The 2025 Tech Report for firms on how to assess and elevate digital maturity.
“Digital maturity” is not change for the sake of change—it’s your firm’s ability to adopt or adapt to technologies based on what you’re trying to accomplish, not just what’s new or popular.
To determine where you’re at on the CPA Firm Digital Maturity Model, leadership teams can conduct an online self-assessment to answer questions like: “How well are our tools and staff integrated with each technology?” “Do we have consistent and repeatable processes that tie to our business needs?” and “Is the technology delivering new value to our clients?”
Depending on your answers, your firm is sorted into least- to most-positioned for tech adoption: Reactive, Organized, Digitized, Connected or Intelligent.
For firms on the less digitally mature end of the spectrum, there may be a willingness to explore new technology…but no one with the skills required to “own” the process. Small firms tend to struggle with limited staff resources and expertise, while mid-size firms struggle with balancing consistency with growth, and large firms struggle with widespread adoption and engagement.
A proactive but people-first approach to technology goes a long way. Always consider internal readiness and staff capacity to avoid additional burnout. If you need to free up bandwidth for learning a new technology, find ways to automate and reduce workload. Once you’re ready to move forward, a cross-functional collaboration is key for buy-in. Hands-on training and peer-led workshops for upskilling also help ensure your team feels more confident about using the tools on their own.
“The biggest differentiator won’t be the technology itself, but how well firms integrate people, process, and change to maximize its impact,” says Arianna Campbell, shareholder and COO at Boomer Consulting, Inc. “Success will come to those who are proactive, adaptable, and committed to continuous improvement.”
With supportive people and processes in place, your firm may be better positioned for private equity investment to help level up even further.
“There is an unbelievably large opportunity right now for accounting firms. They have to realize that they are not just accounting firms anymore—they are tech-enabled advisory businesses,” says Jody Padar, CPA, founder of The Radical CPA. “A ton of money is coming into the accounting market, fueling firms to redefine what they can be. AI-driven automation, better workflow solutions, new business models—firms aren’t just making existing processes faster; they are finally rethinking how work gets done.”
Access full report and Digital Maturity Model at incpas.org/CPAFirmTech.
5 Steps to Prioritize Tech Initiative Goals
- Align Technology Goals with Business Strategy
- Identify Immediate vs. Long-Term Needs
- Prioritize Initiatives with Highest ROI & Least Disruption
- Consider Internal Readiness & Staff Capacity
- Adopt a Phased Implementation Approach
7 Ways to Create a Culture of Tech Adoption
- Start by securing leadership buy-in and set tone from the top
- Identify and empower technology champions
- Provide hands-on training and support
- Establish a mindset of experimentation
- Start with small wins to build confidence
- Foster collaboration and peer learning
- Align technology with employee and client benefits
Case Study: Inside INCPAS
Retooling our own tech stack
Since 2020, the INCPAS team has readily embraced technology and tried new tools as they enter the market. Over time, however, these one-off applications began to overlap with each other in purpose and conflict with what other departments were using. Further, some were rendered too granular as new providers entered the market with more robust versions of the initial concept.
So, in 2024, we created an internal Digital Transformation Roadmap and established a Tech Transformation Committee to evaluate areas where our technology had outlived its usefulness and ROI. This committee is led by our Vice President – Finance Jenny Norris, CPA, CGMA, CAE, who handles every major project our money passes through.
Although these tools might not apply to your firm or organization, the pain points they’re solving might resonate.
Member Suite
Purpose: Replace NetForum, a pricey legacy CRM with too many customizations, too few integrations, and outdated inputs and outputs; replace Active Campaign email platform; replace Association Analytics dashboard for data analytics, projections and trends; replace Typeform event registration tool; replace Naylor Career Center service.
Bill.com
Purpose: Replace Ariett as a more intuitive, mobile-friendly platform for accounts payable/receivable and particularly employee expensing.
Microsoft Teams
Purpose: Replace Amazon Workspaces for a traditional online environment instead of a secondary login and slower network; use Teams Chat to replace Slack; use Teams Channels and Notes for project management
to replace emails; use Forms to collect applications
and nominations.
WordPress
Purpose: Replace Sitefinity with a more modern, user-friendly platform that offers greater compatibility with plug-ins, easier site upkeep, and lower implementation and maintenance costs. This software, paired with our new database, will create a cleaner, more intuitive user experience. Scheduled for launch in early 2026.
By carefully selecting technology that’s more modern and comprehensive, we are gradually removing siloed tools and doing more collaborative work as an association.
Tech Talk
Sound bites from profession leaders
“If I was looking to buy a firm, I’d be looking at their staff—not their clients. No one wants to buy an outdated firm or inherit a staff that uses outdated processes because they haven’t been exposed to the tools available.”
—John Seale, CPA, CITP, former managing partner – RBSK Partners PC
“With the many tech tools out there, we’ve been able to successfully change the type of work we do, how we do it, and where we do it—all of which have built a flexible infrastructure to support our team well into the future.”
—Jody Grunden, CPA partner at Anders CPAs + Advisors.
“For CPAs to stay relevant and involved, we need to stay current
on the trends out there and drive innovation in our own positions
and industry. Continuous self-improvement is what will keep us relevant tomorrow.”
—Judy Bobilya-Feher, CPA, CFO – Perfection Bakeries, Inc.