December 4, 2024 • 25 mins
Bianca Ferguson shares her journey from teen tax preparer to city CFO and private practice leader, serving over 1,500 clients. She highlights the importance of leveraging technology to optimize workflows and attracting new talent to the accounting field.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
KC Brothers (00:06):
Welcome to another episode of Canopy Practice
Success.
I am here today with BiancaFerguson, who has one of the
most impressive resumes.
And beautiful smiles.
Thank you.
Um, that I've ever seen.
Um, Bianca, why don't you walkus through a little bit of your
experience in accounting, um,and how you got to where you're
(00:26):
at today.
Okay.
Bianca Ferguson (00:27):
Definitely.
I started accounting at a veryyoung age, specifically in tax
preparation.
When I was about 14 or 15 yearsold, I used to go to the library
with my mom and get tax formsbecause she used to do them by
hand, right?
You left that out.
I didn't know that.
I left that out.
I don't know if I said that,but, um, she used to do them by
(00:48):
hand and, I would assist her inpreparation by writing it up and
prepping it for her before herclients came in, and that gave
me an affinity for taxpreparation.
And it also allowed me tounderstand, like, the 1040 and
how all the schedules flowing tothat fast forward.
I was about 16 or 17 years oldin the 11th grade and we were
(01:10):
slated to graduate early becausewe had more than enough credits
and it was a group of us.
So our future business leadersof America teacher asked us if
we wanted to be partnered with alocal business and go to work.
And then we trade that off bygoing to school half a day and
working a half a day.
So I was paired with theaccountant.
CFO at City Hall.
(01:30):
His name was Raymond Harris andhe played a pivotal role in my
life.
He ended up becoming my mentor.
So, um, I'll get deep down intothat story.
But what happened was I workedthere for two year years, then
went off to college.
But going to college, I thoughtI was gonna be a social worker.
I was in freshman seminar,right?
And so in freshman seminar, theywas like, as a social worker,
(01:52):
you can make$28,800 a year.
And I was like, no.
That won't be my life.
I'm not.
I couldn't imagine making 28,800 a year.
Right.
And, um, this was 1998.
So I already had this life planfor myself where it included
making 28, 000.
(02:13):
So I called Raymond.
Um, the.
Then CFO and I asked him, I waslike, Hey, you know, how much do
accountants made, how, how mucham I slated to make?
And at that time he was likeabout 70, 000.
You may start off at 55, 000,60.
I was like, okay, that's morelike it.
I went down to the registrar'soffice, changed my major
immediately.
(02:34):
I thought I wanted to be asocial worker because of my
passion for people.
Right.
I love people.
I want everybody to be okay.
And I'm naturally an empath.
So I thought that.
I thought that was my way in,but I really, I can't help them
if I'm poor.
Like I just, I just can't helpthem if I'm poor.
Right.
And so then, um, really breezedthrough school in accounting,
(02:56):
ended up graduating in, uh, witha bachelor's science in
accounting and businessmanagement.
Then subsequently later on, Iended up getting an MBA and a
master's of science inaccounting.
But, uh, When I graduated fromcollege, I went to visit Raymond
at City Hall and ask him what hewas doing and he was like, Hey,
I'm running for mayor.
Do you want to come work for me?
(03:18):
And I'm like, sure.
And I went in and I went to workfor the budget, as the budget
manager, already familiar withthe systems and the processes,
because if you're familiar withThe late 90s in the early 2000s,
we had mass 90, right?
So mass 90, our system wasn'tintegrated.
So the general ledger was astandalone ledger where we had
(03:38):
to get information from the taxdepartment, the water
department, fees and fines, andthen put them in a GL.
So we had these large greentabular spreadsheets that we put
all the cash in and everythingcalculated and then input it in
the general ledger.
But what I didn't realize what'shappening there that it really
prepared me for theory andapplication meeting, right?
(04:00):
So it allowed me to understandwhat's the theory of accounting
and how do I apply to real worldsituations and all of that
stuff.
And I think that's missing nowbecause everything's so
integrated, but it wasn't backthen.
And, you know, all of thesesystems that we have now wasn't
really that popular in the late90s.
Yeah.
So then, um, he ran for mayor.
He won.
(04:21):
He asked me at 24 years old tobe his CFO.
I told him absolutely not.
I'm way too young.
This is politics.
And I didn't believe that I wasprepared for it.
But after a couple citycouncil's meeting, didn't
understand how actually preparedI really was by, you know,
answering all of the questions,supporting the gentlemen that
(04:41):
got into that role.
And then one of the councilmembers, they told Raymond, they
was like, She's really sharp.
You know, we should reallyconsider her in that position.
So then about a year later, Itook the position as, you know,
the youngest CFO to hold thatposition and held it for about
six years.
And, you know, really, um,Raymond to like believing in me
(05:03):
and seeing me and not looking atme as an individual that was
just young, but someone that wasvery capable of doing the job.
So, you know, I just think himso much.
And so that role as a CFO atthat young define my career
after that.
So, you know, I had theopportunity to move on to a
bigger city, become budgetmanager.
(05:24):
Went on to AIG and was able towork on an accounting team that
actually was outsourced.
And I used to travel to India toteach the accountants process
flows and SOPs and all of thatstuff.
Then, um, later on, I went workfor this healthcare company and
became the controller there.
