For many industries, changing consumer behavior, technological advances + competition are all factors that keep the marketplace ever-evolving. But it might surprise you to know your financial services providers are dealing with the same external forces.

That’s why it’s important to know whether the people you turn to for advice understand these challenges + know how to adapt.

We connected with Bob Jamison, the chief innovation officer at business solutions firm Elliott Davis, to learn about how technology is impacting the professional financial services industry + how to identify future-ready providers.

Power of data

While technology can be costly to acquire + adapt to quickly, it allows companies to capture and report data in ways never before possible. But this access to new data means financial services providers need to have the tools + talent to quickly and accurately analyze it, spot trends and identify solutions.

Speed + adaptability

As more and more business operations move to the cloud, the speed of rolling out products + services has gone from years to weeks or months. As the time for development + execution of products and services decreases dramatically, financial services providers have to be adaptable.

Competition

The most obvious example of how the competitive landscape has changed in accounting is the increasing sophistication + prevalence of off-the-shelf tax software. Technology has made it possible for companies outside the industry to siphon off a longstanding line of business — and accounting isn’t alone in this challenge.

It's clear that past solutions no longer guarantee future success. Now more than ever, companies need their financial services providers to be forward-leaning.

Click here to learn more about how professional financial services firms can put innovation into practice + how to identify future-ready providers for your business. Ⓟ