Accountants now lean mean financial machines

Thanks to automation accountants have more time to offer their clients a broader range of services.

It's an exciting time to be an accountant - it really is. You may not think accountants get excited, but the current landscape is enough to get the beads of Abaci rattling with glee

Yes, while the humble Abucus is ancient history in the age of Cloud accounting platforms, an accountant's expertise with numbers and the insights this data can offer into a business remains key.

And if there is anything to get accountants fired up, it's their compliance margins being squeezed, and with the overall pie they are competing for getting smaller, they are getting feisty.

These challenges mean accountants are now adding real value to their clients' as business advisors who provide proactive real-time advice in light of the access they have to accurate, up-to-date client data.

Accountants are crystal ball gazers without the flakiness. And these days the accountant, for so long simply a numbers person, is now a people person as well. Throw in the ever-growing influence of technology, automation and artificial intelligence, and your accountant has potential to be a lean mean financial machine.

Accounting firms and accountants are fortunate in the amount of valuable data they hold on their clients - with intimate knowledge of financial performance, tax details, insurances, business relationships, and much more.

Technology provides them with opportunities to extract value through data mining, analytics and exception reporting which then allows you, the client, to improve performance and grow your business.

With technological advancements also come more challenges for accountants, such as the difficulty of servicing a diverse range of clients on different software platforms.

In future, businesses will have even greater choice around software and technology products to fit their requirements, meaning accountants need to think strategically about where their clients' data lives and what role they want to play in the client relationship.

Which has got to be a good thing for business owners. The onus is now on accountants to demonstrate genuine value in the relationship.

Innovation is happening at a remarkable speed and in 2017 it shows no signs of slowing down with AI and machine learning at the point of disrupting industries across multiple sectors.

The accounting industry is a prime candidate to take full advantage of the automation offered by intelligent learning systems. In fact, technology and the advancements associated with it are already at the centre of the industry and key to helping businesses grow.

In the accounting industry automation means virtual CFOs are becoming more common. But in a very practical sense it allows accountants to have more time to offer their clients a broader range of services. For example, succession planning is a big issue for many businesses currently with baby boomer SME owners retiring in ever-increasing numbers, and too few planning ahead for the changes that will inevitably come. Your trusty accountant could just be the person to plot your succession plan to ensure your legacy and the company you built from the ground up is left in the right hands.

Grant Linton is general manager New Zealand Reckon Accountant Group.