Simon Pass’ Post

Intuit Live continues to live up to expectations, but unfortunately, those expectations are that they have a terrible service. We have had multiple companies reach out to us that had utilized Intuit Live recently, and the results have been concerning. After we had gotten access to QBO and had a chance to review, a common issue arose – Intuit has charged them but failed to fulfill the work they charged for. For instance, they've charged for July but haven't reconciled since February or March. That's when I like to suggest our clients go for a clawback. We can let our clients know how far back the books are and how much has been paid. The fundamental question remains: Why should Intuit be compensated if they are not fulfilling their obligations? I am just as interested to hear of great experiences you've had, or negative experiences with Intuit Live. Share your insights in the comments below.

I look forward to the opportunity to provide Accountants' input to today's current and future apps supporting the work of Accountants on the QuickBooks Online Ecosystem. #cpa meets #tech #appdev #advisory #digitalcpa

As another day comes to an end for my colleagues, I am energized and humbled by the support pouring in from across the globe. Lay-offs done in an ethical, compassionate manner are perfectly normal and acceptable. The outrage sparked by Intuit’s words is deserved and was completely avoidable. Hubris, arrogance and entitlement took precedence over decency, compassion and values. After days of thought and lending voice to the injustice of Intuit’s actions, I am no closer to understanding how their behavior and messaging benefited anyone - including the company I used to be so proud to call my employer. I am on the backside of my life. The end is much closer than the beginning. As such, my passion on this matter is not because of any impact this might have on me. I honestly don’t care about that. I’m fine. But for those earlier in their lives - just starting to build their networks and reputations, new home owners, caring for young children and aging parents - or those later in their careers who can’t afford to retire but live in areas where jobs are scarce - they are the ones I raise my voice and fist for. I’ve been chatting with people from all over Intuit and my business network. They tell me how devastated and disgusted they are. Intuit employees say they feel that when people learn they work at Intuit others will wonder if they are one of them “less than.” Managers who didn’t realize that when they complied with instructions to change performance reviews on named employees weeks after they were submitted that they were being used to change employee records and dooming their colleagues jobs and to being labeled on the global stage as under performers when they actually were not. Those managers I’ve communicated with are guilt ridden that they did not stand up for their teams. And those are just the tip of the iceberg of the pain Intuit has caused with its senseless comments. As much as some may want me to shut up and let it go, I will keep this in the public consciousness. We cannot let Intuit sweep this under the rug while people struggle to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive marketplace that has been fed a tainted view of them. These people deserve better. Intuit must do better. I wish everyone a restful night. I hope we all find some sleep. For my part, after listening to struggles others are facing these last 4 days, I know whatever stressors I may have, they pale in comparison theirs. And I suspect tomorrow more will surface….. #intuit #intuitfailedemployees

Should you work at Intuit in 2023? Yes and here is why. Employees and candidates rate Intuit very high with eNPS scores of 40+ (simply put, there are many more employee promoters than detractors).  Most importantly, Intuit is in the Management Top 250 ranking, developed by The Drucker Institute that measures corporate effectiveness in a holistic way. Let’s now understand why Intuit is, today, a great place to work and why is winning the war for talent. Intuit’s Board of Directors is competent (broad skill set and experience) and progressive (great diversity, global DNA, technology savviness). Most importantly, Ryan Roslansky, LinkedIn’s CEO and Intuit BOD member, brings a Future of Work background and skillset to the Board (Roslansky’s Glassdoor scores as LinkedIn CEO are excellent). Important to mention as well a younger than average age for the Board group at Intuit. A strong Board is a key prerequisite for any great workplace. Leadership, ethics and care for Talent start there. The CEO, Sasan Goodarzi, gets great employee reviews and is compensated not just on financial returns but also on achieving "True North" goals (women in technology roles, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, job creation and job readiness goals, achieving results of employee surveys..). Laura Fennel, the CHRO, has both Legal and HR background, a broader skillset. Her HR team, with 100% positive reviews on Comparably, reports the best experience at Intuit compared to all other departments at the company. Human Capital’s importance at Intuit is also highlighted by having the CHRO in the list of the top 5 named and most compensated executive officers. Having an equal weight in importance with the CFO (strongly advocated by Ram Charan), with financials considered the result of people’s actions, means Human Capital is perceived as a source of competitive advantage. As expected, there is a strong correlation between the high eNPS (employee ratings) and the more outwards facing NPS (customer rating). The employees rate Intuit as a top 5% and similarly do customers. Yet another evidence that happy employees go the extra mile to improve their customers lives and give them a delightful experience. To finish with, the financial performance: Intuit’s revenue and earnings growth has been strong with shareholder returns consistently beating the S&P500 and the Technology Index over 5 years. We therefore give Intuit a very high score of 82/100 and we recommend it as an employer of choice. Like Bill George states, a great compass exists at Intuit, pointing towards a Human Capital True North and, paraphrasing Hubert Joly, "human magic" is being created to spearhead this. A more detailed report will be published in the coming days as a LinkedIn article. We aim to help you due diligence better prospective employers and find the right "home" for you. If you are already at Intuit, we hope this article gives you a broader perspective so you can decide whether to stay, grow or exit.

