A CPA’s Journey to Automation
We are surrounded by an endless supply of software options these days offering automations that will improve your life. There is however a limit to what we can accomplish with “off-the-shelf” solutions before our unique needs require a customized approach.
As a CPA, I noticed early in my career as an accountant that there was a great deal of potential for me to automate the repetitive and mundane tasks eating up my time. Exploring this opportunity helped me accumulate unique and valuable skills as an accountant and eventually led me down the road towards becoming an actual software developer.
Advanced Excel
All accountants know how to use Excel but few fully understand what can be accomplished in a spreadsheet. As a staff accountant I took every opportunity to learn Excel tips and tricks from others on my engagement teams until I eventually became the go-to. As someone who hates repeating a task, I found myself continuing to explore the limits of Excel, motivated to invest time upfront to create tools that could save myself and peers future hours. It was through this exploration that I inadvertently discovered the power of the developer mindset and logic-based reasoning.
No-Code Workflows
My career in public practice assurance eventually led me towards being one of the firm’s leaders in data and analytics for our audit engagements. I eventually found myself working with datasets that exceeded the limits of what Excel could handle. The next practical step to manage and analyze these massive collections of data was to utilize a variety of no-code solutions. This approach still provides an user friendly interface but forces you to move away from conceptualizing data within the limits of a spreadsheet. I found this altered my mindset and forced me to learn the fundamentals of coding.
Coding Basics
Once I got a taste of coding, I quickly saw the limitless possibilities that could be achieved. It was clear that I needed to learn how to code software from the ground up in order to pursue my ideas without being limited by other software. Fortunately, the software development community is a bottomless well of collaboration and self-learning. Starting with simple Python and Javascript tutorials and online classes, I began to see immediate use for my newly developed skills and new insights into the way I approached problems.