S02 E09: How to create workflow strategies for regulatory changes

Roman Villard
What’s up, everyone? Welcome to the accounting flow podcast brought to you by Financial Cents. This podcast is dedicated to deeply diving into accounting firm workflow and processes. In each episode, we will spend 20 minutes interviewing actual accounting firm owners, just like you, uncovering specific processes that firm owners and operators encounter daily and discussing ways to improve them. Let’s go

Welcome to another episode of Accounting Flow. Today, we will discuss navigating workflow in changes and regulatory environments with the designated motivator, Dawn Brolin. Dawn, thanks for joining.

Dawn Brolin
Roman, thank you so much for having me. I’m all in any time I can hang out with you for a little bit.

Roman Villard
That warms my heart tremendously. I know that you have so much going on. You participate in various advisory councils and have Team Brolin. Please give everybody a sense of what you do.

Dawn Brolin
I’m the CEO of powerful accounting. It took me 25 years to figure it out. So that’s not a bad thing. At least it’s better than never figuring it out. I need to work hard to get the technology in place and be able to run my firm so I can volunteer to coach college softball. A lot of people know that about me. I’m also the designated motivator, trying to help other practitioners improve their processes and businesses in their firms so they can do things outside the office that are much more fun than sitting here doing tax returns.

Roman Villard
Yeah, that’s so true. Our industry has undergone many changes in the past 25 years. Throughout this journey, you started Team Brolin. When did that happen? And what exactly is Team Brolin?

Dawn Brolin
I started the whole team Brolin thing, which began in 2015. I’m all into sports, and I play college sports. I’m just into every kind of sport. And then we were like, all Team Brolin. What about Team Brolin? That started to flourish and solidify when I started coaching in 2019, where I was like, Yep, I have a good team here. I want to have a good team in my office. And I want to ensure I’m running my office as it should be.

Roman Villard 
I think we’ll discuss that a bit more later in this conversation. However, today’s topic is navigating and managing workflow in the context of regulatory changes. So tell us a little bit about your firm. Are you primarily a tax firm? CAS? Where do you all focus?

Dawn Brolin
We are a full-service firm for about 22 clients; the rest are just tax return clients, primarily individuals. For some businesses, we don’t handle their books; we outsource their books to someone else. But we do a lot of tax work; we do a lot of IRS representation, which is probably my favorite part where that can be anywhere from someone that’s a non-filer to someone that’s getting audited, whether it’s civil or criminal, could be anything. So, we work with the attorneys on that type of thing. And so we do deal, obviously, with a lot of regulatory changes that happen, you know, during COVID, they were making a change or doing something different, and we were all hair on fire all over the place. And they’re still out there, and it still happens regularly. We had to shift what we were doing in our processes when those things happened.

Roman Villard
Yeah. So, how are you staying current with all of those changes? How are you keeping up with the changes impacting your and your client’s work?

Dawn Brolin

Yes, it’s quite a mix. I often discover new regulatory changes through client interactions or unexpected events, and sometimes, I’m surprised by what comes up. I also stay informed by watching IRS videos—they have quite a good selection on their website. Additionally, continuing professional education (CPE) webinars are essential for training. However, I frequently consult with the attorneys I work with to get their perspectives on new developments. Eric Green has been an invaluable resource for understanding upcoming regulatory changes, and I’ve learned much from him.

Roman Villard
Okay, that’s good to know. Because of the thought of subscribing to an IRS content feed, I don’t feel very excited about that. Eric Green could be an excellent resource for people to follow. So it’s interesting when I was up and coming through public accounting on the audit side, ASC 606, revenue recognition, ASC 742. The lease implementation standards were coming up, and we navigated big changes from an audit standpoint. I am now transitioning to a smaller firm that may be less tied to rhythms. It takes time to keep up and understand how to efficiently manage a team in the context of all these changes. Let’s start. At the first point, how do you manage the team’s capacity? How do you manage their workload? Do you have a system to ensure everybody communicates things on the same page?

Dawn Brolin

Yes, our firm is relatively small now; we’ve downscaled from ten people to three, which I find easier to manage. We’ve systematized our processes, including client onboarding. For example, when a new tax client contacts us, Tracy, our primary contact, handles the initial steps. She gathers necessary information, checks the previous year’s tax return, and uses our workflow system, Financial Cents, to manage these tasks efficiently through automation.

What’s particularly effective is our ability to customize our workflow views. For instance, I can adjust my dashboard to see only my tasks or check Nicole’s workload in real-time. This transparency ensures we’re all aligned and productive, not just busy. It eliminates the need for redundant communications, like reminding someone to complete a task already in their queue. This modern approach to task management via automated systems significantly boosts our efficiency and productivity, especially during the busy tax season.

