Lynda Artesani
Editor's Note: This is the first installment of our ongoing series highlighting this year's Insightful Accountant's Top 100 ProAdvisors. Over the remainder of the year, we will introduce you to our winners—checking in on their insights regarding 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.
Ask Lynda Artesani and she will tell you that one of her passions is running The Accountants Law Lab—the mastermind group helps other bookkeepers and accountants learn legal accounting.
The founder of Artesani Accounting Services, Lynda also is a member of the Intuit Trainer Writer Network and an alumni member of the Intuit Accountants Advisory Board. An accounting professional for the past 20-plus years, she is an Advanced Certified ProAdvisor and a Gold LeanLaw Accounting Pro.
In addition, as one of the industry's foremost thought leaders, she is author of the e-book, "QuickBooks Online for Attorneys," as well as the host of "Fast Track Legal Accounting," a course that helps bookkeepers with their first attorney-client. Her byline can be seen on a number of industry related articles, including the Firm of the Future Law Technology Today and other law firm business topics.
We sat down with her to see what drives her passion for what she does—and where Artesani Accounting is heading.
Give us a snapshot of your business, including how long you have been in business, etc.
I have two businesses I run, Artesani Accounting and The Proper Trust, which I co-founded with my dear friend and business partner, Sarah Prevost. We specialize in working with the legal industry. Sarah and I also run The Accountants Law Lab, a mastermind group helping other bookkeepers and accountants learn legal accounting and bookkeeping.
How does the award fit into your overall business mission statement?
Our mission is to provide the best client experience to our attorney clients. We partner with their firms to offer them the best financial path. Being recognized by your peers is the icing on the cake.
Most importantly, you work hard and help others, and the award shows that you are doing the right things.
How will you leverage the honor in your continued success?
This award would provide more visibility for our firm and lets others know that we are experts in our field. Additionally, with that visibility, more students will find us so that we can help more accountants and bookkeepers succeed at what they do.
I genuinely believe that niching your practice is the path to an amazing career in the future. We can help others get there.
What are some of your strategies/initiatives for 2022? Business? Personal?
I keep using "we" because this is not about me. Our team and our staff are what make our businesses thrive. Today's primary strategy is to help mid-market law firms modernize their firms. Many law firms stick to the "if it's working, why change?" mentality. The ability for us to step in and show them what a future-ready practice looks like is fantastic.
Nothing makes my heart sing more than showing attorneys how to automate their workflow and how they can save time and money using cloud technology.
Personally, I would like to have more time with my family and have more time at the beach and practice more yoga.
What are some of the biggest issues/trends impacting the accounting space today?
Technology is nipping at our heels. Too many people stay in a world of antiquated workflows thinking they can ride it out. I see more of a need for bookkeepers and accountants to recognize that. I genuinely believe we need to up our game and provide a stellar customer experience.
When we sit with a client and discuss KPIs or setting goals, I am surprised at how many clients tell us we have never been asked that question. Being able to provide advisory services to a client has energized me and my team. It makes accounting fun again! No longer do we just need entry people.
Moving your firm to specialization is the pathway to success and the pathway to be offering your clients these types of services. I wish I had done that sooner.
What is the biggest item on your to-do list right now?
We are hiring more staff. We have been fortunate to have a successful firm. I want to find more fantastic candidates to join our amazing team.
What are your expectations for 2022 and beyond?
Since the economy is stalling, we see a need to prepare. Law firms tend to ride a slow economy well, but all firms need to be ready in case of a need to fund their firm and pay their staff.
What is the best piece of advice you can offer your clients today?
Save for that rainy day, and when it comes to your staff, you must create that atmosphere that the younger generations expect today in order to acquire great talent. That is not all about compensation; it is about flexibility and the ability to work remotely. Add great benefits and you have created that atmosphere.
What was the best advice you ever received?
If you work hard, you will be successful. That would be advice from my dear grandfather, who mentored me at a very young age. He lived that life, came into this country as an immigrant, worked at a company after coming home from WW II, and eventually purchased that business. I adored him and would not be doing what I do today without him and his grandfatherly advice.
Is there a story/anecdote you can share that sums up your work for your clients (a recent success story)?
We have so many. One of my favorites is doing a data migration for a firm that had had two previous migrations go wrong. The client had spent a lot of time and money and received very little in return. We hopped in, cleaned up the data, provided the details necessary, and cleaned up the trust.
We did such a good job, they asked us to clean up the two previous fiscal years, and we are now their accounting team at their firm. We have improved their workflow and organized so many functions in their firm. We are actively working to help change how this firm functions, and with a very proactive business owner, we are making sweeping changes to how the firm and staff operate.
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