And my last corporate job wasRice University, where I helped
(05:45):
them process map their workflowflow.
So that Banner met Oracle nextweek and they could have got rid
of their antiquated accountingsystem.
So in a nutshell, that was mycorporate career and going from
just a young person like helpingout, helping her mom out to
working with the mayor, the CFO,then mayor, and then just really
(06:05):
had an amazing career inaccounting all while I actually
had clients on the side that Idid books for, right?
bookkeeping, my family andfriends taxes.
Uh, before I took it really,really serious, I used to do
about 70 tax returns a year andprobably had about 10 monthly
clients and then on my ownwithin one year, I went from 70
(06:27):
tax returns to 260 tax returns.
And then I went from 10 monthlyclients to 75 monthly clients.
And I was like, wait, hold up.
I need help.
That all happened in one year.
Right.
Yeah.
And each year since 2020, I havedoubled the amount of tax
returns that I do.
My client roster is well over1500 people at this point.
(06:52):
And it's just that go ahead.
Then just finish your sentence.
It's just that I just believethat if I build it and I show up
as myself and authentic and givepeople what I know that I needed
and what I believe that theyneeded, that they would see the
value in what I was providing.
KC Brothers (07:11):
Yeah.
Um, okay.
So you've doubled.
Um, but does that also mean thatyou're spending double amount of
time?
Cause I know you're passionateabout technology and being
efficient.
Bianca Ferguson (07:22):
Yes.
So how canopy came into playbecause I doubled and I wasn't
ready.
Right.
It was so quick that, you know,I started off Keeping my clients
on spreadsheets and everybodyhad a Google drive, a Google
folder where they would, I wouldshare the information with them.
They would put it in there andthen send me an email notifying
me that it was there.
(07:44):
Then I also started usinganother software when I thought
that when I brought employees onthat, I could track tasks in
that software, but that provedto be.
Inefficient because we weren'table to really talk to each
other in the software and makenotes on their accounts.
And, you know, when myadministrative assistant,
someone would call, there wasnowhere to document the call
without sending multiple emailsand spreadsheets.
(08:07):
And even if we did that, itwasn't connected to the client,
right?
Okay.
So after doing research andsoftware, best accounting
software for practices, thenCanopy came into play.
I've been using Canopy for,since 2020.
And I've literally grown withCanopy, like all of the changes
and everything to see them cometo fruition and to increase
(08:30):
efficiency, I feel like that'sthe only way that I've been able
to scale the way I have isbecause, um, Having canopy as a
central hub where I can collectinformation, retrieve
information and pass oninformation to my clients all at
one time without having to sendmultiple emails and multiple
requests and keeping the taskrecurrent allowed me to, you
(08:53):
know, grow efficiently as well.
KC Brothers (08:55):
Yeah.
Um, and not that we need to makethis about canopy by any means.
We, I appreciate all of yourglowing remarks, um, but it does
make me think.
So.
Something that I have done in mycareer, but I don't do it that
often.
And I think accountants do iteven less often than I do it.
And that is evaluating software.
(09:15):
Um, I even did it recently, um,and made myself a Google sheet,
put all the vendors that I wasevaluating, tried to put some
semblance of capabilitiestogether so that I could track
who did what and who did whatbetter and who I was going to
like and so on and so forth.
But it got really easy to blurwho was who and, and try and
(09:39):
make the best decision.
And, um, what advice do you haveto accountants, especially those
who, I mean, we, at least our,our sales reps at Canopy do run
into people who have notevaluated software for 10 to 15
years.
Bianca Ferguson (09:55):
No, I constantly evaluate software and
have evaluated software, andthat's why I feel like I can
make informed decisions.
And I know this is not aboutCanopy, but Canopy has really
changed the way I've donebusiness.
And I've also became a resourcefor other accountants because I
felt like, I feel like I did allof this for them.
So that you all don't have to gothrough the things that I've
(10:15):
gone through.
So I'm telling you why canopy issuperior to others.
You know, if you name a softwareout there, I've tested because
I'm pro technology.
Right.
And I feel like we can spend alot of time thinking and being
analytical by letting softwareand technology do those
redundant tasks and createefficiency so that I can give my
(10:36):
clients more of me.
And I feel like the software,Allows you to do that when you
have a software that's in tunewith what you're doing.
Now I would say the biggestchallenge for a growing
accountant is to understand yourworkflow, understand your tasks.
What are your offering?
Because you can have a softwareas amazing as.
Canopy or you can have a taxhome or any of these practice
(10:58):
management by Intuit any ofthese other software.
But if you don't have yourprocesses in place and you have
not process map your processes,then no software would work.
But what I do like in thissoftware that I use often is the
prebuilt templates, right?
And that gives a new accountantor a novice person that really
(11:19):
don't understand and just wantto start off small on, Hey.
They may not have the corporateexperience as I have to put all
of these things together, but atleast they have a roadmap on
when I get a client, this iswhere I start from.
So I feel like the educationpart built, built in that allows
people to have a leg up as well.
KC Brothers (11:38):
Yeah.
And you're so right.
Um, to encourage people toreflect, be more introspective
on their business, the way theyconduct business, the way they
interact with each other isaffirmed upon how many four
members there are before maybeeven evaluating software because
you can Get lost.
And I say this because I've doneit myself in how a product looks
(12:02):
or in a feature that you'relike, I have to have that.
