An interview with Lisa Zimeskal, CPA, Partner, Hoffman & Brobst, PLLP
According to a survey from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), smaller accounting firms are facing significant challenges. Attracting new clients, keeping up with new regulations and standards, and cost pressures versus competitors, were among the top concerns of these firms.
To combat these challenges, Hoffman & Brobst, PLLP, a firm of five partners, decided to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) in their audit services, as a differentiating advantage for their clients, and the firm now use the extensible MindBridge Ai Auditor platform in their audit process.
Ai Auditor is an award winning platform that empowers auditors to detect anomalies in financial data, with speed, efficiency and completeness. The platform leverages expert taught machine learning and AI to ingest and analyze 100% of financial data, as opposed to traditional sampling techniques, to provide higher assurance along with cost savings. Armed with greater insights and boosted efficiency, auditors can focus on what matters most – providing higher value-added services and guidance to their clients.
John Colthart, VP of Growth at MindBridge Ai, recently spoke with Lisa Zimeskal, CPA, Partner, Hoffman & Brobst, PLLP about how AI tools can benefit small firms. Here’s what she had to say.
John Colthart: Tell us about Hoffman & Brobst, PLLP.
Lisa: Hoffman & Brobst, PLLP is a full-service accounting firm in Southwest Minnesota. We provide audit, tax preparation, compilation and review services, in addition to payroll processing and third-party retirement plan administration services.
John Colthart: What do you see as your biggest opportunity?
Lisa: Our biggest opportunity is the continued growth in our industry. We are embracing growth in our firm and we are looking to expand our services when the opportunities arise.
John Colthart: What do you see as the biggest threat or challenge?
Lisa: Our biggest challenge is attracting qualified staff to our practice because of our rural location.
John Colthart: How do you plan to address it?
Lisa: We are currently looking into more options with technology for a remote work environment.
John Colthart: What made you choose MindBridge Ai Auditor? What are the features that you plan to use?
Lisa: We chose MindBridge because we are excited about offering a new value-added service to our clients. This is cutting-edge technology, and it is not something in which others in our area are participating. The entire concept is new to us, but initially, we are planning to leverage the risk-based assessment of transactions. This approach will be enable us to review by-transaction risk in a much more effective and efficient approach than we currently utilize.
