Editor's Note: This is another installment in our ongoing series highlighting this year's Insightful Accountant's "2018 Top 100 ProAdvisors." Over the remainder of the year, we will introduce you to our winners, getting their insights on a wide range of topics, including what it is like to be a leader in their profession, how to stay on top and what the future holds.
Debbie Bosse
Debbie Bossé is another one of our Top 100 ProAdvisors. She is the Director of Software Solutions for Cannon Wright Blount.
Tell us about how you got started in the business.
I gave up a CFO position with a retail chain in southern California to follow my husband to Memphis. I connected with a woman who had started a business teaching QuickBooks, but she did not have an accounting background. I started handling the setup and teaching for her. I taught myself QB, joined the ProAdvisor program when it began, took my first official QB training with Joe Woodard when he was traveling the country teaching QB with Doug Sleeter. After a couple of years of successfully helping small business owners, our company was noticed and acquired by a local CPA firm looking to provide similar services.
Tell us a little about your practice.
Inside of Cannon Wright Blount, a mid-sized full service CPA firm, I head up the Business Consulting division. We provide solutions for small business owners that are using Sage or Intuit products including workflow analysis, outsource Controller, review and oversight of accounting records, budgeting and just about anything else they have questions about regarding their business.
Give us a snapshot of today's accounting landscape. What are seeing out there?
Clients want more automation, the desire to do less and hope it all turns out alright in the end. This provides us with a unique challenge to find the balance between the automation and the accuracy of the information.
What is the biggest item on your to-do list in the upcoming YEAR?
Encourage the partners to embrace value billing. Plan a river cruise to Portugal and Spain.
What are three areas every accountant should keep an eye on next year?
Changing landscape of tax reform. Providing the right advice or partnering with someone who can help, will be crucial when helping small business continue to thrive and grow.
Name the biggest technological advancements you saw this year.
Ability to talk to your accounting records and receive in seconds information about your business verbally. [It was] quite amazing when I saw it at QB Connect.
What advice would you give to today's accountants?
Stay diligent, watch the changing landscape. Stay abreast of the new technologies, and be selective.
What goals have set for this YEAR?
Strengthen my teams capabilities and plan time off to travel.
What does it mean to you to be recognized out of more than 300,000 ProAdvisors in the world?
This a humbling honor and I hope to live up to it. The designation demonstrates that I have worked hard to keep abreast of the advancements and changing landscape. It differentiates me from others in my area.
Your first thoughts on getting news of the honor?
Happy dance, Awesome!
How has your ProAdvisor practice changed or evolved over the last couple of years?
The shift to QBO is growing. We have fewer clients coming to us already using QBDT. Fewer site visits as we shift to remote offerings.
Why is continuing to enhance your skills and acumen critical to staying one step ahead of the curve?
With the fast paced world we live in, if you don’t continually investigate offerings, continue to learn and strengthen your skills you will be left behind. You will not be able to serve the new business owners.
What is your role in your practice? Director of Business Solutions. I continually update the partners on the changing technologies seen at SNH or QBConnect.
What was the best piece of advice you ever received?
Listen first.
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