Roman Villard
Yeah, and I feel like that’s been a trend in the last number of years of particularly smaller firms looking towards these workflow management systems to improve their efficiency to improve their communication and understanding of who’s doing what, yet I still believe there’s a big part of the industry that’s lagging and still managing on spreadsheets, Excel. It’s just a little bit more sticky. We all know that once you establish that workflow setup, you have a good rhythm with your team change, whether it’s a client change, a new product, a new SKU, a new entity, or a regulatory change that comes down. And so now that you have an established workflow for the work you’re doing for your clients, when those changes occur, what are your first few steps to ensure that the team is aware of them? And then understand how we relate to the client level. What needs to be done? Right?

Dawn Brolin

Yes, we take specific actions when it comes to significant regulatory changes, especially those involving risk. For example, introducing Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting required us to adapt. This change affects clients with Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), where compliance risk has increased. We address these changes proactively, using tools like Zoom for team updates or Slack for ongoing communications to ensure everyone is well-informed.

BOI reporting has significantly altered how we manage new LLC setups. Historically, setting up an LLC in Connecticut, for example, was straightforward: establish the LLC, obtain the Employer Identification Number (EIN), and the business could start operating. However, we’ve overhauled this process with the new BOI reporting requirements. We now use CorpNet, which facilitates LLC setups and manages BOI compliance, streamlining state filings and EIN registrations.

This shift also impacted our internal processes, including handling engagement letters. We’ve updated these documents to reflect the new responsibilities and ensure they comply with our Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance coverage. These updates are crucial, as they clarify that we are not responsible for BOI compliance, shifting some liability away from our firm. These regulatory changes prompt us to revise our procedures and make necessary adjustments to stay compliant and efficient.

Roman Villard
Yeah. The cost, you hit on a lot of elements there. Whether it’s external parties like CorpNet’s internal team engagement letter, there are a lot of components that go into changing one workflow, one process for your team to follow, right? How do you ensure everybody is on the same page and understands which clients fall under this new regulation? Which ones? Do you have a database that you’re managing to identify impacted clients quickly?

Dawn Brolin
In the meantime, we use Financial Cents to manage and monitor who everyone is. What’s nice about it is that it’s searchable and filterable. So if you can put in a custom field, for instance, which we do to put their entity type in there, so we know what their entity type is, I can search for S corporations. Those S corporations will come up, and, or LOCs, we had them coded. We were doing that already. Because we want to have that information at our fingertips. One of the reasons we picked financial sciences is because the ability to customize like that is essential to us. So that’s easy for us to identify; okay, let’s get all these people, then we know what emails we need to send out to alert people and do all this stuff, give them their options to find an attorney, or we’re, I don’t feel that, regardless of what anyone’s opinion is. I don’t need the risk. So yeah, the database is essential.

Roman Villard
Yep. So the risk is you’re viewing everything through the lens of the risk profile of whether or not you want to be the team to take care of these new requirements coming in? Do you have parameters that say, Hey, we’re willing to absorb some level of risk partner with other elements of that? How do you think through the risk component for the firm?

Dawn Brolin

Engaging in certain services hinges on balancing potential profit and associated risks. Take BOI reporting as an example: it might appear simple, but errors can lead to severe penalties, and ultimately, we are held accountable. I often ask myself, “Is the financial reward worth the risk?” This evaluation method is similar to how we approached ERC credits during COVID-19—considering the responsibility and audit risks associated with verifying eligibility. It’s crucial to assess the immediate benefits and the potential future implications of regulatory changes.

Roman Villard
It’s a good comment about how you go through that evaluation. As you mentioned, with ERC, there were a lot of uncertainties as to where that was going to go and what risks even existed. And now we’re seeing the fallout of that. You’re seeing people build entire businesses around fixing what was done incorrectly and probably bearing some risk on the back end of correcting those mistakes. The existing ERC mills are now under hot water because they needed to correctly evaluate risk or chase money.

Dawn Brolin
Yes, exactly. You’ll always encounter companies—though I hesitate to call them firms—that aggressively expand and focus solely on growth. They continue to expand their reach, but their long-term outcome is unclear. I know that’s not the path I want for my firm.

Roman Villard
It couldn’t be a viable, sustainable path forward. Another component that you mentioned is bringing in external parties. So you mentioned CorpNet, bringing them in to manage the BOI side. How did you go through the process to evaluate whether they were the right partner as a company? They’re also going through the process of assessing how to service this market, absorb the risk, and do it efficiently. Did you go through a process to evaluate who the right partners are there and walk you through that process?

