how automation is transforming accountancy...building the firm of the future putting automation at...
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
HOW AUTOMATIONIS TRANSFORMINGACCOUNTANCYAND WHY YOU NEED A FRIENDLY ROBOT ON YOUR TEAM
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
INTRODUCTION -
WHY AUTOMATION IS THE FUTURE OF ACCOUNTINGAutomation is the future of accountancy. The future success of your firm will depend on whether you can adapt to, and adopt, a software approach to accounting. It’s a substantial shift for some practices, but the move to automation can actually be a huge opportunity for you and your clients.
Where once accountants focused on historic data, audit and compliance, technology is allowing accountants to take on a new role – a role where you offer more than just basic accounting and become a real driving force behind your clients’ financial success.
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
AUTOMATION AS TIME-SAVER AND HELPING HAND
A BRIEF HISTORY OF AUTOMATION HOW CLOUD SOLUTIONS BRING AUTOMATION TO ACCOUNTANTS
AUTOMATING LIFE’S MORE INEFFICIENT PROCESSES
Ever since we’ve had access to technology, humans have been coming up with ways to automate the more tedious and labour-intensive elements of our everyday workload.
At the 2016 World Economic Forum, automation was a key theme. Labelled a ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, this shift is set to have a profound effect on traditional industries, with a study by the University of Oxford finding that 45% of US jobs are susceptible to automation.
So, why is automation on the rise?
So, how does this efficiency-focused approach work in the world of accounting?
By integrating your firm’s choice of cloud accounting platform with the right software tools, you can automate the vast majority of your low-level financial and client admin processes.
That means no more time-consuming data entry, no messing around with complicated spreadsheets and no hunting through piles of paperwork to find documentation. It means you can get back to actually working one-on-one with your business clients.
Prior to the invention of the automatic teller machine (ATM), if you needed cash, you had to queue up in the bank and deal with whomever was behind the desk. Then a bright spark realised that a machine could perform this task just as well, if not better.
The thinking was simple. Dispensing cash from a machine was quicker, more cost-effective and less prone to errors than using a real human being.
The meteoric rise of Uber is another example of someone taking an inefficient process (hailing a ride to take you from A to B) and using technology to simplify that task. With a smartphone and an app, your driver comes direct to you –- and your fare is charged straight to your credit card.
It’s fast, it’s convenient and it removes the inefficient elements of the process – and that’s where automation really comes into its own.
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RISE OF THE ROBOTS
Software automation takes the hard work out of some of life’s more menial tasks
Thinking strategically and automating the right tasks creates a more efficient world
All of these benefits can be applied to the accounting process
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
WHAT DOES AUTOMATION MEANFOR ACCOUNTANCY?
TRADITIONAL ACCOUNTING
REAL TIME ACCOUNTING
A BRIEF HISTORY OF AUTOMATION
A recent survey of UK accountancy practices found that 86% of their revenues still came from compliance work. However, as governments around the world move towards a digital tax system, this will be the first work to go.
That means that by 2020, the average accountant’s workload is likely to look very different. Cloud software will be at the heart of your processes, meaning there’s less time spent analysing historic data and more time advising clients on the financial and strategic direction of their business.
Focuses on historic data – what happened to the client in the past.
Low-value number crunching – it’s low-skilled, difficult to differentiate your firm and makes accountants a commodity.
Not profitable – fees are low when compared to the workload required.
Works in the present – what’s happening to the client’s business now (and why)
High-value advice – it’s high-skilled, easier to stand out from your competitors and allows you to deliver value to a chosen niche of clients and industries.
Highly profitable – value-added services can bring in far bigger fees.
Modern business owners want added value from their accountant. Clients’ expectations have shifted and they want more than just basic accounts – they crave better analysis of their numbers, more proactive advice and guidance that gives a true sense of direction.
And that means moving away from traditional accounting and adopting a real-time approach.
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A MORE EFFICIENT PRACTICE
Reduce data entry and admin time with smart scanning of paperwork
Stop using complex spreadsheets and move to powerful business
Make your accounting processes faster and more insightful
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
THE ACCOUNTANT OF TOMORROW – AND THE NEED TO LOOK TO THE FUTURE
FOCUS ON YOUR CLIENTS’ FUTURE AND BECOME A ‘VIRTUAL FD’
Be future-focused – tell clients what’s going to happen to their business.
Provide the important numbers – give clients the key performance indicators (KPIs) they need to make good decisions.
Don’t just advise: be directive – be proactive and tell clients what the next step should be.
Join the decision-making table – earn your place on the board and drive their strategy.
Make yourself indispensable – deliver a level of value that the client can’t live without.
Compete with larger firms – provide a truly insightful consultancy service that can compete on the same level as larger, more established advisory practices.
There’s a 97.5% probability that basic chartered accounting will be replaced by automation over the next 20 years, according to Big Four firm, PwC. That’s a real imperative for your firm to evolve and to secure a more advisory- based future for the practice.
To truly complete the transition from traditional to cloud accountant, you need to switch your focus not just away from the past, but to the future of your clients’ businesses.
Don’t just provide numbers and analysis. Take the next logical step and start helping to steer the strategic direction of your clients’ futures as their part-time finance director.
With the right cloud system behind you, you have the real-time data, the process automation and the reporting insight needed to become a ‘virtual FD’.
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
THE JOURNEY TO ACLOUD-BASED FUTURE
HOW TO MOVE FROM OLD TO NEW
Automation will replace basic bookkeeping and accounting. So now is the time for your firm to innovate and try new service offerings. As you become more strategic with how you use time and resources, you can cater more closely to the needs of your clients.
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Move clients to cloud systems – bring them the benefits of online accounting and make their financial management more efficient.
Deliver real-time numbers – Use Receipt Bank’s smart-scanning app to remove data entry and give clients the key real-time numbers they need to move forward.
Improve their insights – Work with cloud reporting solutions like CrunchBoards to find the trends, threats and opportunities in their data.
Focus on cash flow – Move clients to Chaser’s automated credit control to improve income, reduce aged debts and boost their cash situation.
Advise on tax planning – help clients put money away and plan for tax costs.
Help them grow – deliver forecasting and budgeting so they can grow with confidence.
A CHANCE TO INNOVATE
Automation and artificial intelligence can, and will, replace basic accounting processes
But this automation of the basics is a golden opportunity to move to more skilled services
Software gives your firm a chance to evolve and innovate
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
EMBRACE AUTOMATION AND SECURE YOUR FIRM’S FUTURE
BUILDING THE FIRM OF THE FUTURE
Putting automation at the heart of your practice systems helps you deliver more for your business clients, and secures the long-term future of your practice.
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Cloud solutions bring the power of automation to your practice.
Automation streamlines your processes, saving time for you, your team and your client.
Saved time can be put into deeper client relationships and value-added business advice.
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
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HOW AUTOMATION IS TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTANCYReceipt Bank
With Receipt Bank integrated into your practice systems, you’re ready to take full advantage of the cloud revolution.
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