Firm of the Future MasterClassSession 1

Are You Part of the Business Conversations Happening Inside Accounting Firms?

Every technology decision inside an accounting firm is weighed against profitability, productivity and client service. Jason Croston of SRJ Walker Wayland explains how a firm leader makes those calls, and what he expects from the technology partner beside him.

Read the five insights

The business behind the IT

Go Beyond IT Support. Understand the Business Behind It.

Most conversations between an MSP and an accounting firm happen at the level of tickets, renewals and uptime. The decisions that shape the firm happen elsewhere, in partner meetings about pricing, capacity, new services and AI.

Jason's view from inside those meetings is clear. The technology partners who add the most value understand the business problem before they talk about tools.

Three questions a firm leader asks before any technology spend

  1. What business problem does this solve?
  2. Can the software we already own do it?
  3. What are the risks, and how would we exit?

Five insights from the session

What You'll Explore in the MasterClass

What a firm leader looks for in a technology partner, in his own words.

  1. 01What accounting firms expect from their MSP beyond IT support
  2. 02How firms weigh technology against profitability
  3. 03AI: the opportunity and the risk for accounting firms
  4. 04Getting more from the tools firms already pay for
  5. 05How technology is changing what firms can offer clients

Hear Jason explain each of these in full.

Insight 01 / 05

What accounting firms expect from their MSP beyond IT support

Reliable support is where the relationship starts. Jason describes what a firm leader looks for once that is in place, and where reactive support falls short.

  • Unresolved tickets, recurring issues and their cost to staff productivity
  • Telling a training need apart from a technical problem
  • Keeping the firm informed about emerging opportunities

For MSPs: the gap between support provider and technology partner is often closed by spotting patterns in the tickets, then raising them.

Insight 02 / 05

How firms weigh technology against profitability

Every technology spend is judged against the firm's profitability model. Jason walks through how a firm balances investment with returns.

  • Identify the business problem before choosing the technology
  • Review what existing software can already do
  • Consider the risks and the exit options of anything new

For MSPs: recommendations land better when they start from the firm's commercial priorities.

Insight 03 / 05

AI: the opportunity and the risk for accounting firms

AI could amplify how a firm serves its clients. It also raises hard questions about sensitive client data. Jason covers both sides.

  • Where AI can lift client service
  • Concerns about sensitive data and security
  • Managing change and making informed choices

For MSPs: firms need a partner who can talk about safeguards as confidently as productivity.

Insight 04 / 05

Getting more from the tools firms already pay for

Jason's view is that firms use only a fraction of what Microsoft 365 can do. He expects his technology partner to point out the useful parts before anyone buys something new.

  • Surfacing tools like Teams and Loop that firms already have
  • Recommending training where it will make the difference

For MSPs: value the client can see often comes from tools they already own.

Insight 05 / 05

How technology is changing what firms can offer clients

Technology and offshore capacity can make new service models viable. Jason shares how SRJ built an outsourced finance function, and what changed once the firm communicated its full value.

  • How SRJ's outsourced finance function came together
  • How explaining the full value changed the client conversation and the pricing

For MSPs: a firm's growth plans shape its technology needs. Knowing those plans opens a more strategic conversation.

Jason

Special guest

Hear Directly from an Accounting-Firm Leader

Jason Croston runs an accounting firm and chairs the group it belongs to. He speaks from the client's side of the table about business priorities, technology and AI.

  • Managing Partner, SRJ Walker Wayland
  • Chair & CEO, Walker Wayland Group

Hosted by Paul Jansz. Brought to you by Dijital Team.

Next in the series · MasterClass #2

Leading with Problems that Tech can Solve

Session 1 kept returning to one idea: start with the business problem, then choose the technology. In MasterClass #2, Thomas Paule takes that idea further.

Thomas Paule Thomas PauleCEO & Founder, Visory. Previously Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Findex.
MasterClass #2
Date
Tuesday 1 December 2026
Time
12:00pm to 1:00pm AEDT
Format
Free, live on Zoom
Guest
Thomas Paule, Visory
See the session and save your seat

The full conversation

Get a Closer Look at How Accounting Firms Think

An hour with a firm leader on what his firm needs from technology, and from the people who provide it.

  • The full Session 1 recording
  • Client expectations, tech investment, AI, Microsoft 365 and new service models
  • Details for MasterClass #2 on 1 December

Firm of the Future · Session 1

Get Access to the MasterClass

Watch the full conversation with Jason Croston.

By registering you agree to receive emails from Dijital Team about this MasterClass series. You can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy policy