Understanding tech trends is a key to survival for accountants
Accountancy trends are driven by technology. So future-proofing your practice means staying on top of these accounting trends and understanding how they’re disrupting and shaping industry best practices.
So, what are some of the key trends that accountants and bookkeepers should be aware of in 2018 (and beyond)? Let’s take a closer look.
1. Automation enables high-value advisory services
Advances in machine learning and AI are rocking the world of accounting. Intuit QuickBooks and Xero have both introduced machine learning projects over the past couple of years.
These developments have enabled accounting firms to automate document collection, data entry, and other compliance-related tasks.
But automation is not making the role of accountants obsolete. It’s arming them with two items that are essential for becoming proactive advisers. More time and more data.
It’s up to accountants to leverage their available time and data to provide more proactive advice (and, consequently, more value) to their clients.
2. Client experience is a key differentiator
It is predicted that customer experience will take over price and product/service as a key differentiator for most B2B businesses by 2020. Adopting cloud accounting technology is proven to help increase practice efficiency, improve the client experience, and supercharge your practice.
However, firms should not rely on the use of cloud accounting tools as their only differentiator. Standing out as an adviser requires going above and beyond with all client interactions.
Consider every possible interaction (from client onboarding, to optimising your workflows, to reporting). Figure out how you can increase client engagement. In turn, increasing client engagement will improve client retention.
3. Advisers will require a deeper expertise of the growing tech landscape
In March 2017, Accountex reported that the accounting technology ecosystem had doubled in size over the previous year. As exciting as it is to explore all of the cloud accounting solutions that exist, it can also be confusing.
Feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by the sheer number of available apps is a phenomenon known as “app fatigue” – and it can impact a firm’s productivity in more ways than you might think.
Accountants with “shiny object syndrome” might go overboard and select too many apps, creating redundancies in their accounting technology stack. Or, conversely, they might feel intimidated by the app ecosystem and avoid exploring new solutions altogether.
Navigating the accounting app landscape and being able to help clients understand which tools will work best for their business will be a valuable skill as the ecosystem continues to grow. Moreover, overcoming app fatigue and understanding where automation can improve your workflows (and, more importantly, how it can improve your client experience) will help to future-proof your firm.
If these three trends point to one thing, it’s the importance of becoming a devoted adviser to your clients. In order to effectively advise (and future-proof your firm), it’s critical to stay on top of trends and adapt to best practices that are in your clients’ best interests.
HubDoc will be on stand 863 at Accountex London 2018 on May 23-24.