Um, but when you step back andyou're saying, okay, well, this
is what I'm trying toaccomplish.
These are the steps I need tofollow, or here's how I can
even, um, tighten things up andrework my processes before
getting a new software kind ofhelps you to, especially if
you're, you already do have.
(12:23):
Some sort of software in placetakes you out of the, um,
specific specifics of how thatsoftware functions to help you
get what you are getting doneand more in a position to have
and puts you more in a positionto have the software work for
you instead of you working forthe software.
Bianca Ferguson (12:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
And you know, it's software.
Yes, but technology too, right?
Cause I found myself at acrossroad earlier this year
where I, uh, Literally ask ChadGPT.
I gave them all of mystatistics, my demographics.
I was like, Hey, I'm anaccounting, I'm in an accounting
firm in Paraland, Texas.
(13:05):
I make revenue of X amount ofdollars.
I have X amount of clients and Ihave X amount of employees.
How could I create a lean andefficient accounting firm and
what positions I need?
To make sure that I'm runningthe firm efficiently and how
much I pay those people rudeawakening, right?
(13:28):
When I tell you When I tell youThat it spit out the best the
best Structure that I could haveimagined and then clearly like
being someone who ran, you know,accounting departments and
understand like the workflow.
(13:48):
I immediately saw my holes.
I immediately saw where mybacklog was happening at.
Why everything ended up on mydesk because what I didn't
create was a high option.
Hierarchical structure.
I had created a flat structureright where I had these
accountants and I had these taxpeople, but I didn't have, you
(14:08):
know, that tax manager and thatcontroller and that extra layer
of things to stop before it getsto me or even that position.
Something as like having a firmadministrator that.
It's all they do all day longbecause we receive so much email
is direct the flow of trafficand canopy, creating engagements
(14:29):
and make sure the accountantsand tax preparers have what they
need.
So that includes triaging theinbox, right?
Attaching this to a task, makingsure that it flows correctly,
um, notifying an individualthat, Hey, you know, these
people have uploaded this.
This is ready to go.
Maybe changing the status on aworkflow and.
(14:50):
It changed the amount of hoursthat I spent in the business
because I'm every day I wasliterally doing about 14 hours a
day because if no one Yeah,
KC Brothers (15:02):
it's just not sustainable, no matter who you
are, what your other life, um,obligations are, I guess if you
really, really love it, butstill like there's so many
things that Other parts of lifeto love and participate in that.
You don't need to.
And being 2024, you don't needto.
Yeah, you just don't need to.
(15:22):
Yeah.
If you want
Bianca Ferguson (15:23):
tshirt,
KC Brothers (15:23):
go ahead,
Bianca Ferguson (15:25):
No, no.
Lemme tell you, Mondays, I don'twork on a Monday I'm actually
like reading emails and managingmy week on a Monday, and on a
Friday I'm closing things,right?
Mm-Hmm.
So now I, it's so much easierfor me by using.
AI and technology and actuallyseen the due dates and what I
(15:46):
have to do versus guessing ordoing it on a, um, a task tablet
or something like that.
So I'm just.
I love where I'm at right now inmy practice, especially with the
new branding and a transitionand all of that.
I just feel good about goinginto next tax season for the
(16:06):
first time with not a wholebunch of backlog like I would
normally have.
So yeah, it's great.
And the, what's unique about myfirm is that we don't close in
April.
We don't close in September.
It's year round and we literallyprepare taxes.
all year long and it doesn'tstop for us until November 30th
(16:26):
when the IRS closes their e filesystem down and then third week
in January, I'm back at it.
So I've been blessed, but at thesame time, I needed a way to
rein in all of the success andmake sure that, um, I got
control of it because growingtoo quickly could be definitely
harmful.
KC Brothers (16:45):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Because then you can lose, um,The understanding of what's
going on, um, making sure thatyou're refining processes and
scaling appropriately.
Growing pains are tough.
Um, but to your point,technology can alleviate a lot
of that.
Um, you, you have also talked tome, um, about your passion for
(17:08):
attracting, um, people intoaccounting.
Um, I know we mentioned this,um, in a separate conversation,
but you mentioned, and I bringit up because we're talking so
much about utilizing softwaretechnology advancements, period,
to be efficient.
Um, but you have a worry withthat, don't you, with incoming
(17:31):
talent.
Bianca Ferguson (17:32):
We still need people, right?
Because you can't take thepeople factor out of it.
My biggest worry is that themask exited us out of our field
because there's a lot of babyboomers are ready to retire and
but the entrants that are cominginto accounting, it, it's a lot.
Outgoing people far outpace howmany people that's coming in.
(17:52):
I think per year for the nextcouple of years, there's gonna
be like 67, 000 people that'sleaving the field a year, but
with only about 10 to 17, 000people coming in.
So I are really feel the painsof accounting because Small
firms such as myself are nowcompeting with big four because
when an accountant got out, youknow, they made a salary of 50,
(18:13):
000 now they're paying people 6575 80, 000 year one accountants
that never done anything a dayin their life You know, it's
coming out with those salaries.
So my, my whole thing was, howdo we get more people into
accounting?
We have such a negative status.
stigma about the personality ofan accountant, right?
(18:34):
Nobody thinks it's cool.
Nobody thinks it's sexy andgreat to be an accountant and
when most people meet me for thefirst time.
