Broken Teeth vs Kicked Turf

A hockey player kept skating with his teeth knocked out. Our poor national team goalie kicked the turf instead of the ball. Sounds similar to what is happening in accounting.

The USA Men’s Soccer Team lost to Belgium last night. Not just lost. They got outclassed in every way. In a way that each of us who are die hard American soccer fan are asking hard questions. The question I keep asking myself as a long, suffering American soccer fan is this, “Where do we go from here?” It seems like we have been in purgatory since 2002, when America made it to the final 8.

This team had us believing, which is a wonderful thing. They formed an identity. Up until last night, it had been wonderful to see an attacking and aggressive style, one that had been missing for a long, long time. There were some iconic moments, the Tillman free kick, the stadium singing along to “Country Roads.”

Unfortunately, there will be a meme that will overshadow a lot of the better moments that occurred over these past few weeks. The USA goalkeeper came out appropriately to settle and clear a ball to prevent an oncoming attack. The goalie became indecisive, pressure ensued, and in a panic went to kick a ball but instead kicked the turf. Belgium seized on the opportunity and scored a goal to put the game essentially out of reach. It’s a visual that will be displayed throughout the world, especially after the world outrage against the USA from the suspended red card matter.

To compare this image to another recent, famous meme of Jack Hughes draped in an American flag with a smile displaying his broken teeth. Why is it that the USA hockey team was able to step up and represent the spirit of a Nation and the USA soccer team hasn’t been able to. Instead, the face of USA soccer limps off the field around the 60 minute mark, and you could see it in his face, not from the pain of the injury, but the pain of the moment representing a group of people who did not fully believe they belonged in the fight.

I couldn’t sleep last night. I am a rabid soccer fan. The biggest moment for USA soccer was a complete flop. The missed passes, the lack of aggression, zero leadership, the team looking uncertain about who they even were. As I wrestled with the acceptance of this last night, I thought about how there are a lot of similarities these two different memes above highlight the state of accounting and who we are. Two athletes. Two responses to adversity. One let the moment slip and limped off. One had his teeth knocked out and kept skating. Moments matter.

The reason I am writing this today, and not in a week when the game is a distant memory, is that sometimes a loss is what you need to see where you actually stand.

Every team that has ever won something meaningful will tell you there was a moment that set the stage for the turn around, it’s typically not a win, or a feel good moment. The turning point is usually a loss that stripped away the illusion. The loss that made everyone on the team, in the group, in the organization to face the reality of where you are. The prominent question becomes, “are we willing to do the work to get to the next level and are we capable of changing to do that?”

These moments are painful, but they can be the beginning of something real. USA soccer must do that.

So must accountants. The accounting profession is having that moment right now. Many are acknowledging through a monetization event that they aren’t willing to do what it takes. Others are trying to figure it out. Some refuse to change. Some are adapting and redefining.

Thirty Days

In the last thirty days, three of the most established firms in the country have sold. Crowe to KKR on June 12. Baker Tilly announced the Anchin acquisition on June 17. Eide Bailly sold a majority stake to Reverence Capital on June 23. Three top-25 firms. Combined, they represent over 240 years of institutional history.

They all put out press releases that used the same language. Strategic partnership. Long-term growth. Preserved culture. Continued independence.

Nobody in the profession believes those words the way they used to. And that is one of the tragic occurrences that has perpetuated over the years in accounting. In an industry of Trust, it’s been difficult to Trust leaders and what they say and what they promise. Look at the comments on going concern, how many accountants feel misled and hurt from empty statements at holiday parties around not selling out.

Personally, I do not think this moment is bad for accountants in the long run. I think it might be the most useful thing that has happened to accounting in my thirty plus years.

Here is what I have been noticing, and what has been making me hopeful. Firstly, the way people have come together to support their fellow country over the past few weeks has been beautiful. In a world that seems so divided at times, has come together and embraced one another, celebrated and accepted each other’s cultures.

Secondly, over the past few weeks we have had a number of conversations with our colleagues, clients, accountants from other firms and companies. They want belonging. They want to feel a part of something that is tangible, solid, not going away.

People don’t realize that most accountants have had moments in their career where they have been Jack Hughes. The memes of accountants and the narratives surrounding us are outdated and inaccurate. We have been the ones behind the scenes getting our teeth knocked out…not literally, of course, but metaphorically speaking, we put the hours and the work in whenever it has been needed. We have shown up in big moments. We don’t look for or demand credit. But, we rise up to the challenge and the occasion each and every time.

What we want is to be appreciated. To be respected for what we contribute. To be told the truth. The work required ahead for accountants to redefine our work is going to be hard, challenging. We will meet the moment as we have for years and years.

Some firms will look at the events of the last thirty days and see the writing on the wall. They will negotiate their own exits before the multiple gets worse. They will call the press releases “strategic partnerships.” They will assure their clients that nothing will change.

Other firms will look at the same events and see the opposite. They will see the moment as the reality check they needed. They will double down on the craft. They will invest in their people. They will decide that the standard of the work matters more than the exit multiple, and they will keep going.

That is the Jack Hughes moment. It is the decision, made in the middle of the play, that whatever you have absorbed will not stop you. You keep skating. You keep working. You keep signing your name on the deliverable. You do not need to hold a press conference about it. You simply show up tomorrow and do it again. This is what we as accountants do.

At Wiss, we know what we are going to do. Keep skating.

The Coming Together

The last thing I want to say today is that the “coming together” people are looking for is real. It is not naive. It is not a marketing campaign. It is not a slogan that goes on a wall.

It is a group of people, working together, deciding that high standards are worth defending. It is the senior teaching the junior. It is the partner signing the audit opinion. It is the staff accountant staying late to catch the exception that the model missed. It is the client picking up the phone and hearing the same voice they heard three years ago.

Belgium destroyed the USA last night. The USA has to live with that. Maybe, just maybe, that’s the moment the USA needs.

The events over these past 30 days present a moment we needed too. It becomes a moment the team can decide who it actually wants to be.

I know who we are and who we want to be.