Short-term thinking and rigid hierarchies stifle experimentation across the profession.

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

K.C. Eames, Director of CAS at Dark Horse CPA, sees the traditional partnership model as a barrier to innovation and experimentation. First, the incentives are set up to guide people toward specific behaviors, which are “rewarding to those at the top of the pyramid. And once they’re there, their incentives are kind of to maintain the status quo.”  

Second, the consensus model for decision-making makes it challenging to implement change. “When you’re trying to make decisions based on consensus, based on people who are maybe trying not to rock the boat too much, because they might be retiring soon, there’s not a lot of chance that they’re going to vote for those really bold, risky ideas,” she says.  

Other barriers to change in traditional firms include the expectation of long hours. “People can’t experiment if they’re overworked,” she says. Another barrier is the use of billable hour metrics, which she sees as “counterproductive to experimentation.”