Consulting heavyweight Armanino has released an app that will give its clients access to a chatbot capable of answering their questions automatically.

Armanino is among the 25 largest accounting and consulting firms in the US. It’s a member of the Moore Global network of consulting firms, which is the twelfth largest in the category with 29,000 staffers in more than 500 offices worldwide.

Armanino is calling its new client-facing app Armanino Access.

“Most of today’s applications are geared toward the convenience of the firm, and not the client,” commented Armanino partner Cody Page. “We want to change that by giving our clients a best-in-class application with the modern and intuitive capabilities they’ve told us they want.” 

The app includes a dashboard that allows clients to track the status of projects being carried out on their behalf by Armanino. Moreover, clients can reach out to the staffers working on a project through a built-in messaging feature. 

The project tracking features that Armanino has incorporated into the app will save time for users by sparing them the hassle of phoning the firm whenever they need project information. The app’s messaging functionality, in turn, will be useful for situations where a client does need to get an Armanino employee on the line.

Armanino has bundled its app’s project management functionality with several value-added capabilities. There’s a news feed as well as a chatbot that can answer commonly raised client questions automatically.

Chatbots are useful for multiple reasons. They can answer questions instantly, reducing wait times for clients, while at the same time reducing the number of support inquiries that a consulting firm’s employees must answer manually. 

Armanino has also added social media elements to its app in the form of a feature called Business Campfires. The feature will allow Armanino clients to interact with other clients of the firm as well as reach out to its employees.

Armanino is currently testing an early version of the app with a limited number of clients. During the test, the firm plans to collect feedback from participants and use it to make software improvements.

Armanino said that it intends to roll out multiple new features to its app after collecting early adopters’ feedback. The firm didn’t elaborate on exactly what features users can expect.

The accounting and consulting markets in which Armanino operates are both highly competitive. As a result, firms must find ways of setting themselves apart from the numerous other consultancies out there that offer similar services. 

Building a client experience app that combines project tracking functionality with social media features is a creative way of going about the task.

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