Accountants speak volumes
Lots of books come across my desk, but in all honesty they are for the most part rubbish, written by people with an overblown sense of their own importance and no track record in the business whatsoever. Despite this, they insist that their way is the right way and that if you follow their strictures then untold wealth and fortune will follow.
That said, a few books come my way from writers that I know to have been successful, and who don’t pontificate but simply try to impart knowledge that accountants in practice may find helpful. I’d like to mention a couple that I think are really worth taking the time to read.
First up is a book by Phil Sayers, called ‘It’s All About The Value’. Some of you might know Phil from his time at Clear Books, and most likely will have met him at Accountex or you may know him from his work on the Council of Basda. His book is subtitled ‘Improving Sales Effectiveness for Small Businesses’, so initially you may well think it’s of no use to accountants. But you’d be wrong. Accountants in practice need clients to survive – that’s a given. They don’t appear by magic after all, and this little book will help accountants no end. Most of us are not salesmen; we studied accountancy and most likely we have a natural dislike of hyperbole and salesmen simply because of our background. The only sales techniques we learned were what we picked up at our boss’s knee, as it were, and we had drummed into us from an early age that “sales is vanity, profit is sanity”. Referrals are how we get our work – we don’t have to have a sales pitch because our client has done that for us – and most of us frankly aren’t very good at it, as a quick glance at most websites will confirm.
If only salesmen read this book that will be a shame, because this book will help everyone who deals in services as well as products, as Phil points out. It covers so much, from working out who we are trying to sell our services to, to holding that initial meeting or making that first phone call through to negotiations and handling objections. It even covers CRM systems and hiring sales people. I especially liked the chapter on writing quotes and proposals, which gives a great and logical layout to follow. I learnt a lot from it, and I think all accountants will find something in it to help. ‘It’s All About The Value’ is available from Amazon, but I have a few copies available to distribute free so if you want one just get in touch.
The next book I came across was ‘The Numbers Business’ by Della Hudson, who is a lady I have a lot of time for. She grew her practice from scratch in Bristol in 2009, selling up in 2018, using cloud-based applications at the heart of the practice. She continues to work in accountancy as a speaker, writer and consultant, and many of you will have come across her on social media. This is another great book that I thoroughly enjoyed, most likely because at its core it’s an honest and true reflection of a real small practice with real small business clients that all small practices can relate to.
The term ‘manual’ is used often in the publicity for this book, which I think does not do it justice. For me a manual is something that should be followed to the letter, and while any accountant in practice could do that if they wanted I think more will benefit by firstly having a thorough read of the book from start to finish and then thinking about how each chapter relates to their own practice, and what if any ideas they can implement. I doubt very much there will be one reader who does not find something that they can use in their own practice – it’s that good and it’s that simple.
I especially liked the chapter on becoming a trusted adviser, because it is something that the world is shouting at us to become. As Della says, “not all accountants enjoy this type of work, nor do we have the necessary skills”. However, she does point out that recognising this does not mean that we pass up the opportunity, and she explains how this can happen.
The sub-title of the book is ‘How to grow a successful cloud-based practice’, and it covers everything that you will need to think about if you are to make a success of your practice. Yes, the focus is on cloud, but in her chapter ‘Choosing your software’ there is a good list of what is available – it’s not all cloud and it’s not all Xero, either.
This is a very good book that is also available to buy from Amazon, but again I have a few copies so it’s first come, first served if you want a free copy. Please get in touch via email – [email protected]
If you are in practice, or if you are thinking of starting out in practice, then both these books will help you get the very best of what you do.
Accountants embrace the future
Accounting automation is something that’s fascinated me ever since I qualified in 2011. I’ve seen many doomsday scenarios predicting an end to accounting as we know it. And to an outsider, accounting must be ripe for automation because it’s just a case of adding some stuff up, right?
