Rightworks is re-branding this year in a big way. If you missed out on the RightNOW conference last month, be sure to mark your calendars
for 2025. After sitting down with CEO Joel Hughes, it’s clear why Rightworks is quickly becoming an industry leader as more than just a tech stack.
The RightNOW conference was designed with the small to medium-sized firm in mind. Unlike some other conferences, especially from some nationally recognized industry groups, the content at this conference did not miss when it came to building an agenda that addresses the concerns of the small to medium-sized practices.
Keynote Kevin O’Leary, most known for his role on Shark Tank, kicked off the conference with the line that everyone needed to hear, “raise your prices.” As smaller practitioners, we often talk ourselves into lower prices, thinking consciously or subconsciously, and we can’t charge what bigger firms do. Realistically, smaller practitioners often bring better customer service and a more concierge experience to the table. In addition to that, accountants, in general, bring an immense amount of value to our clients. We need to be charging accordingly. As Joel so eloquently put it, the aim of the conference was to “build confidence and conviction for firms to know how valuable they are”.
Artificial intelligence took center stage this year as the hottest topic impacting the industry. Rightworks, like many accounting industry leaders, including Inuit, Thompson Reuters, and more, are offering an AI solution for the profession. Rightworks SPARK is a ChatGPT product designed specifically for the accounting profession and was created in their Rightworks Labs. According to Joel, the Rightworks team noticed the trend of “connectedness” and “technology” and tried to focus the conference on “the rise of the connected client” when building their own technology and considering which vendors were the best fit for the conference.
The lack of staffing in the accounting industry is impacting firms across the nation. Automation, communication, and client experience have thus taken center stage. Because it can be difficult for smaller practitioners to spread resources and focus on so many aspects of business at once, technology can become a huge differentiator for firms that can be more connected to their clients and provide a more timely response through the use of the right technology.
Cybersecurity and endpoint security were also hot issues among attendees when it came to which conference topics were the most popular. The conference boasted a whole session dedicated to WISP requirements that started impacting firms at the end of 2023. To that end, Rightworks also announced last week that it had acquired “Australia-based Practice Protect, the accounting profession’s leading cybersecurity provider. The acquisition will enable firms to manage risk, secure client data, and achieve regulatory compliance while using cloud and desktop applications in Rightworks OneSpace”.
It's clear from the conference that Rightworks is heading in all the right directions. If you missed out this year, mark your calendars for Future Forward this fall as we delve into many of these topics, including AI and keep your eyes open for the dates for next year’s RightNOW conference.
Special thanks to Rightworks CEO, Joel Hughes for contributing an interview with Insightful Accountant.
Joel Hughes is responsible for setting the company’s direction and leading the execution of that strategy with the Rightworks leadership team. Since 2017, he has successfully overseen the rapid scaling of the business, including the acquisition of seven companies, transforming Rightworks into the only intelligent cloud purpose-built for accounting firms and professionals. He has an extensive track record of developing and growing businesses and has deep knowledge of corporate strategy and team building.
Before Rightworks, Joel was Senior Vice President of Emerging Business at Constant Contact, where he led strategy, and corporate development and had P&L responsibility for a portfolio of emerging growth businesses. As CEO at LiveWire Mobile (Nasdaq: LVWR), Joel led the transition of NMS Communications (Nasdaq: NMSS) from a hardware company to a mobile software and media business.
Christine Gervais is a licensed CPA, using her skills to help businesses grow and achieve their fullest potential. Christine has a Master’s degree in accounting from Southern New Hampshire University in addition to holding her CPA license for over a decade. Notably, Christine is a nationally recognized speaker providing education to other CPAs on how to best serve clients as well as instruction on a wide variety of topics for business owners on how to maximize success. Christine prides herself on the value she can bring to clients with her extensive tax knowledge and provides strategic, forward-thinking financial strategies to help clients grow. When not behind her desk, you can find Christine spending quality time with her daughter and stepson or tending to the family’s excessively loved farm animals.