Technology is rapidly advancing across all sectors of life. What’s even more important is that technology is slowly taking center-stage in all industries and fields of work.
IT is starting to become a real game player that SMB’s cannot survive without in today’s market. It is precisely the reason why SMB’s need to prioritize it above all else.
IT is one of the biggest challenges facing small accounting firms, but they seem to take little interest in addressing it. It’s something that most studies and surveys reveal. Sole accounting practitioners and small accounting firms take little interest in addressing the rise of IT in modern day society. The surveys in question point out that only one-quarter of sole practitioners in Vancouver think IT is one of the three major challenges facing their business. Out of all the sole practitioners surveyed, 80% have said that they are responsible for making all the decisions.
In the case of small to medium size accounting firms, 55% report that their partners make all the decisions, while just 10% report that a firm administrator makes all the decision. Furthermore, only one percent of sole practitioners have included external consultants in helping them make the necessary decisions.
What the numbers suggest is that accounting practitioners and small to medium size accounting firms are in danger of falling behind technological trends and missing out on the opportunities that come with it. A recent study has pointed out that Vancouver based accounting firms and sole practitioners don’t pay that much attention to their tax software. Only 30% of firms and 25% of practitioners have updated their tax software in the last five years, despite accounting-based tax software being incredibly competitive in recent years.
Accounting Firms and Managing Workflow Efficiency
IT providers can offer accounting firms and sole practitioners a better way to manage workflow. There are far more benefits that come with IT providers than just managing workflow, and if you want to know more about them, click here.
Managing workflow and efficiency is seen as the biggest technology challenge that sole practitioners and accounting firms will face in the next five years. Most data suggests that fixing workflow efficiency will be the most cost-effective solution. Despite this, Vancouver accounting firms and sole practitioners have stated that 47% of them do not use any workflow software.
Many experts in the field have stated that managing workflow efficiency is seen as a major concern for accounting practitioners and firms. Despite the 47%, only about 13% have stated that they are considering it. These numbers point out that accounting firms and practitioners need to take action before they fall behind even more. Microsoft Excel is quoted as the most used workflow software by accounting firms, while Client Track the second most, and CCH ProSystem as the third.
Cloud-Based Solutions, The Next Big Step?
Cloud-based solutions for managing workflow efficiency are not that popular with accounting firms and sole practitioners. Out of all the data and surveys out there, just 12% reported that they are likely to use cloud-based applications in the future. Cloud-based solutions do come with their own set of pros and cons, but it seems that accounting firms take little to no interest in it right now.
From all the data collected over the period of two years, we can see that Vancouver based accounting firms and sole practitioners take little interest in the advancements of IT and how the benefits that come with it. IT is seen as the biggest challenge facing accounting firms and practitioners, and concerns must be raised before it’s too late.