When I left PwC, where I trained as an auditor, I moved into the tech start-up world. ProConfirm, my first business, was a platform to automate bank confirmations. We sold ProConfirm in 2014 and I had some time to reflect on the future of our profession and whether robots would be taking over soon.
I now run my second accounting technology company called Coconut. There is no doubt that technology will drive some massive changes in accounting over the coming years. And, overall, I think this will be a good thing for customers and accountants.
But through all of this what I’ve realised is that there’s no way accounting will be automated in the way that outsiders expect it to be.
The human touch
I’ve spoken to thousands of self-employed people and small business owners and accountants provide something that computers are a long way off from replicating: peace of mind.
Having a human to talk to, someone who understands how you’re feeling, has experience built over many years and professional judgement, gives customers ultimate reassurance. Experience lets you navigate complexities that machines just can’t conceive of, no matter how smart.
That’s why accountants are the go-to business adviser.
It’s just not adding up
When we were starting Coconut we asked ourselves: if it’s the advisory work that clients crave, how can we do more of it? What we found is that there’s lots of manual preparation and cleaning up work to do. And this is under attack from the outside because clients don’t see the value. It boils down to:
- Gathering customer data, cleansing and preparing it.
- Communicating with the client to understand context of the transactions.
- Making lots of different tools and systems talk to each other.
Automation starts with metadata
We looked for ways of solving this problem and decided to start with the data. We identified that transaction metadata holds the key to automation. Metadata is information that describes the transaction in more detail. As traditional banks don’t pass metadata on to the customer it’s hard to understand the tax context of a transaction automatically.
So the starting point for Coconut was to create a business current account, giving us transaction data from the source, including the rich metadata.
Changing customers’ experiences
We also realised that a lot of work is created by putting off the bookkeeping until it absolutely has to be done. We wanted to find a way of interacting with the customer when a transaction happens.
This is really hard to do with traditional banking data, but by building on a smart current account we see the data in real time, making it much easier.
The instant interaction changes bookkeeping from something retrospective into something instant because we can:
- Remind the customer to take a photo of the receipt when it’s in their hand.
- Use the metadata to make a judgement about what tax category the transaction relates to.
- Prompt the customer to check, giving them relevant guidance increasing the chances that it’s right.
- Make sure everything is ready to go, along with notes, for when any review or filing needs to be done.
To make this to happen we have built a proprietary process to understand the tax context of a transaction. We’re finessing this all the time to improve accuracy. And it means within a few seconds the bookkeeping for a transaction is done and stored in a neat system ready to go.
But if the bookkeeping is done, what next?
Our aim is to free accountants up to provide insights and advice to clients. With very little effort both parties can concentrate on the hard stuff, eliminating the mundane and repetitive. The objective is that accountants can do more advisory work or expand their client portfolio.
Working with the UK’s accountants
We’ve engaged closely with customers from the beginning and it’s meant we’ve created a product that they love. In the same way, partnering with the accounting community on our accountant tools is really important.
Elaine Clark, the founder of Cheapaccounting.co.uk, is one of our key advisors. She is supporting with development of tools for independent accountants and networks like hers. We’re also very excited to be working with Tony Margaritelli and the ICPA and will be making sure ICPA members get priority access to our products – see you all at Practice Evolution 2019 conferences where I’ll be sharing more!
What Coconut does
The Coconut product is a current account for sole traders that they can open in a few minutes from their phone, available on iOS and Android.
Coconut gives business owners guidance about the tax rules, categorises their income and expenses, and gives a forecast of their tax bill. It also has an invoicing tool, which will match off invoices automatically to the payments into the account.
Accountant Portal
Alongside our customer accounts, we’re building an Accountant Portal. The aim is to give accountants a window into the transactions your customers are making on their Coconut accounts. You’ll be able to see transactions, receipts and notes in a really accessible format. You’ll be able to download them easily. We also want accountants to be able to communicate with the client through the portal to make the bookkeeping process much more efficient.
Want to get involved?
