John Savignano Values the Human Element in Accounting Success

Digitization has become an important element in the finance industry, including accounting.

While the push for automation and technology grows, accounting leader John Savignano says consumers should think human, not A.I.

John Savignano, CPA, is the CEO of Bottom Line Consulting, a tax research, compliance and consulting firm in New York City. With years of experience in the accounting profession, he understands why the human element remains important in the industry.

Previously, he worked in a full range of corporate finance and accounting positions. He served as a manager for consulting firm PwC and a corporate controller and tax director for Carl Zeiss AG, where he oversaw North American accounting and tax work.

In addition, John Savignano served as vice president and corporate secretary for artnet.com, a fine art portal providing B2B and B2C services. He also was the vice president of tax for MasterCard International.

Savignano Believes in Making a Personal Connection

Savignano feels strongly that accounting is about far more than debits, credits, and balance sheets. He says his own experience working with clients over many years is the reason why personalization is so important in his work.

“I think people shop for accountants more for the chemistry,” Savignano explains. “I’ve found that I’d become more of a therapist than an accountant … just helping people with problems outside of accounting sometimes.”

Savignano has taught part time since 2011 at the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business. He takes a personal approach with his students when teaching about what makes good accountants effective.

“It's not only about spreadsheets, it's about helping the clients solve problems, working with clients, becoming part of the team,” he notes of the perspective he shares with his students. “It's not 100% accounting. It's things other than accounting: working with people, building relationships, building networks.”

The Human Approach’s Continued Relevance Amid Automation in Industry

Savignano’s human approach still plays an important role despite an increase in technological advances in accounting. Automation, in particular, has changed the way accounting firms serve clients. 

Technology can take the busy work out of many routine accounting processes. These tools can reconcile ledgers, pull in bank statements from outside sources, and scan and record invoices automatically.

The automation tools have helped to simplify tasks, reduce the need for some staff positions, and increase accuracy. Automated reporting and analytics have shifted the profession such that accountants are much more managers today than doers.

However, that reliance on technology comes at a cost. Accountants can choose to avoid getting down and dirty with the numbers, asking questions as they prepare balance sheets and learning about a business.

In the process, accountants can lose the human touch and the connection to clients that can make them invaluable.

Maintaining a Human Connection in Technology-Driven World

Accountants see the numbers and can interpret them deeply. They can understand, sometimes before clients can, what the financial numbers mean for a company’s present and future.

That connection of numbers to people is where Savignano believes there is still opportunity.

“I think firms that, No. 1, are building relationships with their clients and staying ahead of the curve in terms of technology and changes, are where it’s at,” Savignano says. “I tell my staff that having a good working relationship with clients is important because if you don't have that relationship, and, God forbid, you make a mistake, you're gone.”

John Savignano believes that the deep understanding of a business is essential to accounting success. It’s been that way in the past and will persist, no matter what technologies disrupt the accounting profession.

The key is to become part of the team with your client — to put yourself in their shoes and to fully understand what they are facing. He acknowledged that clients may not even know what the problems they may be facing. They might not be aware of industry issues or trends. The important thing is to be there and raise these issues, even difficult ones.

Accountants are most effective when they become trusted advisers for their clients. An accountant who has a good relationship with a client can raise topics the client may not be aware of. In some cases, Savignano continues, clients may be aware of these challenges in the back of their minds, but have been unable to articulate them or frame them in a way that provides solutions.

Savignano Embraces Technology

The human element can and should work alongside technology, Savignano says. As technology replaces labor, there’s a need to replace those revenue opportunities. Accounting firms need to find new ways to provide a revenue-generating service.

Savignano certainly has both the background and education to understand where accounting is headed. He grew up in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. There, he spent hours working for his father in the family’s fruit-and-vegetable store. He learned the value of making personal connections. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. John’s University and a master’s degree in taxation from Pace University.

Savignano values the use of technology and encourages staff to return phone calls and emails in order to forge valuable client relationships. Yet too often he sees younger staff members who are reluctant to reach out and forge the human connections that are essential for success. 

“If you have this chemistry going, you'll have a client for life. If you don't have this chemistry going, you'll lose the client,” he says.

Often, a text is not the best way to communicate with a client. Savignano believes too many accounting professionals are reliant on impersonal means of communication that do not forge the connection. 

Instead, it’s the informal connections that forge long-term relationships. That means, to Savignano, having a client in for a cup of coffee or checking in with a phone call. Sometimes these conversations are not about business at all. 

However, over time, they strengthen the relationship. As Savignano believes, those cups of coffee become the foundations of accounting success, built on the human connection.

