Kevin Roosa – 2013 40 Under 40 Honoree

 

What are the key areas of your firm that have seen the greatest change in workflow over the past few years? Are you using automated workflow tools? Right Networks is part of the automated workflow. We help firms collaborate in real time with their customers in a fully managed, secure environment allowing them to serve their clients efficiently from anywhere. We pride ourselves on helping our customers focus on their business so they grow their business.

Have you embraced cloud computing for your practice? Are you moving your clients to the cloud? As a cloud hosting provider for the past 11 years we certainly embrace the cloud. J Being with Right Networks for 5 years I have seen thousands of organizations leverage our environment to grow their firm, expand their client base, and provide more value to their clients on a regular basis by extending their services well beyond tax season.

On a broader scale, how do you see new technologies changing the accounting profession in the near term (3-5 years)? In terms of technology the accounting profession has certainly come a long way just in the past few years. Features and benefits of technology that were not available in the past such as online collaboration with clients, mobility, and fully managed cloud environments such as Right Networks have now become key factors in running a successful firm. By utilizing our environment firms can now access and work in client files securely from anywhere. Firms can perform all back office services for their clients with third party applications such as bill.com as well as assisting those clients with seamlessly adopting a paperless strategy with document management services like SmartVault. That being said it is amazing how many firms are not leveraging these technologies to become more successful. I believe this will certainly change in the next few years as adoption of these solutions grow and firms will need to begin subscribing to these services to compete in the marketplace.  

How mobile are you regarding your work? How have mobile devices and apps impacted your productivity and work-life balance? I could not be more mobile. Mobile devices have kept me constantly connected to work on a regular basis. The positive aspect of this is your productivity and efficiency go through the roof. On the flip side it becomes much easier to progress into a full blown workaholic (which I have) and nearly impossible to separate yourself from work during times which you probably should.

Have you found business success via social media, either via recognizable ROI, new customers, marketing or networking? Right Networks as a company has certainly found Social Media to not only be an effective way to acquire new business but also a great way to connect and communicate with existing customers. I find myself more often now messaging through LinkedIn and other media outlets than sending traditional emails.

What tips on social media do you think are essential, but perhaps missed, by professionals and small businesses? Social Media is all about frequency and consistency whether you are the communicator or the recipient. Social media connects us in ways that were never before possible and reinforces the notion that technology is no longer just a tool but an integral part of the way we do business and keep in touch.

What single piece of technology do you find the most important in your professional life? I would have to say my phone. It’s amazing that we literally carry around full blown computer in our hand all day and can accomplish nearly any task that can be completed with a PC and/or MAC. Within a couple of minutes on a device the size of my palm I can have read a breaking news article, responded to an email, checked the weather, obtained directions, listened to music, updated my fantasy football team, checked in for a flight, and armed the security system on my house. It truly is remarkable how powerful these devices are and how far they have come in such a short amount of time.    

Not including your current employer, what company do you most admire and why? I know it’s cliché but I would have to say Google. Google is a phenomenal company that continually adapts and innovates their technology making it so incredibly simple for consumers to utilize their products. In the span of a little over a decade they have dominated the search engine and Browser space and now have an incredible suite of useful applications ranging from online collaboration of documents, navigational GPS, Email, news etc. They continually impress me on a regular basis and I am always intrigued as to what they are going to do next.   Right Networks aspires to the Google model by providing our customers with a cloud environment that is so easy to use with familiar features and functionalities that it becomes a part of their everyday work flow in no time.

What brand/model mobile phone do you use? I currently am using Apple’s Iphone5, which I find to be a great phone. Having owned droid phones in the past I do prefer IOS however I think Android has come a long way and some of the new droid phones such as the Samsung Galaxy 4 are very appealing. The best part of the Iphone 5 for me is the communication with my other apple devices including my Ipad as well as my Macbook Air. It’s very slick that I can download an app on my phone fire up my Ipad and that application is immediately downloaded and ready to use.  

Do you use a tablet for work purposes? Yes, my main device for work is a Microsoft Surface Pro which I love. It’s extremely fast and for a machine so powerful is incredibly portable. Utilizing this and a hotspot on my phone I can park anywhere and hammer through work. While traveling or at home I utilize it as a laptop with the attached keyboard, and when I come into the office I plug it into a docking station and work on it as a desktop. It’s a very impressive device overall.

What is your favorite accounting mobile app, and why? From a slightly biased party… I am very excited about the Right Networks App we are launching. We are really thrilled to provide Firms and their clients with access from their mobile devices to a fully functioning desktop where they can run full blown applications such as QuickBooks. In an increasing mobile world we feel our customers will benefit tremendously from this application.

How many monitors do you have on your desktop workstation? I currently have two 27 inch monitors on my desktop. I think any more than that for me would make me lose focus and spread myself too thin on multi-tasking.     

 

Read more about this year’s 40 Under 40 Honorees.