I see a lot of posts today about how Intuit has called over 1000 laid-off workers "underperformers". While I think the company as a whole certainly does underperform, given how terrible TurboTax is, when you look at the real story, you know it has nothing to do with employee or product performance. It's another pinheaded pivot to "AI", and if it's anything like every other big corporation's reactive approach, it's going to use AI in the most useless way possible. I was already fed up with TurboTax because the horrible automation layer had completely swallowed up the necessary base of manual control. As a result of their terrible design, I had to call tech support which meant "upgrading" my plan when I didn't want to. Did I ever get a refund for that? Nope. And now, they want to make the automation layer even more abstracted with an LLM while likely making manual control even more impossible? THAT is what this layoff is about. Intuit products are about to get even worse. And it's that smoothbrained move that Intuit is using the "underperformer" excuse to cover up. It really is outrageous. So what are YOU going to do about it? Personally, this is it for me. I used TurboTax for almost a decade and since I run my own business, I have always had complicated taxes that necessitate their premium products. Well, that ends today. I am going to switch to... anything else. So, please sign in here if you plan to quit using any of these products: - TurboTax - Credit Karma - QuickBooks - MailChimp - Pro Tax And share this post. Get the word out. Don't just complain. Companies don't care about that.

💥At the beginning of this month, Intuit announced the demise of Mint! Let's uncover the intriguing backstory followed by some pearls of wisdom while Intuit is busy in this strategic shift. Once upon a time, Mint was the shining star of personal finance apps, winning the hearts of 3.6 million users worldwide. But now, in an unexpected twist, its owner, Intuit, is pulling the plug, leaving users in limbo. Here's the inside story of why Intuit might have made this massive decision and how it will affect Mint's loyal followers. 🕹 Intuit's Shrewd Strategy: In a strategic maneuver, Intuit is now "reimagining" Mint as part of Credit Karma. Here's a glimpse of the top 3 reasons behind Intuit's move: 1. Resource Optimization: 💢 Intuit's move aims to consolidate resources and channel them where growth potential is highest. A vital lesson for product managers: regularly assess and allocate resources where they yield the most value. 2. User-Aligned Monetization: 💲 It highlights the limitations of free apps in handling sensitive data. Subscription models, like Credit Karma, align company incentives with user interests, potentially leading to better user experiences. Product managers must consider the harmony between monetization and user needs. 3. Adaptability to User Shifts: 🔀 As user preferences change, adaptability is key. This story emphasizes the need for ongoing market research and responsiveness to user feedback. 📍 Impact on Existing Users: Mint's dedicated users are apprehensive about the transition. Emotional bonds with the app and doubts about Credit Karma's capabilities loom large. 💎 5 Pearls of Wisdom for Product Managers: 1. Resource Allocation: Prioritize resources where they have the most impact. Ensure you are not overextending with too many products. 2. User-Centric Monetization: Review your monetization strategies. Are they user-friendly and sustainable in the long term? 3. Data Protection: Prioritize data security and transparency, especially for apps handling sensitive information. 4. Long-Term Sustainability: Build products with sustainability in mind. Consider how they can thrive in the long run. 5. Adaptability to User Needs: Stay agile and adaptive, ready to pivot as user demands change. Market research and user feedback are your allies in this journey. This story isn't just about Mint users switching to Credit Karma; it's a strategic business move by Intuit. It emphasizes resource allocation, user-centric monetization, data protection, long-term sustainability, and the need to stay in tune with evolving user needs. As a product manager, these insights can guide your journey in the ever-changing landscape of tech products. #ProductManagement #strategy #insights #product #endoflife

