In the long run, law firms will struggle to hold their own in the market if they rely solely on bookkeeping and tax returns. Yet many law firm employees and managers are willing to tackle the issue of transformation and bring about change. However, to really make a difference, barriers need to be broken down – such as colleagues„ fears or a tendency to stick to the status quo. On “hsp live at 11’, Sarah Klinkhammer, a digitalisation consultant from Dortmund, talks about changes in the tax sector and how these can be tackled even under difficult conditions.
Sarah Klinkhammer is a tax assistant and digitalisation manager, although she puts the latter in inverted commas. Together with two friends, she launched the „We Love Tax“ project. The platform explains various aspects of taxation in a way that is both easy to understand and entertaining. The idea came about when Sarah was talking to her future co-founders about resources explaining tax. There were quite a few of them, but the three women felt that what was on offer wasn’t entertaining enough.
They launched the project on the topic of tax because they all work in the field – and do so with great enthusiasm. In Sarah’s view, the profession does not receive the recognition it deserves. But why is that? The first reason Sarah cites is a lack of clarity in communication. Clients and tax advisers often don’t speak the same language. This is where the „Wir lieben Steuern“ platform comes in, aiming to explain the various facets of the world of tax in an accessible way.
But who watches videos like these? According to Sarah, it depends very much on which platform you’re talking about. Whilst there are certainly quite a few tax advisers on networks such as LinkedIn or Xing, on TikTok practically no tax professionals watch the content from „Wir lieben Steuern“. The videos receive the most feedback on LinkedIn and Instagram. By now, however, the team produces so much content that nobody gets frustrated by low engagement figures. Every now and then a video really takes off; sometimes the view counts are a bit lower.
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A question of mindset
If law firms want to digital transformation To tackle this, the team needs to be on board first. But how can this be achieved? Sarah begins by noting that some people need to be pushed towards their own happiness. It is important here that senior management or leadership are fully behind the changes. Furthermore, however, the focus should not be on the changes to the processes themselves, but on highlighting the positive effects in day-to-day work. Tedious, repetitive tasks are eliminated, freeing up time for more creative tasks and consultations.
Quite a few people in the tax sector fear that digitalisation will lead to their jobs being lost. Sarah counters this by saying that the role of tax consultancy will still exist in the future – albeit with some changes. On the contrary, she sees these changes as an opportunity to inspire the next generation to take up careers in taxation. After all, fewer and fewer school leavers are keen to carry out meaningless tasks. Furthermore, she would advise people who are absolutely not interested in change not to look for a practice driven by innovation.
If the ratio of those open to change to those resistant to it is 70 to 30, or similarly divided, this affects the atmosphere within the firm. In Sarah’s experience, people should speak as openly as possible with one another. Only through empathy can this resistance be overcome; anything else leads to an even stronger defensive stance. At this point, a mediator – whether internal or external – could help.
Tax consultancy is changing
The tax consultancy sector is not only facing major changes; it is already in the thick of them. Accordingly, firms should recognise that they are capable of doing far more than simply keeping track of their clients’ day-to-day business activities. Experience, expertise and numerical skills are valuable resources that should be utilised.
Sarah Klinkhammer sees an opportunity for those in the tax sector to make the profession itself far more exciting, attractive and varied. This would allow them to experience all manner of industries and start-up scenarios without having to set up hundreds of businesses themselves.
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