7th April, 2021
With ongoing changes and reforms to the taxation system, accountants and bookkeepers that can maintain scalability in client accounting and advisory services are set to grow their businesses.
Client accounting services are considered a fast-growing revenue segment for practices, as a growing number of firms look to use their tools and expertise to get more involved with their clients’ business management.
The value proposition (help me manage my books), allows both accountants and bookkeepers to engage more deeply with their clients’ day-to-day activity, helping them maintain a compliant, solvent and successful operation.
However, simply being able to offer these services is no longer enough for advisors to guarantee sustained revenue growth.
The onset of COVID-19 further demonstrated the potential of digitisation and automation in compliance to enable better client-accountant and client-bookkeeper relationships.
In fact, before the pandemic even set in, a Wolters Kluwer article from January 2020 predicted the ongoing importance of value-added client services, stating that firms focused solely on compliance work can grow annually between ‘nought to three percent’, whereas those focused on delivering advisory services to clients could anticipate between 10 and 20 percent.
As the taxation system continues to digitise, so too do the business systems required to most effectively work with it.
In a process that some would say began with the introduction of GST and BAS lodgements, more recent compliance changes — such as the expansion of Taxable Payment Reporting Systems (TPRS), the introduction of Single Touch Payroll and the switch from AUSkey to the myGovID system — are driving the need for digital solutions that don’t require advisors and their clients to reinvent the wheel at every turn.
And now, with the potential for e-invoicing to become standardised (at least, initially for Government agencies), the need for tech-savvy advisors to deploy solutions they and their clients can use to truly remove the burden of compliance, while also offering deeper insights into their financial wellbeing, is tantamount to success.
But it’s not only that these regulatory changes in many cases demand a specific tech solution that makes online accounting so desirable, but that modern platforms can be kept up to date to accommodate these changes with less work required from the advisor’s or their client’s end.
The Future of the Tax Profession report released by the Inspector-General of Taxation in Australia in 2019 noted that a global research survey found 67 percent of accountants now use cloud technology.
The report acknowledges that the adoption of cloud-based technology by tax professionals has multiple benefits.
It says, “In addition to reduced costs and improved access, there are major client service benefits”.
“Cloud technology allows real time two-way access between the practitioner and their client through a common data source.”
Finding the right tech tools to help you and your clients reduce time spent on compliance work is the key to unlocking further value-added services.
That means you want to make certain your tech delivers true efficiency, streamlined workflows and seamless integration with your client’s data.
For example, connecting your practice using MYOB Client Accounting can save up to 40 percent of your time on compliance workflows, which is achieved by removing up to six steps when preparing a set of accounts. It’s a complete toolset that streamlines the core workflows in your practice, while online access to client data means you’re working with the latest figures – no rekeying or version control to slow things down.
And if your clients are on MYOB AccountRight Live or Essentials data files, they’ll connect directly with MYOB Client Accounting to speed up commonly used ledger workflows. You can also use a low-cost online practice ledger to replace an in-house, desktop-based general ledger, giving your team total mobility and flexibility.
Want to learn more about MYOB Client Accounting? Download MYOB’s ‘Client Accounting Benefits for Your Practice’ fact sheet, or discover how easy it is to upgrade by requesting a call back from an MYOB sales specialist.