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The Financial advisory world is on the frontlines of the financial crisis, and the disparity between those firms that already took the leap to cloud-based tech and those that did not is huge! Tom Hood’s emphasis is not how to be ready for the day you're walking into, but how to be ready for the future, tech included. He’s going to layout simple ways to get you through COVID mania and how to make your firm #FutureReady. Jody Padar sat down with Tom Hood, executive director and CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs to discuss how.

Gretchen Pisano, pLink Leadership founder and executive guru, is back to help us navigate through the ethics of PPP Loans, CARES Act, and whatever comes next. Let’s jump right in!

Both the United States’ Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are seeing a growing use of COVID-19-related themes by malicious cyber actors. Cyber threat actors are acting as trusted entities, sending out phishing messages or malicious applications. Cybercriminals are using the pandemic for commercial gain, deploying ransomware and other malware. These actors are targeting individual users, small- to medium-size enterprises, and large corporations.

(Basically, everyone.)

April 15, 2020 was not met by the collective sighs of CPAs nationwide nor the acknowledgment of arduous work done well for the nation’s millions of taxpayers. This April 15th marked an indistinguishable day amongst many of social distancing, sheltering in place, and bearing witness to the sudden collapse of a robust economy.  

The world in the time of Corona is upside-down! The first thing to acknowledge is that in the next six to ten months, new legislation, new social and professional norms, and new practices in every sector will become solidified to create a new normal. Where does this position CPAs?

Gretchen Pisano’s pointer for nailing the pivot and common missteps: Every new day is an opportunity to communicate and support your clients.

“What we're seeing now is unprecedented, unplanned for, uncalled for, and there was just no way to ever anticipate or prepare for it. Things are different… We have to adapt and we have to do that immediately and on the fly. We can't think about what it was like yesterday or what we would like it to be, or what we want it to be. We have to look at what it is now. And I think for a lot of people, it's just about survival.” —Ed Mendlowitz, Partner Emeritus at Withum, Smith, & Brown

Gretchen Pisano sat down, metaphorically, with Botkeeper’s Jody Padar to examine uncertainty as it relates to the intimate relationship between CPA and client. At this stage in the COVID-19 trajectory, fear and anxiety are transforming otherwise level-headed decision makers into erratic, uncertain, paralyzed citizens.

We’re in a new era of work in America, and like all periods of swift change that came before this one, there’s no guidebook to reference.

However, there are plenty of experts to offer their takes on the best steps forward. Two of those experts are CPA Jody Padar and Botkeeper Chief Technology Officer Justin Whitehead. Recently, the two met virtually to talk about ongoing cyberthreats facing remote workers, in particular remote accounting firms.

Last week Botkeeper sat down with strategic development consultant and pLink Leadership CEO, Gretchen Pisano. Pisano is uniquely qualified to assist us through this moment of uncertainty because she pairs her leadership acumen with a master’s degree in applied psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Here are some of her tips for leading and advising through COVID-19. 

Here at Botkeeper, we are seeing a lot of professional/technological shifts at the moment, which reposition leadership responsibilities. We had Gretchen Pisano of pLink Leadership walk us through some changes in the field and even point out some...dare we say it…positives…? Let's not jinx it!