Our aim is to develop the next generation of tools that really help accountants service their clients. If you’d like to get involved, have a chat or just want more information, please get in touch by going to getcoconut.com/icpa
Sam will be speaking at the ICPA’s 2019 Practice Evolution conferences in London (27 June) and Manchester (4 July). For details and to book a place go to https://practiceevolution.co.uk/
FRS 102: How to account for government grants
Government grants are dealt with in FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland in Section 24 Government Grants.
Section 24 of FRS 102 deals with the accounting requirements for all government grants.
The term ‘government grants’ is defined in the Glossary to FRS 102 as: “Assistance by government in the form of a transfer of resources to an entity in return for past or future compliance with specified conditions relating to the operating activities of the entity.
Government refers to government, government agencies and similar bodies whether local, national or international.”
Recognition and measurement
A reporting entity cannot recognise a government grant until the recognition criteria has been met. In order to meet the recognition criteria there must be reasonable assurance that:
- the entity will comply with the conditions attaching to the grant; and
- the grants will be received.
Accrual and performance models
An entity receiving (or expecting to receive) a government grant that meets the recognition criteria laid down in paragraph 24.3A of FRS 102 is required to recognise the grant based on the accrual model or the performance model. This is an accounting policy choice and must be applied on a class-by-class basis. Note – micro-entities reporting under FRS 105 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entities Regime can only account for grants using the accrual model.
Accrual model
The accrual model of grant recognition will be the most familiar to accountants. This model requires the grant to be classified as either a revenue-based grant or a capital-based grant.
Grants which relate to revenue shall be recognised in income on a systematic basis over the periods in which the entity recognises the related costs for which the grant is intended to compensate.
Example: Capital-based grant
Autumn Ltd (Autumn) has purchased a new item of machinery for £100,000 outright in cash, which has an estimated residual value of £nil at the end of its useful economic life. The machine is being depreciated in accordance with the company’s accounting policy for such equipment, being ten years’ on a straight-line basis with a full year’s depreciation charge in the year of acquisition, but none in the year of disposal.
Summer applied for a government grant towards the cost of this asset and the government have confirmed that they will meet 20% of the cost of the equipment in the form of a grant (i.e. a grant of £20,000). This has been received by the company two weeks’ after the purchase of the machine.
The entries in the books of the company in respect of the new machine and the grant are as follows:
Purchase of the machine
Dr Property, plant and equipment additions £100,000
Cr Cash at bank £100,000
Being purchase of new machine
Dr Depreciation expense (profit and loss) £10,000
Cr Accumulated depreciation (balance sheet) £10,000
Being depreciation of new machine in year 1
Government grant
Dr Cash at bank £20,000
Cr Deferred income £20,000
Being initial receipt of the government grant
Dr Deferred income £2,000
Cr Profit and loss account (other income) £2,000
Being 1/10th of the grant released to profit or loss
It should be noted that paragraph 24.5G of FRS 102 specifically prohibits the value of the capital-based grant from being deducted from the cost of the asset (i.e. Dr Bank, Cr PPE additions) and hence recognising the grant in profit and loss by way of reduced depreciation charges.
This is because such an accounting treatment is incompatible with company law as the statutory definitions of ‘purchase price’ and ‘production cost’ make no provisions for deductions from such amounts.
Performance model
The performance model works by allowing a company to recognise a grant immediately in profit or loss; however, there are certain criteria that have to be considered as follows:
- A grant which does not impose specified future performance-related conditions on the recipient can be recognised in income when the grant proceeds are received or receivable.
- A grant which imposes specified future performance-related conditions on the recipient is recognised in income only when the performance-related conditions are met.
- Grants which are received before the revenue recognition criteria are satisfied are recognised as a liability.
Example – Performance-related conditions met
Winter Ltd has set up a new branch in a deprived area of the country and has an accounting reference date of 31 March each year and chooses to apply the performance model of grant recognition. In order to entice businesses to set up operations, the government have introduced a scheme whereby they will provide a grant to the company once certain conditions have been met. The conditions are as follows:
- The company must be trading to full capacity by 31 December 2018.