Digitization has become an important element in the finance industry, including accounting. While the push for automation and technology grows, accounting leader John Savignano says consumers should think human, not A.I.

John Savignano, CPA, is the CEO of Bottom Line Consulting, a tax research, compliance and consulting firm in New York City. With years of experience in the accounting profession, he understands why the human element remains important in the industry.

Previously, he worked in a full range of corporate finance and accounting positions. He served as a manager for consulting firm PwC and a corporate controller and tax director for Carl Zeiss AG, where he oversaw North American accounting and tax work.

In addition, John Savignano served as vice president and corporate secretary for artnet.com, a fine art portal providing B2B and B2C services. He also was the vice president of tax for MasterCard International.

Savignano Believes in Making a Personal Connection

Savignano feels strongly that accounting is about far more than debits, credits, and balance sheets. He says his own experience working with clients over many years is the reason why personalization is so important in his work.

“I think people shop for accountants more for the chemistry,” Savignano explains. “I’ve found that I’d become more of a therapist than an accountant … just helping people with problems outside of accounting sometimes.”

Savignano has taught part time since 2011 at the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business. He takes a personal approach with his students when teaching about what makes good accountants effective.

“It's not only about spreadsheets, it's about helping the clients solve problems, working with clients, becoming part of the team,” he notes of the perspective he shares with his students. “It's not 100% accounting. It's things other than accounting: working with people, building relationships, building networks.”

The Human Approach’s Continued Relevance Amid Automation in Industry

Savignano’s human approach still plays an important role despite an increase in technological advances in accounting. Automation, in particular, has changed the way accounting firms serve clients. 

Technology can take the busy work out of many routine accounting processes. These tools can reconcile ledgers, pull in bank statements from outside sources, and scan and record invoices automatically.

The automation tools have helped to simplify tasks, reduce the need for some staff positions, and increase accuracy. Automated reporting and analytics have shifted the profession such that accountants are much more managers today than doers.

However, that reliance on technology comes at a cost. Accountants can choose to avoid getting down and dirty with the numbers, asking questions as they prepare balance sheets and learning about a business.

In the process, accountants can lose the human touch and the connection to clients that can make them invaluable.

Maintaining a Human Connection in Technology-Driven World

Accountants see the numbers and can interpret them deeply. They can understand, sometimes before clients can, what the financial numbers mean for a company’s present and future.

That connection of numbers to people is where Savignano believes there is still opportunity.

“I think firms that, No. 1, are building relationships with their clients and staying ahead of the curve in terms of technology and changes, are where it’s at,” Savignano says. “I tell my staff that having a good working relationship with clients is important because if you don't have that relationship, and, God forbid, you make a mistake, you're gone.”

John Savignano believes that the deep understanding of a business is essential to accounting success. It’s been that way in the past and will persist, no matter what technologies disrupt the accounting profession.

The key is to become part of the team with your client — to put yourself in their shoes and to fully understand what they are facing. He acknowledged that clients may not even know what the problems they may be facing. They might not be aware of industry issues or trends. The important thing is to be there and raise these issues, even difficult ones.

Accountants are most effective when they become trusted advisers for their clients. An accountant who has a good relationship with a client can raise topics the client may not be aware of. In some cases, Savignano continues, clients may be aware of these challenges in the back of their minds, but have been unable to articulate them or frame them in a way that provides solutions.

Savignano Embraces Technology

The human element can and should work alongside technology, Savignano says. As technology replaces labor, there’s a need to replace those revenue opportunities. Accounting firms need to find new ways to provide a revenue-generating service.

Savignano certainly has both the background and education to understand where accounting is headed. He grew up in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. There, he spent hours working for his father in the family’s fruit-and-vegetable store. He learned the value of making personal connections. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. John’s University and a master’s degree in taxation from Pace University.

Savignano values the use of technology and encourages staff to return phone calls and emails in order to forge valuable client relationships. Yet too often he sees younger staff members who are reluctant to reach out and forge the human connections that are essential for success. 

“If you have this chemistry going, you'll have a client for life. If you don't have this chemistry going, you'll lose the client,” he says.

Often, a text is not the best way to communicate with a client. Savignano believes too many accounting professionals are reliant on impersonal means of communication that do not forge the connection. 

Instead, it’s the informal connections that forge long-term relationships. That means, to Savignano, having a client in for a cup of coffee or checking in with a phone call. Sometimes these conversations are not about business at all. 

However, over time, they strengthen the relationship. As Savignano believes, those cups of coffee become the foundations of accounting success, built on the human connection.