Dawn Brolin
Yeah, ensuring you send it to the right people is essential. Now, for me, it was easy because I know Randy Crabtree, you know, Randy Crabtree, just if you’re talking about just a respectful, unique human being, that’s Randy, and so it was easy for us to decide to send all of our ERC is to TriMerit and I trusted them. And that’s important. So, as you build relationships out there in the industry, that’s where you’re going to find your people. I would never search ERC credit companies and send them to 1800 Number. Please don’t do it. I mean, it. It’s my clients. I’m going to protect them as best I can. And we knew a reputable firm, TriMerit, and that’s where we also went for all our RD credits.

Roman Villard
Sure. So you’ve done an incredible job of establishing a team and a group, a partnership network you can rely on. As this has been accomplished over 25 years, most firm owners are centric on what they’re doing to have blinders on what’s happening externally. How can you go about starting to develop those relationships? And are there critical areas within a firm that, you know, you need to have relationships within the external market?

Dawn Brolin

Absolutely. I was with a firm for six years, three months, and one day, and we never attended conferences. However, I’ve attended conferences regularly since I started teaching for Intuit in 20. That’s where I’ve met some of the most influential people in my career, including you, Roman. It’s tough to forge genuine connections over social me,dia where people often present idealized versions of their lives.

In contrast, attending conferences allows you to meet others face-to-face, fostering genuine relationships. I encourage professionals to join councils related to the applications and companies they use. This engagement is invaluable for improving the industry and the products we use. For instance, conferences like Bridging the Gap or the IRS Tax Forum are crucial for meeting top-tier professionals and building trust within the community.

Roman Villard
I 100% agree with everything you just said and relate to the concept of people who are very active on social media. Building a relationship in person often requires knowing who they are and what drives them. Because social media is a front, getting past those barriers is usually very beneficial in understanding how to develop that network and partnership group. Do you have an internal process for managing your network and your referral base to use CRM? How do you manage that side of things?

Dawn Brolin

I primarily rely on direct communication; I saved people’s cell phone numbers. For example, I recently discussed RSUs (restricted stock units) with Nick Bhatia, a fellow firm owner in New Jersey. We both serve on the ADP accountant board, and I trust him for quick insights. I texted him to call me because something seemed off. That’s how we handle things.

Additionally, I’m part of the Intuit Tax Council, where we have a text group for immediate advice. We often ask questions like, “Does anybody know about this?” or “Does anybody know about that?” It’s a dynamic way to bounce ideas off each other and coordinate which conferences we’re attending to ensure we all connect. It’s about building your tribe and supporting each other in the industry.

Roman Villard
Yeah. And they become friends over time. Oh, yeah. And just absolute powerhouse resources to take those blinders off and build those relationships. This past week, I did the same thing and contacted a firm owner focusing on a specific area. And they’re like, yeah. Let’s set up a time to talk. And I know that when you start to take that first step into this realm of conferences or putting yourself out there applying for councils, it can be nerve-racking; it can be hard to understand where to fall in. But I found nothing but absolute reception from the entire community. And so to your point of getting out to these conferences, it does require that, that stepping out of the shell a little bit, but once you take that first leap, you’ll find somebody that you can latch on to, and they’ll make introductions, and it’s just taking that initiative that steps out. Have you been doing this your whole career, or did you say I need to start doing this at one point?

Dawn Brolin
It started when I was at my previous firm, which didn’t emphasize attending conferences, and at the time, I was also teaching for Intuit. I participated in the What’s New Tour, where we traveled across the country for two weeks, educating others on the latest in QuickBooks. Meeting influential figures like Michelle Long and Amy Vetter during these tours underscored the importance of such events. This experience led to creating the Accounting Cornerstone Foundation, a nonprofit facilitating in-person learning. Last year, we helped six individuals attend conferences, preparing them with preliminary Zoom meetings and welcoming dinners to ease their anxiety and foster connections. This year, we’re excited to double our outreach to twelve attendees. It’s fulfilling to make a tangible impact on their professional lives by providing these opportunities rather than just discussing the importance of engagement.

Roman Villard
It is. One cool thing that I saw last week with Gusto is that next coming up in mid-July for firm owners. If you’re unaware, they’re taking suggested donations, such as donations to the Accounting Cornerstone Foundation. It’s incredible to see tech technology partners supporting causes like that, creating education opportunities for firm owners. And so I know what you all are doing; it’s mighty and elevates the industry in ways that maybe didn’t exist several years ago. It’s awesome.

