How To Sell Your Firm In Five Years (or Less!)

Hi! I’m Ryan Lazanis. I’m a CPA by trade but definitely don’t consider myself a normal accountant. I identify more with being an entrepreneur and I love innovative technologies and disruptive business models. What I’m really passionate about is helping to modernize the old, archaic, traditional accounting firm model. After spending many years in public practice at a small CPA firm, I decided to start Xen Accounting in 2013. The firm was one of the first of its kind in Canada. 100% online, totally paperless, fully cloud-based & leveraging the latest technology to automate processes for the firm and its clients. The firm was comprised of a team of geeky CPA’s, bookkeepers and technologists. We looked at what millennials (employees and clients alike) hated from the traditional accounting firm and turned that on its head to offer a new service in the country. After 5 short years, Xen Accounting was acquired by Equiom, an international corporate services firm, thanks in part to the tech-oriented, scalable model that had been created. On a personal level, in those 5 years, I also learned a heck of a lot about starting, crafting and running a modern, automated, online accounting firm that provided customers with an exceptional customer and experience and team members with a modern work environment. Future Firm is an extension of my experience in the world of modern, technology-driven, forward-thinking accounting. With Future Firm, my aim is to help firms think about the future of their firm and to help them adopt a model that’s more geared towards the digital age. Something that’s more automated, more virtual, one that takes into account changing client expectations, is more visible online and caters to the upcoming millennial and Gen Z generations. I also like writing & speaking on the subject of technology & accounting. I’ve been a writer for Techvibes, featured in international publications and have spoken at various events around the world.