In this technology-driven world, the traditional ways of accounting are evolving rapidly. Over the years, technology has greatly affected how accountants work. This has resulted in optimising tax workflow, increasing accuracy, and saving time for more value-added activities. These technological advancements are having a transformative impact for businesses outside the accounting sector.
Whether you’re a Chief Financial Officer, Financial Analyst, Practice Manager , or part of an in-house financial management team, those who embrace accounting technology trends are better positioned to gain a competitive advantage, or at a minimum, to stay relevant in the industry.
Let’s find out how technology affects accounting services.
Impact of Technology on Accounting Services
So how does technology disrupt accounting services? Here are a few ways in which technology disrupts accounting services.
Efficient and Innovative Tax Software
Accounting services that automate processes from direct clean data are error-free and reduce the chances of penalties are critical in this industry. Accountants can ensure improved accuracy by maintaining their workpaper processes and checklists to produce an almost zero error margin while streamlining audits. The modern accountant, therefore, can discharge their responsibilities more accurately, responsibly, and on time than before.
However, to maintain these efficiencies, accountants must keep up with the trend of emerging technologies by continually educating themselves in the accounting industry. However, they cannot focus on technology changes as a risk of not maintaining knowledge of regulation and legislation requirements.
Little to No Device Dependency
Technology advancements in accounting are progressively offering freedom from computers. With the adoption of mobile accounting, accountants can access data on their secure mobile devices. As a result, this is improving mobile connectivity and bringing clients and accountants closer.
Companies in the technology sector are maximising this golden opportunity to launch products that can now be safely said to belong to the age of mobile accounting.
With the aid of these mobile apps, Australian CA or CPAs can remit expense claims, append receipts, and remit invoices from their smartphones or tablets, allowing them to manage their business while on the move.
Mobile devices with secure fast chat applications like Microsoft Teams or Slack, accountants can ask quick questions that won’t disrupt their direct reports but ensure greater efficiency.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing enables access to data over mobile devices and computers between the right parties. This allows accountants to deliver financial reports and perform tasks without being bound to a certain device or location. This, in turn, brings more focus to the ideal ways accountants can assist businesses – by providing companies with guidance around strategy without being weighed down by non-essential process details.
As a business owner, or a decision maker in a leadership role, you should be considering how efficient your internal finance team is, and if there are better financial processes or cloud computing specialist software that enable your business to elevate.
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence assist in automating complex, repetitive tasks and processes with unparalleled accuracy. AI is thus recognized as boosting work efficacy.
Accounting and bookkeeping consist of several small, redundant duties and elements. Robotics and AI try to eliminate and minimise them. With this taken care of, accountants can make better use of their effort and time.
Personalisation and customisation
Advancements in technology have led to specialisation in most industries, including accounting services. The general accountant is no longer in great demand. Financial accounting is becoming less about general practices and gradually becoming about personalization and custom services.
The main goal now is to provide profound insights into a business and nurture relationships based on the client’s particular needs. Companies now, are either small family businesses with no growth aspirations, or require specialised help to understand the information and numbers so that they can make informed decisions.
By customising specific reports or using the Business Intelligence (BI) tools available, these companies can get tailored meaningful data to make informed decisions and adapt to changes in the market.
Mobile Computing
You do not need to sit at your desk to manage company finances and process transactions. You can perform vital financial accounting functions from a laptop, tablet, or mobile phone. With information in the cloud, it can be processed from any location.
You can take a photo of a receipt with your phone and add the information to an accounting system automatically. You can also send a bill from your phone. Technology thus makes the whole process mobile-friendly.
Businesses will still need to consider where and how to access their data. With mobile computing’s benefits come the risk of data breaches and downtime of usage. Owners or strategic decision makers will need to formulate an effective cloud and mobile computing plan to ensure the benefits far out way the risks.
Digital Payment Collection System
The future of all accounting apps lies in automating. This is especially true for payment collections and reminders for pending invoices. Technology that reminds you of pending invoices and sends you automated payment links for collections makes life easier for internal finance team .
In this day and age, customers dislike call reminders but prefer SMS reminders containing payment links. These emerging technologies are the main reason for forcing the present-day accounts person to be a crucial business partner instead of just a bookkeeper.
Final word
Traditional accounting and bookkeeping functions haven’t changed for the longest time. Now there seems to be a change from common traditional ways, to better ones that embrace advancing technologies and present data in a meaningful way with BI. By adapting to the changing times, accountants can become critical thinkers and decision-makers vital to the overall functioning of a business.
Are you considering incorporating technology into your accounting function? Look no further! We offer specialised services in the finance and accounting industries. Get strategic advice around accounting outsourcing services, cashflow and profit improvement, succession planning, and CFO advisory services.
Contact us today to take your business to the next level.
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