Dawn Brolin

We aimed to make a system that isn’t tied to any specific technology. It’s not just about what I like or what someone else prefers. It’s about using whatever technology helps everyone in the industry. This effort is for everyone to benefit. We set it up this way so that all can succeed.

Roman Villard

I love the rising tides. All right, you know it, it’s cool to see that, and I had the opportunity to see you speak for the first time at scaling new heights last year. And it was a conversation, which was a case study. I think about how you’d approach a client’s forecasting and budgeting circumstances. It was a competition you won; it was so powerful. And so, what events will you be at at every conference this year? You’re going to be a handful of them. Where can people find you at events?

Dawn Brolin

I’ll be attending Scaling New Heights again and Bridging the Gap. I plan to attend the Maryland Society of Accounting and Tax Professionals and QB Connect once they announce the dates. I’m considering the Accounting Today conference in San Diego and possibly the Grow Forum. I went to Engage last year, but I’ll skip it this year because last June was overwhelming—I was away for nearly a month. However, I plan to attend a few other conferences where I’m not presenting. I find it valuable to be in the audience sometimes, to learn from others’ presentations and gain new perspectives on industry developments.

Roman Villard
There is no doubt that all of these events have opportunities to tie it back to regulatory changes and have sessions that are focused on the changes that are occurring in our industry so that we can learn from them and bring it back to our team, including in our process of workflow, do the ProCon risk analysis. And so, it was just from pure educational exposure. The relationship side is going to have a far more long-term impact. Yeah. But the education component is fantastic across all the events you’ve mentioned.

Dawn Brolin
Yeah, absolutely. So, I am looking forward to seeing everybody at these conferences. People are ready for a break from the office, which is also lovely. People should think about that. But get out of your office, attend a conference, and start networking with people. Yep.

Roman Villard
Perfect. Well, I’ll wrap up with two quick questions, and then we’ll figure out how to find you. Then, we’ll wrap up the first question. If somebody’s considering introducing a workflow into their business, where do you suggest they start researching and understanding how to accomplish that?

Dawn Brolin

The first thing to realize is that Excel is not a workflow management tool, yet many businesses still rely on it, which is concerning. It’s essential to explore what tools others are using. I often check social media platforms like Facebook to see what systems people recommend. Numerous apps are available that enhance workflow management. For example, we use Financial Cents, and Karbon and Asana are also popular among professionals for their robust features.

Integrating these tools with other technologies is critical to avoid duplicating efforts across multiple systems. For instance, it’s inefficient for someone like Tracee to input data into many platforms. Ideally, your workflow system should integrate seamlessly with other tools like QBO and invoicing systems to ensure smooth operations. Always look for options that streamline your processes and consider recommendations from others in the industry. This approach will help you find the best tools to manage your workflow effectively.

Roman Villard
Perfect. And speaking of people, you have a team Brolin; not everybody has their team. We alluded to this concerning conferences, but how would you suggest people start developing their teams?

Dawn Brolin
Yeah, start one step at a time; I would say look around number one and see where you’re weak. Take an internal look at what your firm does. Are you doing things within your firm that you don’t like? Start with that. I did a bunch of C Corp returns this year. And I wouldn’t say I like doing C Corp returns and finding someone to take over that you can refer to and see where those people are. Your team is your technology. Reach out to your technology providers and ask questions. If there are gaps in something, maybe it’s you; you must realize what the tech can do. And let them answer those questions before you bail on it. Those kinds of things. So, this on the team takes time, but you have to make sure you’re lining yourself up with the best players on your team. That’s what I always stress.

Roman Villard
Perfect, Coach. That is fantastic. All right. So, where can people find you? Where would you point them to on the social channels? How can folks get a hold of you?

Dawn Brolin
Yeah, we’re all over the place on social media. And you’ll see designated motivators everywhere if you go to Dawnbrolin.com. I have all my team Brolin stuff in my starting lineup if you want to see what technologies I’m using, but most importantly, if you want to have conversations like Roman and I are having here today, I hold Dawn’s dugout once every month. The next one is May 13. But it’s on Monday, every month, it depends on conferences and what’s going on, what Monday it will be, but it’s on it’s all up on that website. You can come to chat and ask your questions, and we can help you move your firm forward. That’s the most important thing.

Roman Villard
Perfect. Also, consider donating to or giving a gift to the accounting Cornerstone Foundation and the work that you’re doing there. And that is that accounting Cornerstone foundation.com. Or how can people accounting cornerstone.org.org? Perfect, awesome. Well, Dawn, thanks so much for the conversation. This was fantastic. For listening in today, if you enjoyed this podcast, remember to share and write a review. This will help other firm owners like you find our podcast and get insights into how to grow their firm. Stay tuned.