- The company must have successfully employed at least 150 people on a full-time basis by 31 January 2018.
- The company must take on at least 25 people under the age of 25 on an apprenticeship scheme.
The company successfully achieved all the conditions imposed on them by the government and the grant was duly received on 26 March 2018.
The financial controller is unsure whether to recognise the whole grant in profit or loss or defer it in the balance sheet.
The company has complied with all its performance-related conditions imposed on it by the government where the grant is concerned. Provided none of the grant is, or may become, repayable in the future, the entire grant can be recognised in income for the year-ended 31 March 2018.
How to build the perfect accounting practice
In 2008 I embarked on a 10-year research project to study what makes the best accountancy practices so successful. That research will result in three books:
The UK’s Best Accountancy Practices (published 2011).
The World’s Most Inspiring Accountants (published 2016).
The World’s Best Accountancy Practices (to be published 2019, when the research is finally finished).
The firms we have studied come from every corner of the world, from sleepy backwaters to city centres. They range from start-ups to long-established practices that can trace their roots back to the 19th century. And they represent independent accountancy firms of all sizes, from sole practitioners to multi-partner firms (although we deliberately haven’t studied the Top 50 firms, as we wanted to discover what works for ‘normal’ accountants).
The 15 drivers of excellence
Diverse as the firms we studied were, what united them was that they were all shining examples of what is possible and how to make it happen. And what we discovered was that what makes them so much more successful than most practices are that they have:
- Better intent: They don’t make excuses or moan about what the world is doing to them. Instead, they take control of their own destiny. Their success is planned and not accidental. They decide what they want, make whatever changes are necessary to ensure that they get it, and persevere when the going gets tough.
- Better decision making: They make conscious, rational decisions, driven by their goals, and informed by facts rather than guesswork or pre-judgement. They do not run away from the need to invest time and money in creating success for them and their clients.
- Better measurement systems: They don’t just rely on traditional accounting measures. Instead, they work out what really matters – what drives their success – both financial and non-financial. They find ways of measuring all those success drivers, set targets, use the results to inform decision making and make people accountable for performance and results.
- Better action: They recognise that one of the timeless keys to success is to do what you said you were going to do, when you said you were going to do it. So they have systems to ensure that action plans are created, recorded, prioritised and implemented. They do not accept lip service, excuses or weasel words.
- Better measurement solutions for clients: They also recognise that profits are a consequence of doing the right things for the right people in the right way. So they start by making sure that their clients also get all the information they need about the numbers that really matter within their businesses, including their success drivers and benchmarking comparisons.
- Better improvement solutions for clients: As well as helping clients to measure the things that matter, they also help them create and implement improvement action plans in those areas. In particular, they help clients create and implement improvement action plans for their profit, cashflow, tax exposure, business value and personal wealth.
- Better alliances: They recognise that it is impossible for any independent accountancy firm to be able to do every specialist piece of work to the incredibly high standard that clients deserve. So they enter into strategic alliances with other specialists who will do the specialist technical work where necessary. Generally, the specialist takes all the engagement risk, and shares the fees generated with the practice in the form of a ‘payaway’.
- Better client meetings: They recognise that meetings are the equivalent of a penalty shoot-out in a soccer tournament – that is, the interaction that makes a profound difference to the outcome and how you are judged. So they make them more professional and dynamic by following carefully planned meeting systems, and using high-impact tools, such as tax planning software ‘live’ at meetings to illustrate key ideas and quantify potential benefits.
- Better proactivity: For them ‘proactivity’ is not an empty promise on their website and in their brochure. They have developed systems to ensure that genuine proactivity, of the kind clients really value, is part of the culture and habits of the firm. They have also discovered that the more proactive they are, the more additional services their clients want to buy from them.
