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• JULY 5, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal
Accounting Profession July 5, 2019
A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal
Evolving client, workforce expectations spur increasingly data-driven, consultative roles by Michelle Leach
Not unlike other industries, technological, generational and workplace shifts may require one to reassess his or her perception of accountants and accounting firms. “[KPMG] has been working with IBM for over a decade at this point,” said Omaha Office Managing Partner Drew Blossom. “With the power of the IBM Watson platform, we envision taking a complex, 40-page lease agreement or 60-page loan document and having the technology to pull out the key terms of that document in a matter of 15 seconds, rather than reading for five hours.” Transformational technology on the audit side improves processes, efficiencies, and empowers professionals to focus on areas where they can add value; for instance, handling mundane matching when testing transactions to see if they have certain attributes. On the tax side, he said the company is investing heavily in robotics process automation — taking those tasks historically handled by staff accountants, weeding out routine processes from those areas identified as requiring further investigation. Specifically, investment in technology for audits allows one to look at bigger sets of populations in a smaller timeframe, so Blossom said they can be more cost-ef-
Drew Blossom, managing partner at the KPMG Omaha office. fective. machine learning to categorize those trans“We’ve invested in a technology that actions and produce financial information. allows us to help a client with their un- We don’t have to do all that ‘behind-thederlying accounting,” he said. “We can scenes’ work.” pull a [small business’s] transaction data In June, he said a pilot technology comfrom their credit card statement, and use pared invoices against what was reported
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versus having a person read the invoices, matching data to what was reported in the system. Accordingly, Blossom indicated the team can focus on items outside-thenorm; for instance, flagging an item whose volume was recorded as “10” when the items should have been recorded as “100” pieces. Error identification, he noted, brings value to the table. Rapid changes in technology mark one of two major trends in the accounting field, alongside “younger generations not wanting to work the hours they see older generations working now,” acSmith cording to McFarlin and Brokke Partner, Shareholder and President Mike Smith. “We are addressing these trends by providing better work/life balance with flexible work scheduling, remote work availability, and the continual integration of increasingly efficient technology — always with the focus of best meeting the needs of our staff and clients,” he said. He looks at technology’s impact as being reflected in changing accounting practices. “Some firms are opting to utilize the online ‘gig economy’ of freelance work and short-term contracts for accounting preparation,” Smith said. “It’s becoming more common for actual data entry of a tax return to be prepared, not by an employee of the company, but by someone hired in a cyber role, looking to make quick money when they choose to work.” Additionally, Smith noted, advancing artificial intelligence creates the potential for tax returns to be prepared by a computer after scanning tax documents into a software program. “In implementation of either scenario, tax preparers will need to become tax reviewers, and CPA firms will need to rethink their traditional business model,” he said. O’Donnell, Ficenec, Wills and Ferdig CPA Matt Tunink said public accounting has historically been a profession that revolves around evaluating information of the past. “While that won’t completely go away, Continued on next page.
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Accounting Profession — inside JULY 5, 2019
THE BUSINESS NEWSPAPER OF GREATER OMAHA, LINCOLN AND COUNCIL BLUFFS
THIS WEEK 'S ISSUE:
$2.00
VOL. 45 NO. 27
Aviture leverages AWS platform to unlock potential for clients by Becky McCarville
VirtuActive takes on growing demand for 3D drafting and design. – Page 2
40 er d Un 40 Spivey turns personal challenges into professional success at Peter Kiewit Foundation. – Page 3
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Safety programs are key to decreasing work-related injuries. – Page 28
Demand for software solutions grows as more companies move to cloud technologies to tap into fast, scalable, pay-asyou-go capabilities. As a custom software solutions and tech consulting company, Aviture has engaged with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to keep up with the lightning pace of industry trends. “When you look at the modern cloud platforms, AWS is the industry leader,” said Aviture’s Chief Technology Officer Jerry Koske. “They’ve got the majority of the market share, they’re the place to go and as a consultancy, if you don’t have an offer there, you’re at a disadvantage.” From applying machine learning and artificial intelligence to vast amounts of data to getting real-time feedback from users when designing and testing software, the AWS platform allows Aviture to unlock potential and innovation for its clients. “You look at the capabilities Continued on page 9.
Chief Technology Officer Jerry Koske … Teaming with Amazon Web Services to stay on top of industry (Photo by MBJ / Becky McCarville) trends and push the software design envelope.
Relationships provide foundation for Graham Construction’s growth by Richard D. Brown
Although Graham Construction had work in Omaha some 15 years ago with construction on OrthoNebraska’s Oak View campus, the Des Moines-based family-owned contractor hasn’t gained significant name recognition in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. That’s about to change as the regional construction firm that did $176 million
in volume last year has opened its first Omaha office for its 10 local employees. Vice President/General Manager for Eastern Nebraska B.J. Gehrki said the 3,500-squarefoot office at 12910 Pierce St., Building B, Suite 100 in Sterling Ridge is the hub of sorts for the energy he’s taking to meetings with area building owners and Continued on page 9. Business Development Manager Michael Edwards … Diverse capabilities and resources, from two data centers to managed IT and web hosting professionals, accelerate firm’s growth in second decade of operations.
Pioneer Lincoln data center Binary Net acquires second Sharp Building facility by Michelle Leach
B.J. Gehrki, vice president and general manager for eastern Nebraska … Recently opened Omaha office gaining footing with large contracts.
In its 23rd year, Binary Net has bolstered its data center offerings with the addition of Lincoln Data Centers at the Sharp Building in downtown Lincoln, while multi-faceted talent across its virtual server, colocation and web hosting services are “hitting a new period of extreme growth,” spanning clients from fraternity and sorority houses and arms of
state government, to health care practices and law firms — and accommodating organizations on a project-by-project basis to a myriad of IT services, according to Business Development Manager Michael Edwards. “It’s basically a secure space where other companies can locate their servers, and know that they’re managed and taken care Continued on page 8.