Ask five CPAs how they plan to implement cloud-based accounting in their clients' companies. At least one will begin with, I know we need to do that, but…

You may be incorporating cloud-based technologies without considering yourself part of this next wave of change. You may be a Bill.com user or Concur enthusiast. Maybe you manage your sales taxes with the help of Avalara, or you've made your document workflow paperless by incorporating SmartVault.

Teresa Kearney is a woman who is not afraid to get her hands dirty.

She loves the nitty-gritty of her job as a Program Manager for Concur. Often, she serves as a liaison between R&D and an array of groups: Implementation, Sales, Clients, Support. The variety really keeps her on her toes, and she’s using her CPA and accounting background in a completely unconventional way to better understand what Concur’s clients need.

The dismal economy has hit some financial professionals hard. Actually, people in all industries are feeling the squeeze. How they react could make or break their businesses and careers.

Armand Kadima, who has a tax and accounting practice, could have hunkered down to weather the storm. Instead, he chose to be proactive. He is facing a tough challenge head-on this year: “to differentiate myself from other accountants through marketing and service offerings in this tumultuous economy.”

Sara Barrington – a Concur client – goes as fast as she can when she works. So when she is away from the office, she likes to slow down.

Sara – who came from England, trained as a chartered accountant – has been involved in the success of several start-up businesses, contributing at the C-suite level. “The challenge,” she says, “is to build a robust company, without racking up costs.”

Moving the accounting profession away from its manual financial systems and onto computers in the 1980s and '90s was a monumental task. Doug Sleeter, co-founder of the renowned Sleeter Group, was one of the visionaries who made it happen. He saw the future of accounting, and it didn't lie on paper ledgers.

George Kaplan, CPA and head of his own accounting and consulting firm, says all his clients need Concur, they just may not know it yet. Soon they will, if George has anything to say about it.

At High 5 Adventure Learning Center in Brattleboro, Vermont, Shelly Dennis is used to living on the cutting edge. The nonprofit educational organization uses creative experiential education and adventure learning to achieve positive change in clients of all ages.

As a guy who enjoys meeting new people, Blake Yonago seems to have found an ideal niche at Concur. “Every day is different, which makes Concur so appealing,” he says. Blake has been with the company more than three years. He’s a Regional Sales Executive in Redmond, Washington. He says he spends much of his day educating clients and prospects about the features of Concur Breeze. Many small businesspeople don’t even know some of the useful features are available to them.