They always tell me, wow, you'rein a council with a whole bunch
of personality, right?
You know, you're not stiff,you're very personable, you're,
you're fun, you're lively.
And I'm, and I'm like, I thinkthat people don't enter the
field because they think thatwe're linear, right?
(18:57):
And so we're linear in terms ofmaking sure that the data gets
done.
We interpret it, but most of us,both sides of our brain work
because from a creativestandpoint, I love interior
design, you know, and I'm anartist.
I paint, you know, I.
Decorate houses and all of thatstuff.
But if we can make our feel moreattractive because it's very
lucrative, it's very lucrative,right?
(19:19):
And get people that have apassion for financials and
wealth generation and likereally like knowing the numbers
and being intuitive enough toknow that, you know, accounting
is very, um, it evolves,especially when it comes to the
tax side of it, that how youhave to literally make sure that
(19:40):
you're keeping up with thechanges in tax law.
All the time, right?
And I feel like if we can getpeople to become proud of that
and see themselves in thosepositions by someone that's
aiding and assisting in helpingsomebody that we can.
Get more talent in.
Right.
So, yeah.
So what I did in my business iscreated a training ground for
(20:01):
people that's interested inbecoming accountants.
They can literally come here andintern here and, you know, set
with me and I literally helpedthem out.
I had a student that passed theCPA exam.
I'm very excited about that.
Um, we did his homework togetherjust to make sure that he
understood like what it was tobe.
In the real world and accountsit because what I didn't have
(20:25):
was in school was a lot ofpeople that looked like me and
that was willing to become anaccountant.
I just had my mentor who was anabsolutely amazing person that
saw me and say, Hey, you know,you can do this.
Even when I thought, Oh, no, I'mjust going to help people.
I'm going to make their livesbetter.
So, yeah.
KC Brothers (20:43):
Yeah.
Bianca Ferguson (20:44):
Yeah.
I think.
I'm going to say this not to cutyou off.
I feel like computers andtechnology and AI will, will not
measure up to what a personstanding, sitting in front of
you and being able to articulatewhen you don't understand or
(21:04):
give real world scenarios.
So I am not worried about usbeing replaced or anything like
that.
We just need to leverage what wehave to create more jobs in
accounting.
KC Brothers (21:16):
Yes, 100%.
I mean, like, it's like if youhave People who are working for
you who aren't a CPA yet.
You're taking on the risk ofthem doing the work.
You have to check it.
Same thing with technology, likeprobably still best practice to
check everything, but it savesyou the time, right?
It does the heavy lifting, um,and, and can really, like we've
(21:39):
talked this whole time, increaseefficiencies in your firm.
Um, I think that too, though, Idon't know if this gets talked
enough about though, how thatmentality, this.
passion for software technologyefficiency.
is a huge attribute of you andyour firm that attracts talent.
(22:03):
We have a lot of the industrythat, um, whether they're in a
position where they're like,well, I'm going to retire in a
few years anyway.
Why should I shake it up?
Or, you know, whatever the casemay be, or they're like, I'm
comfortable with this thatworks, even though we're
frustrated.
We can't be here this all thetime about some legacy
(22:25):
softwares.
Why, what is your opinion on, orwhat would you say to them as to
why they should abandon thecomfort or, or disregard the
fact that they're going toretire soon and saying, no,
yesterday was the best day toplan and treat.
The next best day is today.
So get on your software journey.
Bianca Ferguson (22:49):
I think time is the greatest, greatest teacher,
right?
I've had the opportunity toexperience that in real world,
when, um, We did theimplementation when I was
working for the city and how allof the older people was so
scared of the computers thatthey were willing to retire
instead of staying there toimprove their jobs.
(23:11):
And the ones that did stayrealize how, you know, easier it
made their, their jobs and allof that stuff.
So I just feel like, you know,just, I, I'm always of the, The
notion and the feeling that Iwant to leave things better than
what I received them as.
Right.
So if I have to learn somethingnew, because learning something
new makes you a better personanyway.
(23:31):
Right.
So it makes you moreknowledgeable, rounded.
And so I want to know all thethings.
Right.
And so if I can leveragetechnology and give people a
better situation than I had, I'mdefinitely going to do that.
Now, how do we get everybody tobuy in on those things is beyond
me.
I haven't quite figured that outyet.
But.
(23:51):
We can, we can start there forsure.
Right.
And then realizing and showingthem how it impacts them
specifically.
And that could be less hourswork, keeping your same salary
and just looking at productivityover time when I'm leveraging
technology.
So basically showing them apicture, taking a snapshot,
showing them where they're atnow and showing them where they
(24:12):
could be.
KC Brothers (24:13):
Yeah, and change is never easy, change in any aspect
of life, but for the most partwhen done right and
thoughtfully, and even to yourpoint of like, you know, like,
like, let's not necessarily makethis about software technology.
Let's take a step back, look atour firm and our processes, our
operations, and then find thebest software to, to work with.
(24:33):
layer on top.
Um, I lost my thought there, butyou know, oh, here's where I was
going.
Um, that change can still, itmight still be hard, but not as
difficult as it has to be, youknow, when you approach it the
right way.
Bianca Ferguson (24:54):
All right.
I totally agree.
KC Brothers (24:55):
Yeah.
Anyway.
Well, thank you, Bianca.
It's been a delight chattingwith you.
