Nexia Perth Case study

“Over the last seven years or so, we have gradually moved all our practice software to the cloud,” says Susan Montanari, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Nexia Perth.

As COO, Susan is constantly looking to optimise the use of technology within the practice to streamline workflows and ensure all compliance requirements are met.

The firm – a member of the Nexia International network and one of Australia’s top 10 accountancy practices – ultimately settled on MyWorkpapers, which it has been using since early 2020 for its Business Advisory Service Line.

Nexia Perth had clear aims for the implementation of MyWorkpapers.

Firstly, it was important to be able to prepare workpapers using a pure cloud solution, enabling it to meet its objective of moving away from reliance on an in-house server.

Next, the firm wanted to drive efficiency and effectiveness through a consistent approach to planning and the execution of jobs in order to focus on “The Nexia Way”, a standard set of processes and documents.

Finally, the firm wanted to ensure compliance with all risk management requirements, such as the completion and sign-off of files.

Susan says the firm was surprised by the ease of adopting MyWorkpapers.

“Of course, the initial setup took some time as several stakeholders needed to be involved in the process to ensure all requirements were met.

“There was a period of consultation and understanding before we reached the desired outcome, but this dialogue was key to the overall success of the implementation.”

The firm was aware that even minor changes can raise eyebrows in an office environment where people are often deeply attached to the established ways of doing things.

“To minimise disruption and maximise buy-in, we rolled MyWorkpapers out with an advanced dream team of champions who were selected because they are enthusiastic about change and giving things a go. That approach was key,” says Susan.

“This gave an opportunity to identify any issues in our new processes before rolling out to the wider team.

“Then, as we entered 2020, we rolled MyWorkpapers out to the remaining team in our Business Advisory Group.

“We ran the legacy and new systems in parallel so that part completed work could be completed in the legacy system.

“We put in a rule that all new assignments had to be set up using MyWorkpapers.”

She added that Covid then accelerated the process, with MyWorkpapers becoming the more attractive option as everyone moved to working from home.

Now, Susan says, the team at Nexia Perth has realised the ambition of being able to work “any time, any place, anywhere”.

She said: “All of our initial objectives have been achieved. There is now more consistency and ‘The Nexia Way’ has been imbedded.

“The consistency of the MyWorkpapers approach makes for a much smoother workflow.”

When asked what she would say to other firms considering if they should implement MyWorkpapers, Susan said: “We have been impressed and would highly recommend MyWorkpapers.”