The Artful Insighter for Accountants "Where do you stand in the digital age?" - Part 2 (by Instruo)

Last time we were here, we covered 3 types of KPI's which are associated with the cost drivers in any Accounting Practice. You can read about that here in part 1.

This time, I'm steering away from KPI's (for just now).

I want to talk to you about something I feel, is extremely important in terms of Accountancy Practices, and the way in which they operate. Relationships with Accountancy Practices over time have allowed for close inspection, in the way different Practices operate.

What I will say about one, may not be entirely true for the other, as the processes or the "workflows" will differ from one Accountancy Practice to another. Some things, however, are commonplace for most Practices, Let me give you a few examples,

1. Work overload in January when self-assessments are due
2. Additional staffing requirements at busy periods (e.g Year-end)
3. Lack of experienced staff availability, in terms of Technology who are well-accustomed to modern-day Accounting systems and business frameworks.

Ringing true? let me know from your experiences by leaving your comments below...

When our "systems and processes" are manual, i.e heavily interlinked with Excel, where we have control accounts for everything under the sun and manual bank reconciliations and manual ledger reconciliations, it wastes time, resource and reduces staff morale by carrying out the same, mundane tasks.

These tasks are prone to increased error due to fragmented information (information held on different systems or at different locations), human accuracy is also required 100% of the time, often the accuracy is great, but we can make mistakes. It then requires an additional review to ensure our figures are "balanced". That's more time and money, straight "down the drain".

"Well I've got fantastic staff, they are happy with the way things are and I really don't think it would make sense to change that"

What?! Since when do we always do things "sensibly" in most other areas of our life?

Jokes to one side, it might not make sense at first, and staff may seem slightly disrupted but rest assured, that shilling will drop. When it does, you'll achieve greater clarity and increased staff morale in your Practice.

When manual processes must be adhered to and that is your working process, what happens at busy times? or when someone has left on Maternity/Paternity leave, or your most experienced staff member (who usually works at that time of year) but this year had a holiday arranged well in advance? (during the busy period). Maybe one of your staff decided to leave for another job altogether? (mutually agreed)

What happens...

Backlogs can start to build up, it's not even an attractive word and checking for synonyms makes you more annoyed. We're then required to make sure our staff works twice as hard, on diminishing morale, greater pressure and oblivious, to how they're life can be turned around.

Employing Technology throughout the Practice! No, it's not daunting. It can easily be tackled and your productivity along with staff morale will undoubtedly increase.

Your initial investment will be higher yes... for migrating and Implementing the software within your Practice, however, the previous long term constraints of time capacity, resource capacity and people morale will increase, to become "those times", where everyone pulls together because they have increased flexibility to help each other, resulting in less pressure to complete work and from having to commit to, time-consuming manual work.

In contrast, what happens is that the cost of completing backlogged work decreases, this decrease in this recurring cost is what you're investing, to have the right systems in place at the start! (the new start).

The work is done much faster and the processes for the work are much more streamlined. Ultimately, resulting in happier clients and employees. You then won't have to keep investing in additional resources at busy periods or outsource work to cover your current client base or those additional chunks of work you decided you could take on so bravely.

All the while, some of us ignorantly unaware that there will be a sudden absence occurring, which will "skew" working dynamics very soon. "The go-to person will be on holiday during the busy period and the pressure of reaching deadlines is still piling on your people.

The "cherry on top" though, is that we often don't have conversations pertaining to the future with our clients as we presume, that "they wouldn't care about that, they just want their taxes done". No, in many cases we couldn't be further from reality.

Ask anyone how they feel about Accountants generally... watch the glow from their face disappear first, and then listen to the answer. They want the person they would go to for financial advice, to be involved.

Most businesses I've come across frankly, are often unaware of the value their Accountant can unlock because the Accountant has never shown them the vast amount of added value he/she can bring. In part, the business is also in the same situation where "everything is fine, it's the way it has always been."

However, businesses require your advice to show them the benefits of changing slightly (in increments), the way in which they operate. They will become pleased too. Why wouldn't they? when they can start to record their financials as and when they occur, to get them to you (through your help in developing a process), well before the VAT return or the month-end reporting is due? Through technology, they'll be able to see, for example, any liabilities which are due, without you needing to communicate it. (I'm not inferring that withholding communication is positive, I'm simply describing the result of increased efficiency from adopting technology). Time has been saved, now you can develop a stronger relationship with your client by spending that saved time on them, to advise them of their business finances and what they can/cannot do, or what they would prefer to do and building a bespoke technology/business solution for them, based on their needs and desires.

Relationships should still be prioritised, what is communicated can be, the future benefits. For example, money can be kept aside in advance for liabilities payable (increased accuracy in cash-flow and tax planning). All their "paperwork" will be in "one place". You will be able to advise righteously, as you will have the numbers displayed in front of you to read from. We're equipped as accountants with the power to translate "the numbers" into foremostly meaningful, money-saving relationships. What's better than that for adding value?

Customer interaction is the key to unlocking the value of human relationships in this tech-driven world of today.

Fears from technology should be faced, not so that we withdraw ourselves from something we know, is inevitable. Breaking barriers and status quos, Who would've thought that about Accountants? Which side of the fence are you on? Together we can face a stronger future.

Last article, I asked for your opinion on names for a focus group; the mission for the group is: to share ideas and experiences, to understand "change" in our industry together and how slight "tweaks" in mindset and technology adoption can help reduce workloads, increase people productivity, streamline workflow, decrease costs and add long term value. 

We start with "you" Assisting you to safely, face the future, in the age of technology disruption.

Any assistance or a chat in the meantime? Get in touch... @let's chat

The one at the front, holding the lantern @Instruo

Furqan Baig