Thanks for joining us on thepodcast.
Bianca Ferguson (25:02):
You're welcome.
Anytime.
Welcome to another episode of Canopy Practice
Success.
I am here today with BiancaFerguson, who has one of the
most impressive resumes.
And beautiful smiles.
Thank you.
Um, that I've ever seen.
Um, Bianca, why don't you walkus through a little bit of your
experience in accounting, um,and how you got to where you're
(00:26):
at today.
Okay.
Bianca Ferguson (00:27):
Definitely.
I started accounting at a veryyoung age, specifically in tax
preparation.
When I was about 14 or 15 yearsold, I used to go to the library
with my mom and get tax formsbecause she used to do them by
hand, right?
You left that out.
I didn't know that.
I left that out.
I don't know if I said that,but, um, she used to do them by
(00:48):
hand and, I would assist her inpreparation by writing it up and
prepping it for her before herclients came in, and that gave
me an affinity for taxpreparation.
And it also allowed me tounderstand, like, the 1040 and
how all the schedules flowing tothat fast forward.
I was about 16 or 17 years oldin the 11th grade and we were
(01:10):
slated to graduate early becausewe had more than enough credits
and it was a group of us.
So our future business leadersof America teacher asked us if
we wanted to be partnered with alocal business and go to work.
And then we trade that off bygoing to school half a day and
working a half a day.
So I was paired with theaccountant.
CFO at City Hall.
(01:30):
His name was Raymond Harris andhe played a pivotal role in my
life.
He ended up becoming my mentor.
So, um, I'll get deep down intothat story.
But what happened was I workedthere for two year years, then
went off to college.
But going to college, I thoughtI was gonna be a social worker.
I was in freshman seminar,right?
And so in freshman seminar, theywas like, as a social worker,
(01:52):
you can make$28,800 a year.
And I was like, no.
That won't be my life.
I'm not.
I couldn't imagine making 28,800 a year.
Right.
And, um, this was 1998.
So I already had this life planfor myself where it included
making 28, 000.
(02:13):
So I called Raymond.
Um, the.
Then CFO and I asked him, I waslike, Hey, you know, how much do
accountants made, how, how mucham I slated to make?
And at that time he was likeabout 70, 000.
You may start off at 55, 000,60.
I was like, okay, that's morelike it.
I went down to the registrar'soffice, changed my major
immediately.
(02:34):
I thought I wanted to be asocial worker because of my
passion for people.
Right.
I love people.
I want everybody to be okay.
And I'm naturally an empath.
So I thought that.
I thought that was my way in,but I really, I can't help them
if I'm poor.
Like I just, I just can't helpthem if I'm poor.
Right.
And so then, um, really breezedthrough school in accounting,
(02:56):
ended up graduating in, uh, witha bachelor's science in
accounting and businessmanagement.
Then subsequently later on, Iended up getting an MBA and a
master's of science inaccounting.
But, uh, When I graduated fromcollege, I went to visit Raymond
at City Hall and ask him what hewas doing and he was like, Hey,
I'm running for mayor.
Do you want to come work for me?
(03:18):
And I'm like, sure.
And I went in and I went to workfor the budget, as the budget
manager, already familiar withthe systems and the processes,
because if you're familiar withThe late 90s in the early 2000s,
we had mass 90, right?
So mass 90, our system wasn'tintegrated.
So the general ledger was astandalone ledger where we had
(03:38):
to get information from the taxdepartment, the water
department, fees and fines, andthen put them in a GL.
So we had these large greentabular spreadsheets that we put
all the cash in and everythingcalculated and then input it in
the general ledger.
But what I didn't realize what'shappening there that it really
prepared me for theory andapplication meeting, right?
(04:00):
So it allowed me to understandwhat's the theory of accounting
and how do I apply to real worldsituations and all of that
stuff.
And I think that's missing nowbecause everything's so
integrated, but it wasn't backthen.
And, you know, all of thesesystems that we have now wasn't
really that popular in the late90s.
Yeah.
So then, um, he ran for mayor.
He won.
(04:21):
He asked me at 24 years old tobe his CFO.
I told him absolutely not.
I'm way too young.
This is politics.
And I didn't believe that I wasprepared for it.
But after a couple citycouncil's meeting, didn't
understand how actually preparedI really was by, you know,
answering all of the questions,supporting the gentlemen that
(04:41):
got into that role.
And then one of the councilmembers, they told Raymond, they
was like, She's really sharp.
You know, we should reallyconsider her in that position.
So then about a year later, Itook the position as, you know,
the youngest CFO to hold thatposition and held it for about
six years.
And, you know, really, um,Raymond to like believing in me
(05:03):
and seeing me and not looking atme as an individual that was
just young, but someone that wasvery capable of doing the job.
So, you know, I just think himso much.
And so that role as a CFO atthat young define my career
after that.
So, you know, I had theopportunity to move on to a
bigger city, become budgetmanager.
(05:24):
Went on to AIG and was able towork on an accounting team that
actually was outsourced.
And I used to travel to India toteach the accountants process
flows and SOPs and all of thatstuff.
Then, um, later on, I went workfor this healthcare company and
became the controller there.
And my last corporate job wasRice University, where I helped
(05:45):
them process map their workflowflow.
So that Banner met Oracle nextweek and they could have got rid
of their antiquated accountingsystem.
