When pondering agility, I tend to have flashbacks to one of my first nonprofit roles coordinating volunteers for Wags for Wishes. This multi-day event was a fundraiser aimed at bringing several canine competitors together for a good cause. The canine agility competition was the largest event, and our staff would bemusedly watch the dog handlers weave their way through jumps, tunnels, weave poles, A-frames, and seesaws (sans canines) while practicing the commands and hand positions they’d use to coach their pooch to victory. It’s difficult to not draw parallels between an obstacle course and leading through a pandemic, and the tools at our disposal aren’t all that different in theory: plan a course, stay one step ahead, build trust, communicate direction, and guide others through obstacles as quickly as possible.

When thinking of the organizations and companies that have survived and thrived during COVID, practicing agility is usually the most common attribute of success. Here, I’ve compiled a few of my top tips for remaining agile, and how the WSCPA is providing resources to guide you through obstacles even when facing a blind cross or a reverse flow pivot (just a little agility insider lingo).

SET PRIORITIES

Embracing change means reprioritizing work (sometimes constantly) based on new information and changing outcomes. These shifts are often a result of market swings, new technologies, or regulatory changes or requirements. The last few years, WSCPA has monitored and sifted through a record number of changes in the legislative landscape to set priorities and disseminate information swiftly to members. Most recently, we’ve been working to keep you updated on the capital gains and long-term care tax and helping to navigate and advocate around issues with IRS communication and backlogs.

HAVE CLEAR OBJECTIVES

Agility and planning may seem like an oxymoron, but success lies in the sweet spot in the middle. Having objectives allows you the flexibility to prioritize for new tasks, projects, or opportunities. I like to think of vision like a scaffolding, as opposed to a completed blueprint. This leaves room for synchronicity and opportunity. It allows us to better evaluate whether new opportunities (and/or risks) align with long-term objectives. Our biggest objective year over year is to serve you, our members. Different years may offer new challenges or opportunities to find the best way to do that—from updating technology one year to offering more pop-up CPE programs to address new tax legislation.

HIRE FOR CULTURAL FIT

Having the right people at your firm or organization, especially in a remote or hybrid environment, remains a top priority for firms, and has only become more challenging with the staffing crunch. WSCPA hosted a Meet the Firm Fair last fall to connect employers to students and new professionals and is planning to continue holding similar events and more networking opportunities to engage with new professionals. Also, the WSCPA job board is online and ready to connect you to candidates.

PREPARE FOR THE UNEXPECTED

Do you operate on just-in-time planning or just-in-case planning? While this philosophy comes from inventory management principles, it’s a great analogy to apply to leadership. The WSCPA aims to help accounting and finance professionals and offer resources for every stage of your career. Students and CPA candidates can sign up for mini-mentoring sessions in the Coffee & Conversations Resource Group and get advice on passing the CPA exam with Fireside Chats. Those hitting their golden years can take advantage of resources and CPE around retirement and continuity and succession planning. At last year’s WSCPA Annual Meeting, Patrick Hardy joined us to share disaster preparedness and crisis communication tips. In the winter issue of The Washington CPA magazine, you could find a new comprehensive checklist for dealing with ransomware attacks. Our Coronavirus and Mental Health Resource Centers are still providing updated information on managing the pandemic. Through these resources and our Connect community, the WSCPA is here to help you plan for the unexpected.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE COURSE

A few years ago, at a year-end accounting banquet, a keynote speaker shared Amazon’s cultural values. One concept that stuck with me from that presentation is the idea of “fail fast, fail often.” Amazon launches new ideas often, but also is quick to shutter initiatives that have early indications of failure (sorry to those who were early adopters of Fire Phones). Many companies quickly learned that the old way of doing business wasn’t going to cut it in our new pandemic world, and WSCPA was among them. So that you could still attend events, WSCPA adapted to a virtual event business model and is now working on plans to reopen. We look forward to being back to in-person events and serving members in a new and improved building this year! We’re also thrilled to bring back new professional focused networking events in 2022.

EMBRACE LIFELONG LEARNING

Getting your required CPE credits can feel more like a chore than an opportunity. Asking questions, remaining open to feedback, and getting to why allow us to continue to adapt to a world that is changing faster than ever. Professional development continues to be one of our core objectives to serve you. WSCPA is excited to offer hybrid conferences this year to enable you to network with other professionals, while engaging in timely and specialized educational updates. Although earning the credits you need to submit to the State Board may be your primary objective in taking CPE, lifelong learning also brings opportunities to grow professionally and personally. We’ve also added a few extra credits to your free Member Exclusive webinar lineup this year to help you get closer to your annual CPE requirement.

TEAMWORK

In January, you received a one-question survey that asked if you’d recommend the WSCPA to a friend or colleague. If you responded and sent in feedback, you likely received a personal response from me or someone on the WSCPA Member Services Team. I read and appreciate every piece of feedback. Thank you to those that took the time to respond, and if you have feedback to share, I am always available to listen. Teamwork is also critical to agility, and you are key in helping us create valuable member benefits and a stronger community.

Monette Anderson, CAE, is the WSCPA Director of Membership. You can contact Monette at manderson@wscpa.org.

This article appears in the spring 2022 issue of the Washington CPA magazine. Read more here.