategic move in both a key practice area and niche,” said Dan Gardiner, managing partner of outsourced solutions at EisnerAmper, in a statement. “We warmly welcome HDA and look forward to the exciting growth opportunities with EisnerAmper’s Health Care Group.”
Koltin Consulting Group CEO Allan Koltin advised both firms on the deal. “One reason for EisnerAmper’s continued growth has been its ability to add new, in-demand practice niches,” Koltin said in a statement. “This strategic pairing of EisnerAmper and HDA is all about the cultural fit along with the client-focused resources that each brings to the table.”
EisnerAmper has been busy on the M&A front since it
The Association for Accounting Marketing is accepting nominations for the 2025 Marketer of the Year Award. It also launched the Business Developer of the Year award.
Senior marketing professionals in accounting firms with at least three years experience in a key marketing role – whether at the same firm or across multiple firms – are eligible to apply. Nominations, both self-nominations and peer nominations, are open until Feb. 4, through AAM’s online portal.
“In today’s rapidly changing accounting landscape, the role of marketing leaders has grown significantly,” AAM executive director Rhonda Clark said in a statement. “These professionals are essential strategic partners within their firms, driving innovation, fostering growth, and shaping the future of the profession through technology and the adoption of visionary strategies.”
An outside panel of judges from
The
The Business Developer of the Year award will be presented annually to a professional “who exemplifies excellence in business development, showcasing innovative strategies and a commitment to advancing the profession,” the announcement reads. Nominees will be evaluated by a panel of judges from the SMPS on criteria including strategic contributions, measurable financial impact, collaboration efforts and forward-thinking approaches in strategy, analytics and lead generation.
“We are thrilled to introduce this award as a means to spotlight the critical role that business developers play in the success of accounting firms,” Clark said in another statement. “Their efforts in cultivating client relationships and driving firm growth are invaluable, and this award serves to acknowledge and celebrate their contributions.”
Nominations are open until Feb. 4, and the winner will be announced at the 2025 AAM Summit, from May 13-15 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Business and tech consultancy
“We are truly honored to welcome e2b teknologies’ clients to the Net at Work family,” said Alex Solomon, co-founder and co-CEO of Net at Work. “e2b is a staple of the Sage and Acumatica communities, and we are proud to continue their legacy of delivering software excellence. With our shared values of innovation, client-first service and commitment to driving operational efficiencies, we will continue to ensure each client’s technologies and business applications perform at optimal levels in today’s dynamic landscape.”
As a Sage and Acumatica Authorized Developer, e2b teknologies will continue to provide value-added custom application solutions for the Acumatica and Sage ecosystem. Bill Henslee, CEO of e2b technologies, was confident these businesses will be in good hands with Net at Work.
“e2b teknologies has long recognized Net at Work as the leader in the industry,” he said. “We are confident that Net at Work’s dedicated teams will provide our customers with a premier level of service and resources. Our Sage and Acumatica clients can look forward to exceptional support across a wide array of business technologies as well as the advantage of expanded hosting and professional services to help achieve their business goals.”
This is far from the first time Net at Work,
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