资源描述
The passionate practitioner: Developing the digitalised small and medium practice The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants March 2019About ACCA ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants, offering business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. ACCA supports its 208,000 members and 503,000 students in 179 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. ACCA works through a network of 104 offices and centres and more than 7,300 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through its public interest remit, ACCA promotes appropriate regulation of accounting and conducts relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence. ACCA is currently introducing major innovations to its flagship qualification to ensure its members and future members continue to be the most valued, up to date and sought-after accountancy professionals globally. Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. More information is here: accaglobalThe passionate practitioner: Developing the digitalised small and medium practiceAbout this reportFor many in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) community, the world of accounting is changing. The profound effect of the application of accounting technology to this sector provides significant opportunities for accountants to remodel their practices and to offer increased, relevant, services. In this report we explore the nature of that opportunity, set out the components of the business case and a potential implementation path.4ForewordIt is often written that technology is an enabler. It can assist in creating change but of itself it is never the sole driver for. This is especially true if you consider the opportunity for small and medium-sized accounting practices (SMPs) since the evolution of cloud-based accounting software.Many economies are increasingly reliant upon small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to drive growth. The accountant in practice has a significant role to play in assisting in that process. Those who have the most to offer are those who have, with their clients, embraced the digital journey. Digital resources offer a world of insight that was once possibly restricted to larger businesses. These new resources enable the accountant to be the true business adviser, one who has time to spend with their clients on strategy, insight and vision.Changes to the ACCA Qualification have incorporated not only the capabilities for employing the data analysis skills that SMPs now need but also the professional skills that add value in the way that their clients now require.At the heart of this is the embracing of digital technology: cloud-based accounting applications that capture information and process it seamlessly. Seizing this is a significant opportunity for the SMP of today and tomorrow.Helen Brand Chief executive, ACCAContentsIntroduction 6Executive summary 71. Digital accounting software, a brief overview 81.1 Full proprietary systems 81.2 Native digital applications 81.3 Digitalised desktop products 81.4 Platform selection 91.5 Scalability 92. The impact of digitalisation 102.1 Revenues and growth 102.2 Identifying the client base 112.3 Managing the workload 112.4 Working practices 11CASE STUDY: Dawn Williams, Resilia Accounting Services 122.5 People and skills 13CASE STUDY: Nigel Adams, Ad Valorem 142.6 Value-added services and the move to advisory 15CASE STUDY: Bright Amisi, Avante Advisory Services 173. Why digitalise? 194. Benefits of digitalisation 204.1 Time and cost 204.2 Strategic drivers adding more value for clients 214.3 Skills and resources 21CASE STUDY: Heather Smith, ANISE Consulting 224.4 Digitising tax reporting 245. Future developments 255.1 The evolving application set 255.2 Remaining relevant 255.3 Other considerations 25CASE STUDY: Nathan Keeley, MHA Carpenter Box 266. Implementation 286.1 Transforming the implementation approach 286.2 The overall journey 286.3 Implementation roadmap 29CASE STUDY: Fou-khan Tsang, Alfa Accountants 317. Conclusion: The accountant of the future 33CASE STUDY: Christian Terry, PI Accountancy 34References 36Acknowledgements 37Digitalisation represents the greatest opportunity accountants have had to transform their businesses since the invention of the spreadsheet, not only transforming ways of work, but changing the role of the accountant itself. Practices that fail to adapt to the new ways of working run the risk of being left behind.way they work with clients. Rather than just saving time and money, digitalisation creates new spaces for accountants working with the SME sector to move into: not just as financial or even technology experts but with the time and information to act as true business advisers.At the same time, the move to digital will restate one of the fundamentals of the accountant the client relationship: for many small business leaders, of all the professionals that they work with in connection with their business, the accountant is the one they trust, the one who has got their back, who stands between them and the government.This report, which is based upon a series of interviews with leading practitioners, examines the experiences of several accountancy firms that are on various stages of the journey to digitalisation. From their insights and lessons, ACCA has consolidated a roadmap that guides those embarking on, or on the path of, that journey.Above all, however one word has come up a lot in these discussions: love. Digital accountants have told us that they love the digital technology that can make their lives easier, they love the like-minded clients they work with, they love accountancy itself: they love their jobs and their lives.Accountants played a vital role in the earlier development and adoption of business IT: finance was one of the first functions to be automated. Accountants became the natural business partners and consultants within large enterprises as they computerised and re-engineered all their business processes.Fast forward to the present and there is a sense that small business accountants may be lagging behind, with many still working in a desktop or even paper-based mode in an increasingly digital world. But the tools now exist for accountants to digitalise their practices and transform the 6IntroductionRecent years have seen several transformational shifts in the technology available to accountants. Cloud-based solutions with a range of add-ons that integrate with the core product, together with access through broadband and mobile networks, have removed the brown paper bag and replaced it with the smartphone and the tablet.It is not only a technology story. Success in this model requires a different approach to skills and talent from that of the traditional SMP. Having the skills to translate data into value-adding information and then to provide effective and constructive commentary is essential: the accountant as the true trusted adviser.The implementation can be split into three phases, shown in Figure ES1. Each of these has components of people, process and technology. It is important to balance each of three elements throughout.In developing the strategy and plan, it is important to identify the market segment on which the