Pioneering Something New

By Mallory Frazzini

Change. It’s so constant right now that we are all some type of pioneer exploring a new territory. From personal to professional it’s something we all endure. The accounting profession is seeing massive changes from changing standards to the systems we use each day.

For myself, 2018 was a year of a ton of personal growth and change, from getting married, to welcoming a baby girl, and then learning my husband’s job was relocating us to Nashville, TN. Fortunate for me, MHCS worked with me, and my family, and made me their first remote auditor. This was the start of a new and exciting journey for myself and the firm, and it all started by not being afraid to go out of the comfort zone and try something new. With most client systems being all electronic audits and the great communication skills I developed while working at MHCS, we thought this was the perfect arrangement for when I made my move to Nashville. I have successfully completed my first busy season with the firm as a remote worker and this has created so many new learning experiences and introduced different skill-sets for myself and the firm.

With that, I wanted to share some of the best practices and key takeaways I have learned during my time as a remote worker.

Best Practices

• Implement a set plan and arrangement and be open to making changes and taking criticism along the way. A formal remote working document can help to outline expectations from the beginning. To do list and timelines can also be great tools to keep a team on track when working remotely.
• Plan some onsite visits so relationships can continue to be built with existing and any new employees, and also the clients.
• Make sure the management/ employee that leads this is passionate about it and will do what they can to help make it work. There will be stumbling blocks but with the passion to see it through, you can easily move past those.
• Invest in the resources needed to make this successful. This includes the hardware, the different systems offered, and really any technology that is needed to function with high connectivity. In addition, investing in a great webcam and a strong internet connection can make it feel like you are sitting right next to the person when you need to talk to them.
• Reach out to other companies that have remote workers and get suggestions from them.

Key Takeaways

• Don’t be afraid to go out of our comfort zone both professionally and personally.
• Strong communication and trust will make this change feel seamless.
• You will never know if this will work for your company or yourself, unless you try. I have surprised myself with how much I have loved it and how well the team and our clients have adapted.

Overall, I hope this helps and shine some light on any opportunities that may come your way and I encourage you all to help pioneer something new.

Mallory Frazzini | Senior Auditor
MFrazzini@MHCScpa.com