So in a nutshell, that was mycorporate career and going from
just a young person like helpingout, helping her mom out to
working with the mayor, the CFO,then mayor, and then just really
(06:05):
had an amazing career inaccounting all while I actually
had clients on the side that Idid books for, right?
bookkeeping, my family andfriends taxes.
Uh, before I took it really,really serious, I used to do
about 70 tax returns a year andprobably had about 10 monthly
clients and then on my ownwithin one year, I went from 70
(06:27):
tax returns to 260 tax returns.
And then I went from 10 monthlyclients to 75 monthly clients.
And I was like, wait, hold up.
I need help.
That all happened in one year.
Right.
Yeah.
And each year since 2020, I havedoubled the amount of tax
returns that I do.
My client roster is well over1500 people at this point.
(06:52):
And it's just that go ahead.
Then just finish your sentence.
It's just that I just believethat if I build it and I show up
as myself and authentic and givepeople what I know that I needed
and what I believe that theyneeded, that they would see the
value in what I was providing.
KC Brothers (07:11):
Yeah.
Um, okay.
So you've doubled.
Um, but does that also mean thatyou're spending double amount of
time?
Cause I know you're passionateabout technology and being
efficient.
Bianca Ferguson (07:22):
Yes.
So how canopy came into playbecause I doubled and I wasn't
ready.
Right.
It was so quick that, you know,I started off Keeping my clients
on spreadsheets and everybodyhad a Google drive, a Google
folder where they would, I wouldshare the information with them.
They would put it in there andthen send me an email notifying
me that it was there.
(07:44):
Then I also started usinganother software when I thought
that when I brought employees onthat, I could track tasks in
that software, but that provedto be.
Inefficient because we weren'table to really talk to each
other in the software and makenotes on their accounts.
And, you know, when myadministrative assistant,
someone would call, there wasnowhere to document the call
without sending multiple emailsand spreadsheets.
(08:07):
And even if we did that, itwasn't connected to the client,
right?
Okay.
So after doing research andsoftware, best accounting
software for practices, thenCanopy came into play.
I've been using Canopy for,since 2020.
And I've literally grown withCanopy, like all of the changes
and everything to see them cometo fruition and to increase
(08:30):
efficiency, I feel like that'sthe only way that I've been able
to scale the way I have isbecause, um, Having canopy as a
central hub where I can collectinformation, retrieve
information and pass oninformation to my clients all at
one time without having to sendmultiple emails and multiple
requests and keeping the taskrecurrent allowed me to, you
(08:53):
know, grow efficiently as well.
KC Brothers (08:55):
Yeah.
Um, and not that we need to makethis about canopy by any means.
We, I appreciate all of yourglowing remarks, um, but it does
make me think.
So.
Something that I have done in mycareer, but I don't do it that
often.
And I think accountants do iteven less often than I do it.
And that is evaluating software.
(09:15):
Um, I even did it recently, um,and made myself a Google sheet,
put all the vendors that I wasevaluating, tried to put some
semblance of capabilitiestogether so that I could track
who did what and who did whatbetter and who I was going to
like and so on and so forth.
But it got really easy to blurwho was who and, and try and
(09:39):
make the best decision.
And, um, what advice do you haveto accountants, especially those
who, I mean, we, at least our,our sales reps at Canopy do run
into people who have notevaluated software for 10 to 15
years.
Bianca Ferguson (09:55):
No, I constantly evaluate software and
have evaluated software, andthat's why I feel like I can
make informed decisions.
And I know this is not aboutCanopy, but Canopy has really
changed the way I've donebusiness.
And I've also became a resourcefor other accountants because I
felt like, I feel like I did allof this for them.
So that you all don't have to gothrough the things that I've
(10:15):
gone through.
So I'm telling you why canopy issuperior to others.
You know, if you name a softwareout there, I've tested because
I'm pro technology.
Right.
And I feel like we can spend alot of time thinking and being
analytical by letting softwareand technology do those
redundant tasks and createefficiency so that I can give my
(10:36):
clients more of me.
And I feel like the software,Allows you to do that when you
have a software that's in tunewith what you're doing.
Now I would say the biggestchallenge for a growing
accountant is to understand yourworkflow, understand your tasks.
What are your offering?
Because you can have a softwareas amazing as.
Canopy or you can have a taxhome or any of these practice
(10:58):
management by Intuit any ofthese other software.
But if you don't have yourprocesses in place and you have
not process map your processes,then no software would work.
But what I do like in thissoftware that I use often is the
prebuilt templates, right?
And that gives a new accountantor a novice person that really
(11:19):
don't understand and just wantto start off small on, Hey.
They may not have the corporateexperience as I have to put all
of these things together, but atleast they have a roadmap on
when I get a client, this iswhere I start from.
So I feel like the educationpart built, built in that allows
people to have a leg up as well.
KC Brothers (11:38):
Yeah.
And you're so right.
Um, to encourage people toreflect, be more introspective
on their business, the way theyconduct business, the way they
interact with each other isaffirmed upon how many four
members there are before maybeeven evaluating software because
you can Get lost.
And I say this because I've doneit myself in how a product looks
(12:02):
or in a feature that you'relike, I have to have that.
Um, but when you step back andyou're saying, okay, well, this
is what I'm trying toaccomplish.