practice will focus. Digitalisation allows practices to focus on particular market or geographic segments. In 2019 the potential range of options is greater than ever before. Capability development focuses on the transition to the digital practice, or the creation of a new one. A key component of this phase is the emphasis on resources and skills.Once established, the successful practice needs to take advantage of the changing software environment; to maintain its advantages and grow, seeing new opportunities as its clients develop with it.Above all, however, the message from those interviewed is that they enjoy this work. They have a passion for their business and their clients businesses.7Not only is there an opportunity driver in this; there is also a compliance driver. For many governments, the collection of tax data by electronic means has become essential in managing the collection regime efficiently. This creates an imperative for businesses and their accountants to embrace the digital agenda.The case for accountants to adopt these technologies has never been stronger. Yet, it is a confusing landscape of varied suppliers and a myriad of application add-ons that tailor the core product for specific industries and/or geographies.For this report we have interviewed a range of early adopters, those at the forefront of the digital transformation for the accountancy practice. Why did they do it? What were the benefits for their clients? What benefits did it give them? What lessons did they learn from it, and continue to learn?Success in adopting this model enables accountants to reposition themselves as people who can add value through strategic advice, using data collected from clients. The accountant has more information to work with, available on a more immediate basis, than ever before. The emphasis of the client relationship moves away from compliance towards advice.Executive summaryFIGURE ES1: Tangible steps for public sector finance and accountancy professionalsStrategy and planCapability developmentMaintain and growOwn softwareEnd-to-end serviceCloud-based softwareTypically core application with third party add-onsPC installed software, potentially standaloneTypically licensed by seatDigital accounting is the sharing of a single accounting system between accountants and clients, hosted in the cloud. For some accountancy firms, this is a natural evolution from a server and remote desktop-based approach; others are building digital practices from the ground up. New Zealand-based Xero was founded by another accountancy outsider, serial software entrepreneur Rod Drury. The company had rapidly acquired 1.4m subscribers in 180 countries by the end of March 2018 (Vamos 2018); and unicorn status a valuation in excess of AU$7bn.1Based on the single ledger concept, Xeros open application program interfaces (APIs) have led to the creation of an ecosystem of over 7502independently developed apps, which extend Xeros functionality (Xero 2019). Xero certifies and facilitates connections via application programming interfaces (APIs) and has begun to curate them into recommended suites.1.3 DIGITALISED DESKTOP PRODUCTSAs the digital natives, those who have grown up in the internet age, have been rebelling against traditional software, the established accounting software firms that produced it have to a certain extent been playing catch up.8The software options fall into three groups: full proprietary systems, native digital applications and digitalised desktop products.1.1 FULL PROPRIETARY SYSTEMSThis is best exemplified by Crunch Online Accountants, founded in 2009 to provide an all-inclusive service to small limited companies by developing its own digital bank feeds and receipt scanning software (Crunch 2019). Crunch has since expanded its offering to support growing businesses (using a Sage platform) and sole traders via FreeAgent (see below), and offers a range of financial services.1.2 NATIVE DIGITAL APPLICATIONSFreeAgent was founded in 2007 by freelancers who were frustrated by traditional accountancy and created an online, subscription-based model. It rapidly gained a user base among IT contractors, freelancers and microbusinesses. After being purchased by Royal Bank of Scotland for approximately 53m in 2018, it became the first platform to offer direct bank feeds via the UKs Open Banking platform (Molyneux 2018).1. Digital accounting software, a brief overviewFIGURE 1: Digital accounting software optionsFull proprietary systemsNative digital appsDigitalised desktop products1 Yahoo Finance. Market capitalisation as stated when accessed on 2 March 2019. Equivalent to 3.75bn or US$4.95bn at that date.2 The number of apps will vary by country (Xero 2019). 9In 2018, Sage rebranded its Sage One and Sage Payroll products as Sage Business Cloud, a subscription model with low-cost entry points. While the top end of digital offerings continues to rise, Sage already offers support up to enterprise level, while supporting three million businesses with fewer than 10 employees each (Sage 2019).Intuits QuickBooks also benefits from a large user base, particularly in the US, and its QuickBooks Online platform has rapidly attracted 3.6m subscribers (Intuit Quickbooks 2019). QuickBooks also benefits from app integrations, as do Sage Business and IRIS. Many software providers, such as Expensify, Hubdoc and Receipt Bank support multiple platforms.1.4 PLATFORM SELECTIONChoice of platform (online accounting platform) depends not just on functionality but also on client preferences and the practices position in its lifecycle, with start-ups more likely to opt for the simplicity of a single platform.Established practices will be guided by the needs and existing software of their clients, for whom the online version of their existing platform may be the obvious, if not automatic, migration.Some will therefore end up with a hybrid approach by default, or deliberately choose to be platform agnostic. But many are insisting that clients move to a single platform, and there is little appetite for supporting more than two vendors. Although more and more vendors are emerging, first-mover advantage has played a considerable part in this market.The passionate practitioner: Developing the digitalised small and medium practice | 1. Digital accounting software, a brief overview1.5 SCALABILITYIt is also worth mentioning Microsoft Dynamics 365, which offers a way into the online enterprise resource planning (ERP) capabilities that many see as the logical future of online accounting. Given that existing ERP vendors have struggled to scale-down their offerings, it is possible to create an app stack that offers ERP functionality from an accounting core, as demonstrated by Xero.At the other end, highly simplified or fully automated solutions are emerging, targeting microbusinesses with very simple requirements. These businesses are extremely price sensitive and may be willing to dispense with the services of an accountant altogether for a DIY approach: the digitalisation of tax could be the start of a race to the bottom on fees. In the UK, the online TaxGo service offers a QuickBooks-based accounting and tax compliance service, which is still accountant-backed, for less than the retail price of the sof
展开阅读全文