- Better service: They understand what excellent service means to the type of clients they want to attract, and have focused their energy and designed their systems in order to deliver that. They focus on both the substance of service excellence (e.g. speed, accuracy, impact, etc), and on the experiential aspect (e.g. showing genuine interest, using plain English, ‘wow factors’, etc).
- Better clients: They understand that their time is a precious commodity, so they ration it wisely. Rather than try to please every conceivable type of client, they decide the types of clients they really want to work with, and build the practice around them. That way, they attract more of the right kind of clients, and can afford to get rid of the ‘wrong’ kind of clients. Typically, this results in them earning more money, doing more enjoyable work, and having a better life-work balance by working with a smaller number of clients, paying higher average fees.
- Better pricing and cash management: They recognise that the only sustainable way to provide a premium service is to charge a premium fee. They understand that clients hate surprise bills, and so rarely use timesheets for billing purposes. They also understand that, to clients, every bill is a value bill, since the client will not be happy unless it represents good value. So, wherever possible they use value pricing to make it crystal clear that the value far exceeds the fee. And where value pricing is not possible, they use pricing software to generate fixed prices that are acceptable to the client, and fixed price agreements to formalise the arrangement. They also use Extra Work Orders to ensure that extra work is translated into extra fees. And they collect most of their fees by direct debit, often by instalments and usually in advance of completing the work.
- Better team work: They understand that the partners cannot and should not try to do everything. They recognise that leverageable success comes by fully involving the team at every stage. Listening to them properly, and valuing their input. Sharing all the key numbers with them. Trusting them. Delegating most of the work to them, after first giving them the tools, training, systems and support they need to do a proper job. And treating and rewarding them well.
- Better systems : They do not leave things to chance, and they do not rely on their people remembering what to do. Instead, they create systems to ensure that everything can be done to the same high standard, every single time. Technology plays a key role in streamlining and automating these systems. And, of course, they also help their clients to do the same.
- Better marketing: They do not leave referrals to chance, either. Instead, they use referral systems that leverage their time. They don’t just look to clients and bank managers for referrals, they actively cultivate a much wider network of referral sources. They understand that in order to get people telling others about them, they have to create a game the client wants to play, and give them a compelling story to tell. They also test a wide variety of other marketing strategies to find the ones that work best for them.
- Steve Pipe FCA is a leading researcher. Contact him via [email protected] and at www.stevepipe.com
Stop juggling and start outsourcing
It can be tempting when the pressure is off to delay setting up an outsourcing relationship. However, you want to get this in place and working well before you hit a peak time!
Many accountants and business owners find themselves stressed and overwhelmed simply because they are wearing too many hats and trying to do too much on their own.
As a result they start to consider outsourcing to take some of the pressure off and ease their headache.
However, when the work dies down slightly, they think they can manage and go back to juggling 10 different things at once; and so the stress starts up again.
Just one too many things to do to outsource?
There are so many people out there who are considering outsourcing. But, for one reason or another, never quite get around to it.
Here are some of the common reasons why people delay outsourcing:
- They have a hard time asking for help.
- They have a certain way of doing things.
- They don’t want to pay for things when they can do it themselves.
- They don’t want a reduced quality in work (this isn’t always the case).
- They don’t know who they can outsource to and how to get started.
- They don’t like change.
- They’ve had a bad experience in the past with outsourcing.
There’s no shame in hanging up a few of those hats and accepting you simply can’t do everything yourself. After all no one is really superman or wonder woman (we can only wish). As long as you insist on doing everything yourself, you will never have enough time to do it all, and more importantly quality is likely to suffer as a result.
As the saying goes, you should work on the business rather than in the business. Focus on the things only you can do as a business owner, and delegate all the other tasks to help free up your time and switch your focus to things that will generate income for your business. When was the last time you spent real quality time with your family and friends?
By choosing to selectively outsource you might find yourself leaving the office at a reasonable hour and minimising the amount of work you have to do on the weekends. Sounds good right?
