IMPLEMENTING TECHNOLOGIES ON AN ACCELERATED SCHEDULE By DONALD KAISER, CPA McCARTHY & COMPANY
CPAs are trained to be methodical. They know how to break down assignments into smaller tasks to complete projects on time and within the established budget. That’s why they are perfect to work on complex projects that involve implementing technologies, especially on an accelerated schedule.
The longer it takes to complete a project, the higher the cost of capital investments and human resources. CPAs working on an internal IT project are often pulled from billable assignments. Since CPAs often bill on an hourly basis, every minute they are in a meeting, reviewing project specs or working on another task costs the company money. PROJECT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS CPAs can borrow best practices from engineers, IT consultants, project managers and other professionals. One such practice is working within a project management framework, which refers to a set of methods, procedures and rules that relate to and cover the entire lifecycle of the project. It defines a project’s charter, scope and purpose by specifying and delineating the processes, steps and actions needed to execute the job from initiation to delivery. There are many phases in a project management framework. These include initiation, planning, execution, performance control and closure. The benefits of using a project management framework are: y Consistency in project planning and execution y Clarity in the scope of the project y Collaboration between stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of the project y Continuity and planning integration throughout the project
8
SUMMER 2021 | NEW JERSEY CPA
y Communication among the team when defining the scope and purpose of the project. PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES There are many good project management methodologies that can be used to control the flow of work when implementing new technologies. These include but are not limited to the following: y Waterfall is a simple project management method used for short, uncomplicated projects. It involves listing the tasks that need to be done in sequential order and checking them off as they are