These are the steps I need tofollow, or here's how I can
even, um, tighten things up andrework my processes before
getting a new software kind ofhelps you to, especially if
you're, you already do have.
(12:23):
Some sort of software in placetakes you out of the, um,
specific specifics of how thatsoftware functions to help you
get what you are getting doneand more in a position to have
and puts you more in a positionto have the software work for
you instead of you working forthe software.
Bianca Ferguson (12:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
And you know, it's software.
Yes, but technology too, right?
Cause I found myself at acrossroad earlier this year
where I, uh, Literally ask ChadGPT.
I gave them all of mystatistics, my demographics.
I was like, Hey, I'm anaccounting, I'm in an accounting
firm in Paraland, Texas.
(13:05):
I make revenue of X amount ofdollars.
I have X amount of clients and Ihave X amount of employees.
How could I create a lean andefficient accounting firm and
what positions I need?
To make sure that I'm runningthe firm efficiently and how
much I pay those people rudeawakening, right?
(13:28):
When I tell you When I tell youThat it spit out the best the
best Structure that I could haveimagined and then clearly like
being someone who ran, you know,accounting departments and
understand like the workflow.
(13:48):
I immediately saw my holes.
I immediately saw where mybacklog was happening at.
Why everything ended up on mydesk because what I didn't
create was a high option.
Hierarchical structure.
I had created a flat structureright where I had these
accountants and I had these taxpeople, but I didn't have, you
(14:08):
know, that tax manager and thatcontroller and that extra layer
of things to stop before it getsto me or even that position.
Something as like having a firmadministrator that.
It's all they do all day longbecause we receive so much email
is direct the flow of trafficand canopy, creating engagements
(14:29):
and make sure the accountantsand tax preparers have what they
need.
So that includes triaging theinbox, right?
Attaching this to a task, makingsure that it flows correctly,
um, notifying an individualthat, Hey, you know, these
people have uploaded this.
This is ready to go.
Maybe changing the status on aworkflow and.
(14:50):
It changed the amount of hoursthat I spent in the business
because I'm every day I wasliterally doing about 14 hours a
day because if no one Yeah,
KC Brothers (15:02):
it's just not sustainable, no matter who you
are, what your other life, um,obligations are, I guess if you
really, really love it, butstill like there's so many
things that Other parts of lifeto love and participate in that.
You don't need to.
And being 2024, you don't needto.
Yeah, you just don't need to.
(15:22):
Yeah.
If you want
Bianca Ferguson (15:23):
tshirt,
KC Brothers (15:23):
go ahead,
Bianca Ferguson (15:25):
No, no.
Lemme tell you, Mondays, I don'twork on a Monday I'm actually
like reading emails and managingmy week on a Monday, and on a
Friday I'm closing things,right?
Mm-Hmm.
So now I, it's so much easierfor me by using.
AI and technology and actuallyseen the due dates and what I
(15:46):
have to do versus guessing ordoing it on a, um, a task tablet
or something like that.
So I'm just.
I love where I'm at right now inmy practice, especially with the
new branding and a transitionand all of that.
I just feel good about goinginto next tax season for the
(16:06):
first time with not a wholebunch of backlog like I would
normally have.
So yeah, it's great.
And the, what's unique about myfirm is that we don't close in
April.
We don't close in September.
It's year round and we literallyprepare taxes.
all year long and it doesn'tstop for us until November 30th
(16:26):
when the IRS closes their e filesystem down and then third week
in January, I'm back at it.
So I've been blessed, but at thesame time, I needed a way to
rein in all of the success andmake sure that, um, I got
control of it because growingtoo quickly could be definitely
harmful.
KC Brothers (16:45):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Because then you can lose, um,The understanding of what's
going on, um, making sure thatyou're refining processes and
scaling appropriately.
Growing pains are tough.
Um, but to your point,technology can alleviate a lot
of that.
Um, you, you have also talked tome, um, about your passion for
(17:08):
attracting, um, people intoaccounting.
Um, I know we mentioned this,um, in a separate conversation,
but you mentioned, and I bringit up because we're talking so
much about utilizing softwaretechnology advancements, period,
to be efficient.
Um, but you have a worry withthat, don't you, with incoming
(17:31):
talent.
Bianca Ferguson (17:32):
We still need people, right?
Because you can't take thepeople factor out of it.
My biggest worry is that themask exited us out of our field
because there's a lot of babyboomers are ready to retire and
but the entrants that are cominginto accounting, it, it's a lot.
Outgoing people far outpace howmany people that's coming in.
(17:52):
I think per year for the nextcouple of years, there's gonna
be like 67, 000 people that'sleaving the field a year, but
with only about 10 to 17, 000people coming in.
So I are really feel the painsof accounting because Small
firms such as myself are nowcompeting with big four because
when an accountant got out, youknow, they made a salary of 50,
(18:13):
000 now they're paying people 6575 80, 000 year one accountants
that never done anything a dayin their life You know, it's
coming out with those salaries.
So my, my whole thing was, howdo we get more people into
accounting?
We have such a negative status.
stigma about the personality ofan accountant, right?
(18:34):
Nobody thinks it's cool.
Nobody thinks it's sexy andgreat to be an accountant and
when most people meet me for thefirst time.
They always tell me, wow, you'rein a council with a whole bunch
of personality, right?
You know, you're not stiff,you're very personable, you're,
you're fun, you're lively.