Accounting leaders reveal industry challenges for 2019
Like many other industries, accounting is in the middle of a technological revolution. The pace of change in 2018 was rapid, and with MTD looming on the horizon and the sustained drive towards AI and automation, that trend looks set to continue in 2019.
Add that to the current political and social upheaval we’re experiencing, and it can feel like we’re standing on shifting sands. While all this change certainly brings plenty of exciting opportunities for the profession – it also comes with challenges.
We spoke to seven industry insiders to get their take on what are the biggest challenges that accountants face in 2019:
Alex Davis, business development and UK MTD lead at Intuit QuickBooks:
One of the main challenges faced by accountants is adapting to the changing technological advancements within the industry. Successful organisations will be those that can keep pace with needs and demands of modern services. This next generation of entrepreneurs and SME business owners have grown up technologically-savvy, and digital literacy will continue to have a profound effect on how they live and operate financially.
The accountancy firms that are thriving are those that work with their clients to deliver personalised digital services, freeing business owners to spend more time scaling-up their business and allowing advisers to focus on growing their clients’ revenue, rather than sorting through boxes of receipts.
By embracing MTD, accountants are not only future-proofing clients’ businesses, they’re boosting their own too.
Helen Thornley, technical officer at ATT:
The challenge in 2019 for tax will be managing expectations of technology. It takes time to test and develop robust programmes over a number of iterations when, as tax advisers, we need things to work straight out of the box for all of our clients.
That leaves a gap between HMRC’s agile, iterative approach in the development of IT projects, which should give the best results in the long term, and those frustrated because either a system doesn’t work for everyone right now or doesn’t do as much as they would like.
It’s a difficult balance to achieve, but suggests that digitalisation should be approached by attracting people in because of the inherent benefits of the new system, rather than forcing them to opt in before they are ready.
Chris Downing, director of product management at Sage:
When we’re talking to accountants, they all recognise that there is a skills gap – something that a recent report by TotalJobs (Solving the UK Skills Shortage – 2018) also found, with 60% of employers expecting to see a skills shortage in accountancy and finance. This is largely because of the delayed effects of a recession but also significant industry developments and sectoral changes, which have introduced new and specialist roles.
Accountants need to be able to interpret financial data as they traditionally always have but also – more so than ever before – be up to speed on the plethora of new compliance requirements and create meaning from the financial data to deliver advice and actionable insights for their clients.
Glenn Collins, head of technical advisory at ACCA UK:
It might sound clichéd, but a challenge brings with it opportunity. We see challenges around Making Tax Digital for VAT and digitisation, attracting talent into the profession, maintaining the reputation of the profession, client fee pressure, volume and timeliness of tax legislation and economic uncertainty.
In addressing these, there are a number of opportunities for accountants to re-boot their status as trusted advisers to business. Collectively, I hope the professional bodies and their members reinforce the value of using qualified accountants by demonstrating what a great profession this is and the value it brings to society.
Richard Brewin, co-owner of Progress BB:
I see the biggest challenge facing us this year as the inconsistency within. The firms and individuals striving to modernise the profession and gain benefit from the digital world are, in all honesty, hampered for now by the significant number of accountants not embracing change quickly enough.
The market place sees a conflict with so many firms still offering free and low-priced services, still allowing clients to dump their problems on them and still excusing those who pay little respect to their responsibilities as business owners. In the short term it is an uphill fight for the enlightened so maintaining focus and spirit to do the right thing in the face of competitors excusing the client is the challenge. The profession is heading for the light ... it needs to maintain that belief.
Rob Brown, founder and CEO of BD Academy:
The biggest challenge facing all accounting firms and the ecosystem that surrounds them is people. More specifically talent.
As the Baby Boomers are phased out of the workforce, accounting firms and their clients are increasingly comprised of Millennials. Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 23 to 38 in 2019) is considered a Millennial. Anyone born from 1997 onward is part of a new generation that are now 21 and entering the accounting world.
