Peer Communities Aren't a Solo Sport

By: Marc T. Staut

As a leader in your firm, you know that staying on top of trends and technology in the accounting profession is vital for success. You also recognize how valuable sharing knowledge and engaging with professionals facing similar challenges can be.

But are you the only person in your firm engaging in that peer community? If so, you could miss some valuable benefits of attending with your team.

Attending our Boomer Circle communities as a team has become integral to many successful firms' strategies. It offers an invaluable opportunity to stay updated, build meaningful relationships, and develop a common language. So let's dive into why attending peer community meetings as a cohesive unit will bring about unique benefits for your organization.

Bridging the gap

Our Boomer Technology Circles bring together firm and technology leaders and help them get aligned to reduce risk, save time and money and improve their overall strategy for growth.

For firm leaders, attending these meetings is vital to staying ahead of the competition and furthering their growth. By engaging in discussions with professionals who are facing the same challenges, they can gain first-hand insights into best practices and valuable industry knowledge.

Attending these events is an excellent way for IT leaders to learn about technologies that could benefit their firms. Technology moves quickly, and staying up-to-date on new advancements can be daunting. By attending our technology circles, IT leaders can gain the knowledge and skills to build more efficient systems to help their firms stay ahead of the competition.

Firm and IT leaders can benefit from attending peer communities on their own. However, when they go to the same meetings and conferences, that shared exposure helps them get greater insight into how firms operate and what's essential strategically to the business.

Collaborative learning

Of course, these benefits aren't limited to your C-Suite or Managing Partners. Professionals from other departments, such as HR, operations, learning and marketing and business development, can also benefit from hearing similar messages, developing a shared language and having more informed strategic conversations.

Peer community meetings help foster a culture of collaboration and encourage members to share ideas and experiences with one another. This type of environment can help professionals get out of their comfort zones and increase their understanding of the profession.

Members also get access to a wealth of resources, including tools and access to experts in the accounting profession. These resources provide valuable tips and insights to implement into the firm's daily activities and strategies.

Develop critical and strategic business thinking skills

When I was a CIO, I regularly brought other team members to CIO Circle meetings so they could start getting exposure to compliance, regulatory and market issues early in their careers.

Not only does this help build trust between members of the firm, but it also allows them to start anticipating issues and being proactive rather than reactive.

Attending peer communities helps newer team members develop the critical and strategic business thinking skills they need to succeed in their roles. By engaging in discussions with experienced professionals, new members can learn from the best practices established in the profession and apply those strategies to their work. This helps them gain valuable insights into how best to approach their work and, ultimately, become more successful in their roles.

Grow your talent pipeline

Attending peer communities as a team is an invaluable way to grow your firm's talent pipeline. By engaging in discussions with experienced professionals, leaders and other team members can gain valuable insights into best practices and new industry trends. These insights can then be applied to their work, enabling them to stay ahead of the competition and better serve their clients. Additionally, by attending these meetings together, the firm can form relationships with potential new hires and expand its talent pool.

The Boomer Technology Circles and all our communities provide an invaluable opportunity for accounting firms to stay on top of industry trends and create a culture of collaboration. By attending these peer community meetings together, your team can learn from each other's experiences and develop critical business thinking skills that enable them to be successful in their roles.

By leveraging the experiences and insights of others, you can strengthen your team's knowledge base and build more efficient systems and processes that will help your organization stay ahead of the competition. So before you RSVP for your next meeting, take a few minutes to think about who you want to bring with you. Together, you can help move your firm forward. We look forward to having you join us!