Co-workers Developed a Tool to Manage Collateral for Marketing, Sales and Business Development
NEW YORK (Sept. X, 2016) – Caitlin Lacher and Rachael Higginbotham, two marketing team members with the Louisiana-based accounting and business advisory firm Postlethwaite & Netterville, are co-winners of CPA.com’s Innovative Practitioners 2016 Award, which recognizes innovations in process, services or technology implementation in public accounting firms.
Lacher and Higginbotham were the guiding forces behind Pounce, a business development tool for professional services firms that launched this summer. The platform allows CPA firms to manage and match staff resumes, as well as industry experience, service expertise and other firm-related materials, so marketing and sales teams can quickly and effectively respond to new business opportunities.
“Rachael and Caitlin had an innovative idea for a tool that could manage our professional bios and sales materials ensuring that materials are accurate, consistent and available 24/7,” said Bill Balhoff, CPA, CFF, CGMA, managing director and CEO of Postlethwaite & Netterville. “They led the development of Pounce, which is an easy-to-use, web-based system designed not only for our firm, but also for all professional services firms.”
Lacher and Higginbotham will be recognized as winners of the award at the 2016 Digital CPA Conference, which will be held Dec. 5-7, 2016, in Las Vegas. Both women have been invited as guests to the event.
“We’re seeing a lot of excitement and energy from the Digital CPA community as more firms embrace technology and a range of practice management innovations,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “Our Innovative Practitioner Award is designed to give a human face to the best practices and breakthrough tools many firms are developing.”
Besides the two winners, three other nominees were recognized for their innovative work. They are:
Runner up
- Charles Postal of Santos, Postal & Co., Rockville, Md., An early advocate of the paperless office, Charles has been at the forefront of technological innovation as managing partner. Under his watch, the firm adopted Yammer.com, Slack.com and OfficeVibe.com, among other services, to provide greater transparency and communication among staff.
Honorable Mention (tie)
- Kathy Ryan of RoseRyan, Newark, Calif. Kathy helped develop her firm’s own in-house application -- the RoseRyan Dream Team System – to automate key processes, such as time tracking, recruiting, revenue forecasting and the like.
- Dixie McCurley of Trusted CFO Solutions, Atlanta. Dixie helps lead CPA.com workshops on client accounting services in the cloud, but also walks the walk with her firm, developing customized accounting models for clients that deliver powerful data analytics for business decision-making.
To read more about these practitioners, please visit the award page. More information about the Digital CPA Conference can be found at DigitalCPA.com.
About CPA.com
CPA.com empowers CPAs and businesses for the digital age. The company offers a growing list of digital products and services that help firms succeed in practice management, client advisory services and professional development.
CPA.com is a subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the world's largest member organization representing the accounting profession, and operates such leading websites as the AICPA Store, AICPA.org and IFRS.com.
The company has its headquarters in New York City and offices in Silicon Valley, Calif., Dexter, Mich., and Durham, N.C. For more information, visit CPA.com.