Growth, innovation and service are driven by people. The right people. Unless you can sell your vision, differentiate your brand and attract Millennials, you will not survive.
Amanda Watts, co-founder and managing director of TwentyTwo Agency:
I believe the biggest challenges facing the industry will be how accountants choose to approach new technology and the soft skills that they will need to develop to maximise their opportunities.
Every day a new piece of software is introduced. Whilst choosing and integrating the right technology will be their biggest challenge, the opportunity lies in having a clear focus for the firm and their clients. Those who crack this will stand out, scale up and have way more fun.
Accountants ... embrace the fourth industrial revolution
Technology has been affecting the finance function and the accountancy sector for a while now; take the recent introduction of cloud accountancy, for example.
Cloud accountancy has allowed the same functions (and more) to be achieved at a significantly reduced cost compared to previous infrastructure which required heavy implementation and support.
Although this technology has become widely accepted, as other technology evolves within finance, there are still concerns. These could stem from a lack of understanding or lack of information, but it is actually more likely to come from the fear that technology is going to replace finance jobs.
In some circumstances, these concerns are justified. After all, with fewer requirements for accountants to carry out manual processes, the role of the accountant and the expectations businesses have about what they need to provide, is changing.
Therefore, process-based data entry or consolidation style roles, will (not might) be reduced! But this is not to say that the human workforce is to be completely replaced by ‘machines’ it’s to say that technological advancements are not to be underestimated. Sitting back and hoping for the best, is what will cost jobs.
But there is a solution. If accountants can be responsive, flexible, and agile, then technology is there to be utilised with the accountants and not instead of. Introduced and utilised correctly, technology can be used to the accountants’ advantage and will create endless opportunities for those who can recognise the potential.
The opportunities I’m referring to are around how the role of the accountant, both in practice and in business, will evolve. There is an opportunity to move away from ‘traditional’ routine and repetitive tasks, where finance and accountants work in silos from the rest of the business, conducting slow and manual processes; as per the previous narrow scope and definition of the role.
Technology will help by giving accountants the opportunity to move into a more advisory, and analytical role, engaging with their clients and business to realise their business ambitions.
Some ways technology will enable this are by:
- Removing focus from data entry – the focus around data can now be its content, the analysis of this and therefore, the data’s true value. Prioritise on outcomes as opposed to process.
- Providing real-time information – the ability to interact with your client or business as and when things are happening is invaluable. You can be pro-active instead of reactive.
- Linking in non-financial data – the possibility of quantifying other elements within a business to relate back to business strategy gives a better, more comprehensive understanding.
- Accessing pick ‘n’ mix solutions – API’s (application programming interfaces), will allow accountants to pick and choose what solutions are most suitable, based on the exact requirements and ambitions of a business and what they would like to achieve.
Ultimately, the fourth industrial revolution needs to be embraced by those within accountancy, and the available technology needs to be accepted and utilised. Ultimately, business owners and decision makers are aware it exists, and if their accountant isn’t making suggestions about what they should use, or providing them with solutions, then they will find another who will.
Accountants must embrace the changes and use the technological tools available at their disposal. Technology is not a threat. Technology is going to revolutionise the finance function and encourage businesses to expect more; so, isn’t it time to offer more to your clients and business stakeholders?
Technology will help, and not hinder, the progression and success of the accountant in practice and in business. But accountants must be ready to step forward and not be left behind.
Wellness for accountants: Beware the masks
It took most of my life to realise that I was hiding behind a mask.
Not just one – but many – one for every situation – at home, at work, with friends, with family, at networking & social events.
You see, the reason why is that I was so afraid of showing my true self, of saying what I wanted to say – in every circumstance. I tried to be what everyone wanted to see in me – not who I truly was.
If you don’t think this affects you – ask yourself if you have ever said ‘yes’ to something you wanted to say ‘no’ too. Thought so!
This was compounded by a lifetime managing OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder) and Anxiety.
