Sharing "Better Practices" for Sustained Growth
New York-based Fuoco Group has grown rapidly from a six person firm just four years ago to one of the region's leading accounting and consulting organizations with more than 60 employees in three offices. The firm is committed to growth and expanding its resources, and has acquired two firms in just the past year. Such rapid growth typically yields challenges in assimilating new members into an organization's culture and established processes.
The Fuoco Group credits its success in these areas to its strategy of seeking out quality employees and selective mergers and acquisitions, as well as its professional development program and progressive approach to technology adoption. In fact, the firm is developing a new practice niche focused on sharing what it has learned tohelp other businesses with their internal controls, IT security, and technology projects.
Technology Progressive
Like many firms, Fuoco has adopted paperless technologies, though is careful not to characterize its operations as paperless. The firm's focus is not simply eliminating paper, but rather gaining the operational efficiencies and internal controls that working in a digital environment affords the firm and its staff. Initially, the firm stored files electronically using a Windows Explorer® filing tree and utilized Excel spreadsheets to track work. As the firm grew and its technology needs became more sophisticated, so too did the software it employed.
Today, the firm offers employees a technology-enabled work environment, which empowers employees to work from the field, from another office, or from home. Fuoco is primarily a CCH shop, using ProSystem fx® Tax, Engagement, Practice Management, and Document, which is also integrated with its XCM™ workflow management software for controlling all types of work as it moves through the office or across Fuoco's offices.
In fact, another major initiative, in lock-step with its technology adoption, is Fuoco's focus on documenting and standardizing its procedures.
Better Practices
One philosophy that has helped Fuoco manage such significant growth successfully is its drive to always look at how the firm can do things better. Joe Manzelli, Director at Fuoco, explains, "As soon as you think you've achieved the best, you find out there's a better way to do something. We never settle on 'best practices', but are always seeking better practices."
To that end, the firm is constantly evolving and standardizing. Having a standard process for preparing 1040s or doing tax notices, write-up work, or even financial statements has been a unifying force for Fuoco as it merges with other firms. It has also helped the firm share work across its offices. In fact, Fuoco sent one of its tax partners to the newly acquired Florida office last tax season to help smooth the transition. Having standard procedures not only helped to acclimate the new employees quickly, but using Document and XCM the partner was able to easily manage his client work remotely.
To enforce its standard processes, the firm has implemented a policy requiring all staff to move work within the XCM workflow software, which gives management visibility into all work in real-time firm-wide for resource allocation, client service, planning, and staff accountability. To ensure accountability, the rule is that if work is not moved to you in XCM, you don't have to do it.
Fuoco has also empowered new staff members to recommend process improvement. By doing so, the younger staff takes greater ownership over their work processes and the firm benefits from a fresh perspective.
Empowering Growth
Not resting on its laurels, Fuoco continues its efforts to improve - assessing new technologies, learning from peer groups and professional organizations, and looking within for additional inspiration and opportunity for improvement. The firm estimates that initiatives to standardize and automate its workflow management, using the XCM software, has helped increase productivity firm-wide by 15-20 percent even as it continues to merge in new firms. Fuoco also benefitted from more value billing this year, another advantage it attributes to its focus on working smarter.
Some of the qualitative, intangible benefits include greater employee satisfaction - by empowering staff at all levels and offering greater flexibility in when and where employees work for better work life balance. In the New York metropolitan area, providing employees the opportunity to work from home and avoid a lengthy commute is a significant advantage.
Using XCM, staff members can see what work is assigned to them, when it's due, and helps them see what is coming next. Manzelli adds, "I use the anticipated delivery date on all my work. It's helped me manage my life. I have more control over my personal scheduling and can manage my time more effectively.”
Fuoco has no plans to slow its rapid pace of growth and looks to the future with confidence. Its culture of openness to new ideas and dedication to constantly evolving and improving has helped the firm manage its growth successfully. Just as it continues to seek out opportunities to learn from peers, Fuoco is eager to share what it has learned with firms now implementing paperless technologies and process improvement iniatives. It's this knowledge sharing cycle that has helped to elevate the profession as a whole."