Reimagining Public Accounting

The firms that shift from billable hours to value outcomes will win.

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Alan Whitman wants to break the mold of public accounting. He wants to put an end to the billable hour and the siloed practices that characterize the way many firms have operated for decades. As Whitman says, “we’re here to serve clients, we’re here to deliver great value. But do we really need to do it the way we’ve been doing it since before my father was in the workforce?” 

 While “most firms believe that billable hours are the holy grail,” Whitman points out that “the client isn’t necessarily buying billable hours.” Instead, clients are buying the outcomes and “the intellectual capital you’re delivering to them.” He believes that “the firm that is able to shift from production, from billable hours, to outcomes, is going to win.” 

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