Dropping the instagram filter for this one… Real talk. Reason # 6 [in my 15 reason countdown] for why I have stayed at Intuit for 15 years is that its been a proving ground for myself of what I am capable of through the highs and some incredible lows (which I’ve never shared publicly). With any journey there are ups and downs. We don’t often talk about our lows, mistakes, insecurities, fears, stresses or failures. Its vulnerable BUT what the HELL - here I go. Don’t worry … there is a positive ending. On the outside looking in I would think that being part of a company like Intuit would appear to be an easier path. Market leading company with incredible perks, benefits, leadership, strategy, products and compensation. I fully recognize the incredible privilege that I have associated with this and try to not take it for granted. Those good things are real but they don’t take away from the full weight of responsibility I feel as I take accountability for my daily efforts (dare I say grind) to keep a storied company like Intuit perpetually delivering on its full potential and the promises it makes to its stakeholders (employees, customers, partners, and shareholders). Across my 15 years I have: * Pulled several work all nighters from tight deadlines OR had perpetual sleepless nights from near debilitating stress/worry * Lost 15 lbs driven by all consuming work and the desire to do and produce what I expect of myself (and assume others expect of me) * Had shingles (yes - old people typically get this but so can others when their immune systems are weakened from stress or other factors) * Let others down by not meeting some expectations (as a teammate, boss or otherwise) * Struggled to execute some tasks/projects in a timely fashion I could go on… Looking back - a lot of this is from my inability (at times) to set boundaries or set reasonable expectations for myself and others. I could have had more courage to ask for help or clarification for what is truly needed instead of always striving for perfection. Learn to prioritize better. In other cases there were team or organizational conflicts that I was simply impacted by the shrapnel of such internal wars. Through it all I have learned and grown. While there is no shame in pivoting or quitting under certain conditions, I chose to persevere and Intuit has given me some latitude to bring my excellent and not so excellent parts of me as I keep striving to transform into a better Ryan. I have a long way to go and a TON still to learn and master. Intuit has been the place I have grown through summers (highs) and winters (lows). I believe I am better for it and grateful for the fertile soil this place has afforded me. Thanks for reading. ✌️ Next up is reason # 7 which I’ll share tomorrow.

A hot take on Intuit: People underperform at work all the time and it’s not a reason to go nuclear on them. 1. You might underperform if you have good goals. If you really know how to develop OKRs (thank you, Sara Lobkovich!), you know you’re supposed to set stretch goals. 2. Few things in life are linear. An organization may grow, but we don’t see the lessons learned along the way. There are points of underperformance behind the success. 3. Market forces are magnificent beasts. Unless you are the disruptor, you will almost always underperform in the face of disruption. Individuals cannot outperform these factors. 4. Tech, finance, and regulated industries are challenging. You might underperform sometimes because you’re iterating more than expected or you’re constrained by rules. 5. Organizational issues can be hard to pinpoint. Sometimes, challenges are no one’s fault, everyone’s problem. Until those things are collectively corrected, people will underperform. — I’m a marketing contractor, which means my job is to create the solutions you can’t create most effectively in-house. Sometimes, people like me can see better ways of doing things. But I also think it’s important to recognize that companies like Intuit will make mistakes sometimes. We all will. There’s an argument to be made that whoever approved that language was underperforming, but the nice thing about missteps is that you can learn from them.

In practice, what Intuit has done is paint all 1,800 employees as underperformers. What a petty thing to do to these people on their way out, particularly the 750 people who don't fall under the "not meeting expectations" banner. Think about it: Not only did these employees lose their jobs, but (for a time) their reputations too. This damages their future job prospects and further curbs their earning potential -- a double punch to the gut. You learn a lot about a company by how they handle terminations, however necessary. This approach represents a certain obliviousness, if not arrogance, in the leadership ranks. I'm not sure Sasan Goodarzi is a good steward for Intuit. https://lnkd.in/gKYWCg93

AI-related layoffs have begun. Just yesterday, Intuit (the corporation that owns QuickBooks and Turbotax) laid off 1,800 people. I'm really feeling for these individuals that have been impacted - their livelihoods have been disrupted and there is a lot of uncertainty about what lies ahead. I am also feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude for CLA. CLA exists to create opportunities - for not only our clients and our communities, but also our people. We are committed to innovation and have invested $500 million in technology this past year. We are harnessing the power of AI, and are pushing our people to learn these new systems and become "thinkers" instead of "doers". In a Bloomberg Tax article from last fall, Jen Leary, our CEO, was quoted: “We’re going to eliminate data entry at CLA. Just eliminate it completely. And that is something that I think will bring a lot of joy to our people. They do not get a lot of joy out of manually keying a 30-page tax return no matter how cool the client is.” I can attest to that (accounting pun intended). 😉