And I'm, and I'm like, I thinkthat people don't enter the
field because they think thatwe're linear, right?
(18:57):
And so we're linear in terms ofmaking sure that the data gets
done.
We interpret it, but most of us,both sides of our brain work
because from a creativestandpoint, I love interior
design, you know, and I'm anartist.
I paint, you know, I.
Decorate houses and all of thatstuff.
But if we can make our feel moreattractive because it's very
lucrative, it's very lucrative,right?
(19:19):
And get people that have apassion for financials and
wealth generation and likereally like knowing the numbers
and being intuitive enough toknow that, you know, accounting
is very, um, it evolves,especially when it comes to the
tax side of it, that how youhave to literally make sure that
(19:40):
you're keeping up with thechanges in tax law.
All the time, right?
And I feel like if we can getpeople to become proud of that
and see themselves in thosepositions by someone that's
aiding and assisting in helpingsomebody that we can.
Get more talent in.
Right.
So, yeah.
So what I did in my business iscreated a training ground for
(20:01):
people that's interested inbecoming accountants.
They can literally come here andintern here and, you know, set
with me and I literally helpedthem out.
I had a student that passed theCPA exam.
I'm very excited about that.
Um, we did his homework togetherjust to make sure that he
understood like what it was tobe.
In the real world and accountsit because what I didn't have
(20:25):
was in school was a lot ofpeople that looked like me and
that was willing to become anaccountant.
I just had my mentor who was anabsolutely amazing person that
saw me and say, Hey, you know,you can do this.
Even when I thought, Oh, no, I'mjust going to help people.
I'm going to make their livesbetter.
So, yeah.
KC Brothers (20:43):
Yeah.
Bianca Ferguson (20:44):
Yeah.
I think.
I'm going to say this not to cutyou off.
I feel like computers andtechnology and AI will, will not
measure up to what a personstanding, sitting in front of
you and being able to articulatewhen you don't understand or
(21:04):
give real world scenarios.
So I am not worried about usbeing replaced or anything like
that.
We just need to leverage what wehave to create more jobs in
accounting.
KC Brothers (21:16):
Yes, 100%.
I mean, like, it's like if youhave People who are working for
you who aren't a CPA yet.
You're taking on the risk ofthem doing the work.
You have to check it.
Same thing with technology, likeprobably still best practice to
check everything, but it savesyou the time, right?
It does the heavy lifting, um,and, and can really, like we've
(21:39):
talked this whole time, increaseefficiencies in your firm.
Um, I think that too, though, Idon't know if this gets talked
enough about though, how thatmentality, this.
passion for software technologyefficiency.
is a huge attribute of you andyour firm that attracts talent.
(22:03):
We have a lot of the industrythat, um, whether they're in a
position where they're like,well, I'm going to retire in a
few years anyway.
Why should I shake it up?
Or, you know, whatever the casemay be, or they're like, I'm
comfortable with this thatworks, even though we're
frustrated.
We can't be here this all thetime about some legacy
(22:25):
softwares.
Why, what is your opinion on, orwhat would you say to them as to
why they should abandon thecomfort or, or disregard the
fact that they're going toretire soon and saying, no,
yesterday was the best day toplan and treat.
The next best day is today.
So get on your software journey.
Bianca Ferguson (22:49):
I think time is the greatest, greatest teacher,
right?
I've had the opportunity toexperience that in real world,
when, um, We did theimplementation when I was
working for the city and how allof the older people was so
scared of the computers thatthey were willing to retire
instead of staying there toimprove their jobs.
(23:11):
And the ones that did stayrealize how, you know, easier it
made their, their jobs and allof that stuff.
So I just feel like, you know,just, I, I'm always of the, The
notion and the feeling that Iwant to leave things better than
what I received them as.
Right.
So if I have to learn somethingnew, because learning something
new makes you a better personanyway.
(23:31):
Right.
So it makes you moreknowledgeable, rounded.
And so I want to know all thethings.
Right.
And so if I can leveragetechnology and give people a
better situation than I had, I'mdefinitely going to do that.
Now, how do we get everybody tobuy in on those things is beyond
me.
I haven't quite figured that outyet.
But.
(23:51):
We can, we can start there forsure.
Right.
And then realizing and showingthem how it impacts them
specifically.
And that could be less hourswork, keeping your same salary
and just looking at productivityover time when I'm leveraging
technology.
So basically showing them apicture, taking a snapshot,
showing them where they're atnow and showing them where they
(24:12):
could be.
KC Brothers (24:13):
Yeah, and change is never easy, change in any aspect
of life, but for the most partwhen done right and
thoughtfully, and even to yourpoint of like, you know, like,
like, let's not necessarily makethis about software technology.
Let's take a step back, look atour firm and our processes, our
operations, and then find thebest software to, to work with.
(24:33):
layer on top.
Um, I lost my thought there, butyou know, oh, here's where I was
going.
Um, that change can still, itmight still be hard, but not as
difficult as it has to be, youknow, when you approach it the
right way.
Bianca Ferguson (24:54):
All right.
I totally agree.
KC Brothers (24:55):
Yeah.
Anyway.
Well, thank you, Bianca.
It's been a delight chattingwith you.
Thanks for joining us on thepodcast.
Bianca Ferguson (25:02):
You're welcome.
Anytime.
Popular Podcasts
United States of Kennedy
United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com