Experiences 2025 – Calm Change Management in a Hectic World – CPA Practice Advisor
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Technology | October 14, 2025
While there are formal methodologies for change management as we cover later in this article, a common-sense assessment of what your team can handle can serve you well in the right situation.
Randy Johnston
A Top Technology Initiative Article
By Randy Johnston – October 2025.
This year has been one of rapid changes. As written in previous columns, you have seen AI Agents, PE investments, and new products in almost every practice category. You and your team are likely struggling to stay informed and avoid burnout from change. As I reflect on my consulting engagements over the last two years, around half of the CPA firms I have assessed have tried to take on too much in too short a time, unsuccessfully. Are you or your team suffering from change management exhaustion?
While there are formal methodologies for change management as we cover later in this article, a common-sense assessment of what your team can handle can serve you well in the right situation. Maintaining a sense of order will give you and your team a sense of calm during turbulent change. Most families live in hectic circumstances, and many firms regularly deal with agitated clients. Why shouldn’t a technology change be managed to a composed completion?
Brian Tankersley, my fellow podcaster on the Accounting Technology Lab, and I have frequently discussed the impact of selecting new products and the claims and features of software publishers. It is probably time we discuss change management using the framework outlined below, but in the meantime, consider the following change management ideas.
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Keep Calm and Carry On was a motivational poster produced by the Government of the United Kingdom in 1939 in preparation for World War II. The poster was intended to raise the morale of the British public, which was threatened by widely predicted mass air attacks on major cities. We have witnessed harried accounting professionals, completely exasperated by well-meaning partners who have asked them to do more than they can bear, with products that have delivered less than was claimed.
The underlying issues (common errors) were multi-fold: 1) lack of due diligence during the selection process, 2) misalignment of expectations of the buyer and the seller, 3) lack of training, and 4) taking on too many tasks at the same time. In the profession, we have often allocated administrative time, a form of release time, to tackle new projects. In these days of reduced time sheets and incessant email, it is difficult to find blocks of time to focus on the most important things, let alone a “new” important thing.
Consider the following as a simple list to implement a new product:
By following these steps, you minimize the risks of poor vendor selection, unmet expectations, lack of adoption, and project overload. Still too complicated? Consider this similar five-step framework.
This 5-step version still covers the common pitfalls: due diligence, expectation alignment, training, and pacing.
As you already know, the leading change management programs and models have evolved thoughtfully over time. During our consulting engagements with larger firms, we routinely ask for 1 to 3 people to obtain a change management certification, typically Prosci. This table outlines the major change management programs, including their focus, typical use cases, and key implementation steps.
These approaches can be applied individually or blended to suit organizational needs. Among these, Prosci + ADKAR and Kotter’s 8-Step Model are among the most frequently adopted in practice and taught in change-management training (e.g., Prosci’s certifications).
Many organizations don’t rigidly follow just one model; instead, they blend elements from multiple approaches (e.g., using Kotter’s 8 Steps at the organizational level and applying ADKAR for individual transitions) to suit their context.
Top Change Management Programs / Models
Key Implementation/Change Management Steps (Common Across Top Models)
I wanted to present a wide variety of change management ideas to show 1) there is no “one” ideal approach, 2) that you should choose a methodology that works for you and your organization, and 3) there is no approach that magically overcomes the difficult work of implementing a system.
Clearly, the phrase “any port in a storm” is not ideal. The idiom is often used to convey the idea that when faced with adversity or crisis, individuals may resort to any available option for comfort or assistance. It emphasizes pragmatism in tough times, suggesting that any refuge or help is better than none.
For example, someone might say, “After losing his job, John took any job he could find — truly any port in a storm,” illustrating the acceptance of less-than-ideal circumstances when necessary. In difficult situations, one may accept any available solution or help, even if it is not ideal. Staying with maritime sayings, accepting any available option when implementing a system is not what you should do when you are “under the gun.”
One source of “under the gun” reports that on sailing warships, if a 24 or 36-pounder cannon was not properly tied down, it would roll across the deck, and you would literally be “under the gun” from a lack of preparation.
We ask you to thoughtfully 1) Consider your needs, 2) Select systems carefully, 3) Prepare with setup, training, and conversion, 4) Take the time to implement properly, and 5) Adjust and optimize your results. It is a hectic world, but your firm can “Keep Calm and Carry On” with good change management.
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Tags: accounting technology, accounting technology news, change management, Firm Management, Technology, the accounting technology lab
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Randy Johnston has been an entrepreneur, technologist, and teacher for most of his career. He has helped start and run many businesses, and founded Network Management Group, Inc. and owns half of K2 Enterprises. He has written for accounting and technology publications for four decades, and for CPA Practice Advisor since 2000.
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