'Remote Works': Education Foundation President Scott Hoppe on the Evolution of the Workplace.

CalCPA Education Foundation President Scott Hoppe and his firm Why Blu have always been on the front lines of technology in the profession. His positioning makes it an ideal time for him to take the reins for the Foundation in the wake of the pandemic, when so many firms are relying on technology to change the face of how business can be done. We talked to Hoppe about what changes the pandemic has brought, how technology is evolving the workplace and what members can expect from the Foundation during his tenure.

So much has changed since we last talked. What imprint has the pandemic made on your world?

The pandemic shifted the reality of what jobs need to be in person. Pre-pandemic, every single doctor visit was in person. Now I can take care of 80 percent of my visits virtually. That is a boon for us, because we have two young boys and my wife is pregnant with our first daughter, so we have lots of doctor appointments. Yes, there are jobs that need to be done in person, like construction. But take a step back, after the big remote experiment, many companies leaving their teams distributed and pushing back plans to reopen offices this fall and we are left with the highest performing stock market of all time. Remote works.

The pandemic nudged the remaining Level 1 accounting firms to Level 2. The firms that embraced the shift are likely moving themselves to Level 3. What I want to emphasize is, just because your firm made it through the pandemic remote, doesn't mean that's it. The real benefits are still on the table. See my article in the September 2020 California CPA article on the 5 levels of remote work (calcpa.org/~/media/california%20cpa%20magazine/0920/0920feature.pdf?la=en).

Those who master remote work--even if they're going back to the office--have the most to benefit. When I was at PwC in San Francisco, our office took over five floors and I often worked with team members outside of the city. Although this is pre-pandemic, we had to solve problems like how to train people remotely and give feedback. For the firms that embraced tools to improve that during the pandemic, it will serve them well after too.

What does running a virtual accounting firm look like these days?

We're seeing much more interest from firms across all spectrums. Much of running the firm is identical as before, but the main difference now is increased competition in recruiting and evolving customer purchasing habits of our services.

I can see in the near future...