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Are remote partners the future for accounting firms?

Published

2 years ago

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The remote partner represents a small but growing part of the professional landscape, their rise a reflection of the major changes that accounting firms were forced to make during the lockdowns. But while they’re a distinct minority today, the increasing sophistication of collaboration solutions — combined with the still-unresolved challenges with the talent pipeline — indicates their numbers are likely to rise. 

Jennifer Wilson, co-founder of Convergence Coaching, a remote work-focused leadership and management coaching and consulting firm, estimates that remote partners make up about 5% of firm leaders nationwide; adding in those who were already partners and then went remote, her estimate grows to about 10 to 15%. But she predicted this proportion will likely grow over time as more firms realize they’re no longer as bound to geography. 

“It’s just going to become more common because firms are getting smarter about hiring based on talent, not geography,” she said. “They’re looking for a certain skill set, a certain cultural fit, a certain leadership set of attributes and they shouldn’t care that it’s local or not. It’s more important that the fit is right than the geography. There is now enough support for cross-geography work and collaborations these days. The technology works. It’s proven. We’ll see more.” 

(See our feature story on the rise of the remote partner here.)

Randy Johnston, executive vice president of accounting-centered IT consulting firm K2 Enterprises, estimated that remote partners make up about 5% of the total population of accounting firm leaders, and the number will rise. 

“I think we’ll see a lot more,” he said. “It’ll be a long time, the culture has to shift a lot … and won’t shift fast enough for the percentage of change very quickly, but if we had this conversation 20 years from now, I don’t think it would be much of a conversation because you wouldn’t worry about it so much, it would just be kind of natural, so I expect it to well exceed 50%.” 

The idea of a partner who spends most of their time out of the office, or works with clients remotely from the office, has been already normalized over the years, especially at large firms. While there may have been a time when a partner saw everyone in person at their headquarters, even the most dedicated office dweller today does at least some of their work online. 

“We used to say any multi-office firm has already been working remotely,” said Wilson. “It’s not that far a leap for them to make the jump.” 

Another factor is the strong demand for high-quality talent, combined with the diminishing number of accounting professionals. Douglas Slaybaugh, a CPA career coach, noted this issue is exacerbated by the retirement of older experienced accountants with no one to replace them. While pipeline strain is felt mostly in the staff, manager and senior levels, it’s a problem increasingly being felt at the partner level as well. 

“Boomers are leaving and there’s not as many coming up the ranks,” said Slaybaugh. “Partners will start to feel a crunch in the ranks, losing some of their most experienced professionals.” 

Remote Partner flying

But while necessity does play a large role in the rise of remote partners, it’s not the only factor. Remote partners can serve as a key player in not just a firm’s recruitment strategy, but its growth strategy as well.

“They can expand into other niches more readily,” said Slaybaugh. “They tend to have more geographic coverage because, if you think of the traditional model, you’re a firm, you’re in one location, you’ve got maybe another office, you’re very hyper-local or regional. You start adding remote partners, suddenly you can work all over.”

This is especially advantageous for smaller firms hiring from metro areas with bigger firms. Johnston said that, many times, such remote partners bring with them new processes that the small firm may not have known about, so they can serve to upgrade their workflow. 

“Remote workers tend to bring the process from their predecessor firm with them, and they become the process if there is no process at the firm,” he added. “You go into a small firm, discover they have no processes, adopt the ones you’re familiar with and that becomes how they do things. Small firms can become sophisticated since they inherited a larger firm’s processes.” 

Wilson noted that even if small firms don’t have as many resources, they can offer a lot to these remote partners in terms of lifestyle. A firm in Lincoln, Nebraska can tell job candidates they don’t need to do an expensive daily commute to the office. “You can go visit clients, but for the most part you don’t need to come into the office every day, and that will save you time and money,” said Wilson. “Now Lincoln will need to pay New York pricing for that talent, and that could be a barrier, but oftentimes it is not.”  

Wilson added, though, that the flow goes both ways. Just as there is much a small firm can offer a remote partner who lives in a big city, a large big-city firm has a lot to offer for someone who lives outside the metro area too. That’s especially true for an accountant who is “stuck in a one-horse town where everyone is super-traditional, no one is evolving their firms, technology is not being utilized, and policies are really traditional,” said Wilson.