Being a highly successful, highly functioning but highly anxious business person got me so far – until I had a breakdown. Outside of a Premier Inn! Classy guy eh, I choose my breakdowns well! J
It’s funny – when you feel you have nothing to lose – you will try anything.
I chose Public Speaking. I spoke to a trusted network of people that I belonged to.
It was cheap therapy (literally – I couldn’t afford therapy at the time!).
Showing our true selves
Those fears we have about showing our true selves – of not being liked, being judged or hated – dispelled as everyone I spoke to either offered help, love or resonated with what I was saying.
Fast forward to today – my biggest adversity in life has forged my most exciting future.
I am a Professional (ie it’s my job!) Inspirational Speaker – speaking Worldwide on my own experiences of Anxiety and sharing my insights, tools, tips & techniques.
I Speak for the top Banks, Global Law Firms, International Conferences, Events & Expos & Boardrooms all over the world.
It’s nuts. Truly.
But to me – those years of struggling – have now been made worthwhile – and I get to help tens of thousands of people along the way.
The truth is liberating – now take that mask off…
Why smartphones hold the key to a better tax season for accountants
Research by psychologists shows that smartphones have become more important to our daily lives than neighbours, colleagues. flatmates and teachers.
Only family, friends and pets rank higher according to survey of 1,156 men and women aged from 15 to 83 by Nottingham Trent university and the University of Wurzburg in Germany.
Smartphones have become psychologically relevant entities accompanying their users throughout the day, always ready for tasks such as communicating with friends and family.
To the owner, the smartphone is not mere technical equipment but rather a digital companion and because the medium seems to communicate with its owner, the research suggests that we unconsciously react in a way as if it was a human being.
Fundamental human needs
Smartphones have long ceased to be mere technical equipment, becoming closely related to the fulfilment of fundamental human needs.
They have taken on the role of digital companion and, in many cases, have become the replacement for a range of psychological processes typically confined to human relationships.
In our ancestors’ world, social interactions and the processing of information were essential for survival and it was humans who were sending these social cues. Now, today’s electronic devices send similar signals by talking to us and this suggests that man is adopting technology in order to survive in the modern age.
Imagine an average day: Our phone wakes us in the morning and, before having our first coffee, it provides us with messages or emails. While having breakfast it is our access to the world’s news.
Furthermore, our phone then helps us to get through classes or meetings, reminds us of appointments, helps us navigate our way through foreign places, and so forth.
For all questions big and small, our phone will help us. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, our phone is our connection to our loved ones. Although our partner, family or friends are often close by, our phone somehow brings them closer to us.
Because of our phone we can talk to them, send them messages, texts, pictures and videos. As a result we know what they are doing throughout the day and it feels like we are part of each other’s life.
This digital companion is already providing a vital connection to friends and family yet its potential use in the business environment remains surprisingly untapped.
For accountants, the smartphone represents a way of alerting clients to relevant information that may affect them and they provide a ready alternative to email to ensure messages get directly to the recipient.
Push notifications are messages that can be sent to the firm’s App users quickly, easily and in a way that grabs their attention. They pop up on the home screen of your mobile device and have a 93 percent open rate, which occurs, typically, within minutes of delivery.
Far more effective than email
By comparison, an email will generate a 4 per cent open rate, if you are lucky. With 24 per cent of those surveyed in this new research admitting to using their phones for more than three and a half hours a day, advisers appear to be missing a trick.
They now have the perfect opportunity to get straight to the home screen of their clients’ digital companions and what better time to start than in the run up to the Self Assessment deadline in January?
Instead of battling on with unanswered emails that are frequently ignored or end up in the ‘trash’ folder, this method of messaging the client within the accountant’s App guarantees to appear on the home screen and to demand attention.
Using these psychologically relevant entities to engage with clients, especially during the tax season, represents the way forward for accountants looking for a more manageable approach to January. What else is capable of getting the attention of 65 percent of owners under 35 within five minutes of waking up?