"Your post-pandemic success will be determined by what you do NOW, not what you do post-pandemic." - Daniel Burrus - futurist and best-selling author It is hard to believe it has been a year since the beginning of the pandemic in the US and for most of the world. Do you remember where you were when the state of emergency was declared? When states began to order us to 'shelter in place'? Take a minute to take a deep breath and reflect on where you were and what you were thinking about?

For many in our Profession, this was at the height of tax season and soon we were wondering how we would keep the work going. Immediately we were granted 'Essential Workforce' status under the DHS-CISA and granted the ability to be in our offices to continue to serve our clients and employers with the critical functions of tax, accounting, audits and payroll.

Two weeks to flatten the curve became four weeks, became four months and now a year has passed by and we are only now seeing the glimmer of hope as the second curve flattens and we are seeing not one but four vaccines being administered.

We got to work scanning the horizon for trends and clues about what might be the "next normal?" Inspired by a McKinsey article, Beyond coronavirus: The path to the next normal we worked on our own path forward we called The Next Normal: 5 Steps for Navigating the #COVID19 Storm.

We set out on a journey to find a way to see through the fog of uncertainty and leverage our community to come together and help is reimagine, redefine and reinvent what is possible post-pandemic.

We started on October 2nd, 2020 with the help of our strategic partner and global futurist, Daniel Burrus in a session to Anticipate and Reimagine What's Next where over 600 CPAs, CFOs, CGMAs identified the top trends and opportunities for the future.

Building on that momentum and the wisdom of the crowd, we gathered once again on the innovative platform by Matchbox Virtual Media to dive deeper into the trends and opportunities. With the help of two of the top editors in the accounting profession, Daniel Hood of Accounting Today and Gail Perry, CPA of CPA Practice Advisor we hosted two panels of CPAs. Almost two hundred participants joined in the discussion and then we moved to breakout rooms to create action plans for implementation. The session revolved around three categories: 1) The way we can work; 2) The skills we can perfect; and 3) The tools we can harness. The result is a guidebook to get you started on your post-pandemic action plan.

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The work concludes with suggestions on how to take this back to your team or organization in the section titled, What's Next (pages 24-25). Download the report here.

We are entering uncharted territory. A new world is upon us. Those who conquer it will be those who reimagine, redefine, and reinvent not only themselves and their businesses, but what it means to live and work in a post-pandemic world. This presents an amazing opportunity for our profession to play an important role helping to shape this future with insight and integrity. This is our chance to move from being essential to indispensable — to step out from behind the spreadsheets, reports, and forms and become the most trusted advisor that the next normal will require. Millions of businesses, from Main Street to Wall Street, need us more than ever. This is our defining moment. What do you want to be remembered for from the great pandemic of 2020?

More resources to keep you even more #FutureReady:

Moving From Essential to Indispensable: 5 Steps to Navigating the #COVID19 Storm

The next normal: Now Anticipate and Reimagine What’s Next - Includes video of session with Dan Burrus and white-paper of trends and opportunities.

Insights from the Innovation Summit - Your guide to post-pandemic success

CPA Convene: Steps Toward a Checklist for the Future

CPA Horizons 2025 - An AICPA Project from 2011 looking to the future in 2025

CPA Vision 2011 - An AICPA Project in 1998 to create a future for CPAs in 2011

The Future of Work Starts with Culture