Amidst this rapid-changing and volatile environment, the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants CAPA has been monitoring the state of the accountancy profession as represented by its members, the professional accountancy organizations PAOs in, or with an interest in, the Asia Pacific region. The aim was to keep a finger on the pulse of the profession — to understand how the profession was responding, not only to the impacts brought forth by the pandemic but also to the inherent trends and challenges foreshadowed prior to the pandemic.
We were also keen to understand and explore how the profession will move forward, how it will rise above all the noise in the midst of such global uncertainties, to remain relevant. To assist pinpoint what defines the profession now and what will define it for the foreseeable future, CAPA undertook various surveys, polls, research and discussions at CAPA member forums to gain insights at regular intervals over the last two years.
Some core themes and trends have certainly emerged. These were further developed at a CAPA member forum that followed. Other positives highlighted included an increase in receptiveness to change, an accelerated rate of digital transformation, heightened innovation to deliver on member and student services, and the embrace of more nimble and dynamic operational models such as work-from-home practices.
Further, an overwhelming majority i. The picture that emerged was of a profession working tremendously hard to adapt and succeed. KPIs such as member retention and engagement rates remained strong. An area of concern did emerge surrounding students. A few CAPA member representatives identified that the admission of new members in their jurisdictions was hindered by the inability to stage assessments on a timely basis.
On a positive note, respondents felt that the current setback to staging assessments was transitional in nature and should stabilize moving forward. Besides focusing on recovering from the crises and maintaining organizational sustainability, PAOs and the profession are turning to reimagining what the future looks like. Two predominant thrusts arose when PAOs were asked to divulge the top areas they felt required focus going forward to develop the profession. These were:.
Diving deeper into what this means, namely what should the profession do to remain relevant and how should it define itself, four 4 areas of focus emerged:. No longer record-keepers or assurers of historical data, the accountant is now a business partner, a corporate story-teller, the frontliner for economic recovery and assurer of knowledge.
These are just some examples of the new definitions of accountants that have been mooted. It is anticipated that to be able to meet the expectations and transition to these new roles, the accountants will need to either hone existing or develop new skills and competencies. These include an integrated mindset, analytical and critical thinking, complex problem solving and good communication skills.
Then make sure the direction of your business is consistent with them. And according to a recent Deloitte survey of millennials and Gen Z , the appetite to work from home as the new norm remains strong:.
And the difference between working from home and working from anywhere in the world is basically nil for the business but provides a ton more flexibility for your team. Forget Work from Home, those searching for accounting jobs want Work from Anywhere to help live a less stressful life in accounting. Sure, the way compliance services are being delivered might be changing, and yes, more of it is being automated, but the high demand of ensuring compliance is not going anywhere anytime soon.
In fact, it was recently found that compliance-focused firms have been growing faster than their counterparts. That being said, when it comes to the future of accounting and compliance services, they are certainly becoming more automated, more based on technology, and more competitive.
These are things that they only perform a couple of times a year to only a handful of clients, like audits. Think of your client experience as well. Someone still needs to manage the automation, however. This is where understanding how to automate becomes valuable. Luckily there are online communities for entrepreneurial, technology-forward accountants to help provide this education, including my own Future Firm Accelerate community, where members can chat about all things technology:.
Earlier, we looked at standardizing processes and then leveraging automation to automate those processes. Let me know by commenting below! I'm Ryan. Following its acquisition in , I started Future Firm to help accountants fast-track the growth of a modern, scalable accounting firm of their own. Hi Ryan I found the material rivetting and a must-read for all modern accountants.
I have made a ton of notes and going to start with writing my Personal goals. Get the app list, reasons why they rock and my top tips and tricks.
Plus, you'll get my weekly Top 5 email curating helpful, innovative content for your modern firm. In Featured , Practice management. By Ryan Lazanis. And to be clear, this is not a predictions post. Tip 2: Leverage App Integrations When you connect different pieces of software together, data can flow seamlessly from one app to the next, which allows you to achieve more automated workflows.
Check out QuickBooks Online can do this with their cash flow planner tool: This means you can leverage these kinds of features to help speed up your work. Tip 4: Future of Accounting — Use Technology to Close Technical Gaps One of the things that advancements in technology are bringing to the future of accounting is the democratization of technical knowledge.
In fact, when I ran my firm, I hired a full-time software engineer very early on to take over technology at the firm: The role included everything from researching new ways to automate to implementing custom tools to training the team on technology to helping with data analytics and basically quarterbacking technologies at the firm.
I think so. While there are tons of important soft skills, firms should prioritize hiring and training for the following two in 1 Problem Solving A key ingredient of being able to problem-solve is to be adaptable. Now, consumers have more choices than ever before for how to get their work done. Want proof? Here are two emerging business models that affect the future of accountants and the accountancy profession: i. Marketplace Platforms Uber popularized the marketplace platform by providing software where suppliers and customers can connect effortlessly and have their needs fulfilled.
This is already happening with accountants and bookkeepers through platforms like QuickBooks Live : Here, Intuit is hiring accountants and bookkeepers to then match up to their customers who need bookkeeping services on-demand.
What this means is that your clients have yet another option: Learn how to do things themselves rather than hire a firm. And many accountants are already jumping on this wagon. Here are a few tips to consider to help you prepare in this area: Tip 1: Clearly Define Your Customer Profile All of the above models have one thing in common: They all target a very specific segment of the market.
Great, personalized service will never go out of style. Tip 3: Break Out of the Box As the world evolves, so should your business. Tip 2: Modify Your Discovery Call Part of what your clients are paying for when they offload bookkeeping, payroll, bill pay, etc. How many revenues streams do they have? How do they invoice each? How do they receive payment for each? What kinds of expenses do they have and how do they pay for them? Tip 3: Productize Your Offering The beauty of CAS is that the service is repeatable which makes it a prime target to offer on a subscription basis.
And the accountants and firms that have tapped into Google have seen exponential growth. First, it will help accountants like you rank more favorably in local Google search results. Accounting services and advisors can build value on that solid base by offering deeper insight, more detailed analysis and a closer working relationship than would otherwise be possible without the support of innovative technology. In many ways, the future is now. Automatic services have become commonplace in many sectors of the financial services industry.
Likewise, consumer automated tax preparation apps are heavily promoted during tax season. Yet the accounting services firm of the future has yet to completely emerge.
Some experts predict a hybrid approach where advanced technology will sit comfortably with human advisors to offer clients the best of both worlds — unparalleled data analysis combined with the human touch. Concerned your current outsourced accounting services may not be staying on top of the latest in accounting?
Find out how AccountingDepartment. Blog Careers Login. Our Blog. Resources Blog. Comments: 0. Big Data and IoT New technologies based on big data, business intelligence, analytics and the Internet of things IoT are reaching into every area of business life. Mobile Computing About 68 percent of American adults owned a smartphone in Connection Convergence As broadband and high-speed Internet continues to permeate household and business locations, the ability for bookkeepers, controllers and CPAs to have high-speed, two-way conversations with clients via video streaming becomes more realistic.
The Future Is Now Perhaps the most dramatic example of fast-moving changes in the accounting industry is the massive shift to data entry automation for bookkeeping and accounting. Customization and Personalization Consumers are used to buying goods and services customized to their liking. Services of the Future In many ways, the future is now. Subscribe to Email Updates.
We do not provide tax services, including but not limited to tax preparation, tax law, tax compliance, tax filing, and tax planning services.
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