“You work in this tiny town in Oklahoma and your firm’s options are not great, but you’ll be living there because maybe your family is there so you’re not moving,” she added. “Well, guess what? You could work for a great progressive firm because we don’t care where you live, and you can have this fantastic career working for a firm you love and respect in a bigger city right from your small town. So we see both and they’re both effective.”

Johnston cited changing business models as another reason we’re seeing more remote workers. Many professionals who worked remotely during lockdown found it suited them and did not want to return to the office. This led to a lot of them leaving their more traditional firms (sometimes after being acquired) and founding their own firm, using a remote model. 

“Most say, look, we worked remotely during the pandemic,” said Johnston. “I want to start a firm with a remote work style. Then, just as the old saying goes, ‘birds of a feather flock together,’ so they start finding other people like that.”

Firms don’t necessarily have to be new to make this shift, though. Atlanta-based Aprio, a Top 50 firm, was founded in the 1950s but chose to lean heavily into remote work during the lockdowns, according to Larry Sheftel, Aprio’s chief human resources officer. 

“Aprio created a remote work model at the onset of the pandemic, and we continue to evolve our approach,” he said. “We currently look for talent located near one of our physical locations or located in an area where we will soon establish an office. If we are seeking a unique, specific skill set we may hire a partner who is fully remote.” 

Other firms, like Top 50 firm Schellman, have always been like this. While technically headquartered in Florida, CEO Avani Desai said the firm has always conceived of itself as a remote-first company. All of its partners are remote partners. “We believe talent has no bounds,” she said. 

“We wanted to tap into top-tier talent from coast to coast,” Desai added. “It was a strategic move to get the best and brightest to work here, to thrive, and it worked.”

See our entire series on the “Rise of the remote partner” here.

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Accounting

Global ESG Reporting Standards and Double Materiality Compliance

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5 days ago

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August 9, 2026

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Corporate accounting departments face expanding reporting expectations as international sustainability disclosure standards achieve regulatory enforcement across major global jurisdictions. Chief Accounting Officers (CAOs) and corporate controllers are establishing rigorous internal accounting controls to treat Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics with the same data precision, auditability, and governance as traditional financial statements.

Regulatory Harmonization Under Global Sustainability Frameworks
The implementation of standardized sustainability reporting frameworks—notably rules established by international sustainability accounting boards—has created unified expectations for public and large private enterprises. Corporations must report standardized metrics covering greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1, 2, and material Scope 3), energy utilization, workforce demographics, and supply chain governance.

In Europe and other participating international jurisdictions, double materiality principles are mandatory. Under double materiality, organizations must report both how external sustainability risks impact corporate financial performance, and how internal corporate operations affect surrounding environmental and social structures.

Integrating Sustainability Metrics into Core ERP Systems
To provide auditable non-financial data, enterprise organizations are integrating specialized carbon accounting and ESG management platforms directly into core ERP systems. Automated data collectors capture energy utility invoices, logistics fuel consumption metrics, and vendor compliance records in real time.

Establishing automated, traceable data pipelines ensures that non-financial reporting is supported by clear audit trails. This structured approach allows external financial auditors to provide reasonable assurance on sustainability disclosures during annual corporate reporting cycles.

Financial Impacts and Capital Market Disclosure
Accurate ESG reporting directly influences corporate cost of capital and institutional credit ratings. Commercial lenders and institutional asset managers systematically incorporate sustainability metrics into risk pricing models. Companies that demonstrate transparent, verifiable progress in operational energy efficiency and climate risk mitigation benefit from expanded access to green bond markets and lower debt pricing.

Action Steps for Accounting Leadership
1. Implement Double Materiality Frameworks: Conduct comprehensive assessments to identify material financial and operational sustainability metrics.
2. Build Auditable Non-Financial Data Pipelines: Automate ESG data collection within core accounting software to ensure data integrity.
3. Align Sustainability with Annual Financial Filings: Prepare non-financial disclosures concurrently with financial statements to satisfy regulatory audit expectations.

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Accounting

Modernizing Internal Controls: Machine Learning and Continuous Monitoring in Auditing

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1 week ago

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August 5, 2026

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Internal audit departments and corporate risk managers are modernizing internal control frameworks by shifting from periodic sampling techniques to continuous monitoring and machine learning analytics. As operational data volumes increase across enterprise organizations, automated control testing ensures financial integrity, prevents corporate fraud, and streamlines annual audit engagements.

