Your dutiful colleagues here at Embark don't often employ the use of superlatives when describing things. We collectively suppose that's due to the nature of our industry, one typically colored in black and white with a few shades of gray here and there, but, for the most part, numbers are numbers, and they don't leave much to the imagination.
However, even we must admit when we have found something to be truly remarkable or enlightening. Recently, we were fortunate enough to attend the Workiva TEC conference, where a convergence of great minds and great technologies revealed exciting new directions and capabilities within our industry, and we would be remiss if we didn't take the opportunity to share some of what we learned and experienced.
A Memorable Lunch (to Say the Least)
First and foremost, we need to acknowledge the absolute magnificence of our friend and colleague Trish McBratney, a former Deloitte Audit Senior Manager and current CAO of American Bath Group. Her hands-on experience with the Workiva WDesk platform provided an ideal combination of realistic perspective and hopeful glances just down the road.
Specifically regarding the WDesk platform, one of the biggest takeaways was the simple but often-overlooked notion that technology is only as good as it is useful. WDesk isn't an absolute innovation powerhouse for firms just because it looks lovely on paper. Workiva has designed a set of solutions that is concise, comprehensive and unique in what it allows the team to accomplish from a single consolidated platform.
Whether they were speaking about SEC and SOX tools or the absolute necessity to work with immediate, reliable data at all points of a project, the panelists were all uniformly impressed and passionate about what WDesk provides a firm. When factoring in the ever-encroaching prospect of new accounting standards and the inherent shadow process risk that's always involved, the luncheon made it quite clear that Workiva will continue to play a pivotal role as accounting firms become more reliant on streamlined and efficient solutions for a complicated and splintered industry.
A Moment for Braggadocio
Embark doesn't often like to pat itself on the shoulder, but we certainly wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude and thankfulness over such a successful and enlightening luncheon. We take pride in the disruptive attributes that distinguish us from most other firms.
We will continue to embrace what separates us from the pack, scream from the mountaintop when we find uniquely impactful solutions like Workiva and never be afraid to do what we think is right. Oh, and one last thing — Flo Rida closed the Workiva TEC conference, and that was pretty awesome.
