Our competitive edge will come from acknowledging that with technology the digital world is changing. Many accountants have identified this change and are working hard to reshape their business. Cloud technology is hailing in an era of automation allowing Schwan & Associates Chartered Professional Accountant to be ahead of this trend. Some advantages that the firm will have are as follows:
- Clients will no longer feel the need to drive to the firm to sign documents, drop off documents, or be present for meetings, as there will be “hired” software. With leveraging software to take greater control of time, this will enable the firm to move into more of a coach-like role and create increased value for clients by interpreting financials and providing advise on ways to grow faster or reduce costs.
- We should see a major shift from a transactional style advisor-client relationship, where a significant portion of the interaction was based on what documents were still needed. The trend is moving advisor-client relationships to value-driven interactions.
- With cloud and new technology, the firm will be empowered to work from anywhere, and it is no longer necessary to be in close proximity to clients to fulfill the role as their advisors. In addition, the firm will be able to significantly reduce paper utilization and shift towards a paperless practice. This in turn allows us to “think green” as we all have a responsibility to the environment.
- Accounting and bookkeeping businesses are making the move from hourly pricing to fixed, value-based pricing. Charging by the hour made sense when there were hours and hours of time-consuming data entry to do. Software can take that job now. The firm does not have to devote the time to that work anymore allowing for more control over time while not losing out on revenue. The firm will be more efficient and will excel faster than other firms could before.
- For the most part, advisors have been working with a generation that did not grow up with technology. For the millennial generation, cloud technology is an integral part of their daily life; in 5 years, millennials will make up half the working population. Since the firm will be embracing cloud technology, it will be more efficient and marketable to the new generation.