The Limitation of Periodic Audit Sampling
Historically, internal and external auditors evaluated internal controls by reviewing random samples of financial transactions—often analyzing less than five percent of total ledger entries. In complex enterprise environments, periodic sampling methods carry inherent risks of overlooking localized financial misstatements, unauthorized disbursements, or operational control breakdowns.

In 2026, progressive internal audit functions are utilizing automated continuous monitoring platforms that evaluate one hundred percent of financial transactions in real time. Continuous control auditing systems continuously monitor general ledger entries, procurement approvals, and expense reimbursements across all operating subsidiaries.

AI-Powered Fraud Detection and Anomaly Identification
Machine learning models trained on historical corporate financial data excel at identifying subtle transactional anomalies that indicate potential fraud or operational error. Automated systems instantly flag duplicate invoice payments, unapproved vendor creation, unusual journal entry timing, and unauthorized override of authority thresholds.

When an anomaly is detected, the automated auditing platform generates an instant risk alert, allowing internal audit teams to investigate root causes immediately. Early detection prevents minor operational errors from escalating into material weaknesses in financial reporting.

Streamlining External Audit Preparation
Continuous internal control monitoring delivers significant benefits during annual external financial audits. External audit firms can review continuous audit logs and automated control testing documentation, reducing the time required for manual field testing.

This integrated approach lowers overall audit compliance fees, reduces administrative burdens on corporate accounting staff, and provides senior management and audit committees with real-time visibility into the organization’s overall risk profile.

Core Implementation Guidelines
1. Transition to 100% Data Testing: Replace legacy sampling methods with automated continuous audit monitoring systems.
2. Deploy Anomaly Detection Algorithms: Implement machine learning models to identify unauthorized transactions and operational control overrides.
3. Align Internal and External Audit Workflows: Coordinate continuous control testing protocols with external auditors to optimize annual compliance cycles.

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Accounting

Automated Tax Compliance and Global Regulatory Harmonization in 2026

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1 week ago

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August 5, 2026

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Corporate tax accounting departments are navigating an era of unprecedented regulatory complexity as global tax harmonization frameworks take full effect alongside real-time digital tax reporting mandates. Tax directors and accounting teams are adopting cloud-based tax compliance automation tools to manage multi-jurisdictional tax liabilities and satisfy stringent reporting rules across international jurisdictions.

Implementation of Global Minimum Tax Provisions
The implementation of international tax reform agreements—notably the Pillar Two global minimum tax framework—has reshaped multinational corporate tax planning. Multinational enterprises with consolidated revenues exceeding established thresholds must ensure an effective tax rate of at least 15% across every jurisdiction in which they operate.

Accounting teams are implementing specialized tax calculation modules integrated directly into enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms. These automated tools calculate effective tax rates per country, identify top-up tax liabilities, and generate standardized compliance documentation required by national tax authorities.

Real-Time Digital Invoicing and E-Reporting Mandates
Tax authorities across Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific have enacted mandatory electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) and continuous transaction controls (CTC). Under these systems, corporate transaction data must be submitted electronically to government portals in real time at the point of sale or invoice issuance.

This shift toward continuous digital tax reporting eliminates traditional annual tax audits in favor of ongoing automated compliance monitoring. Accounting departments are upgrading invoicing software to ensure seamless XML data formatting, digital signature authentication, and real-time validation against tax authority databases.

Automation and Data Analytics in Corporate Tax Strategy
To keep pace with dynamic tax legislation, tax departments are transitioning from reactive compliance teams to proactive strategic advisors. Machine learning algorithms analyze corporate transactional data to identify tax credits, research and development (R&D) incentives, and cross-border transfer pricing adjustments.

By automating routine tax return filings and calculations, corporate tax directors can focus on long-term capital structuring, evaluating the tax implications of corporate mergers, and optimizing international supply chain networks.

Strategic Priorities for Tax Executives
1. ERP System Upgrades: Ensure enterprise software is capable of generating real-time, granular tax data required for global minimum tax compliance.
2. E-Invoicing Integration: Implement scalable e-invoicing platforms to satisfy regional continuous transaction control regulations.
3. Strategic Tax Analytics: Utilize predictive tax modeling tools to evaluate structural changes in corporate operations and cross-border trade.

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