There’s a gap, says a new survey.
The IFA (Institute of Financial Accountants) made a revelation for the UK accounting agencies and firms. Wherein, accountants above the age of 40 years were questioned about the challenges that modern technologies have posed in front of the UK accounting industry.
They were also probed whether there is a need for knowledge and skills upgradation.
The survey boiled down to the need for more training to polish up the knowledge and skills of the accountants and small & medium-sized accounting firms to leverage accounting tools and software programs.
Deviation from traditional accounting to ultra-modern accounting.
Undoubtedly, there is a drastic change in the way reports and financial statements are being generated and bookkeeping is carried out. Automation has taken the accounting industry by storm. All the credit goes to the advent of artificial intelligence and the enhanced use of cloud-based accounting software programs.
Because of the evolving nature of the accounting industry, there is a visible impact on the client demands and expectations. The clients need clear, crisp reports on time coupled with perfect client services.
Hence, the revelation by the survey calls for action for UK accounting firms. Training is the need of the hour.
However, there is another way out apart from just training the resources and that is Outsourcing accounting work to face technological challenges confidently.
Before getting into knowing the necessity of outsourcing accounting, let us also discuss how training cannot be the only solution when it is to having proficient and tech-savvy accountants.
Small and medium-sized UK accounting firms face major issues with staffing. You hire people, train them and take more than a hundred per cent effort in retaining them.
We understand how it takes a great effort, a hell lot of time and a huge cost in developing a fully skilled team that is cognizant of state-of-the-art technology, data analytics, cloud computing etc.
However, the challenge arises when your resourceful accountants leave for bigger fishes in the finance industry.
Consequently, the time, efforts and cost spent on those accountants, to make them fully armed, go in vain when they choose other firms. This poses another great problem in front of small and medium-sized UK accounting firms.
However, as mentioned earlier, there is a way out and that again is Accounting Outsourcing – in the face of Staffing Problems.
Accounting Outsourcing to Ease the Burden
The above mentioned technological challenges and staffing issues create a serious need to not rely only upon the indigenous accountants but pave the way for the overseas accountants as well, to experience the perks of outsourcing that small and medium UK accounting firms yearn for.
Major Perks of Outsourcing to Indian Accounts Outsourcing Firms
- The Indian accounting industry is a concoction of the tech-savvy and dexterous workforce – solving your staffing challenge.
Save your cost and efforts of training the resources as the Indian accounting industry is a mixture of skilled, knowledgeable and technologically adept accountants.
On one hand, UK accountancy firms find it tough to hire skilful resources and on the other hand there is a whole army of proficient accountants in India who are in accordance with the latest technology trends and software programs.
Hence, there is no need to worry about the shortage of skilled accountants and executing the hiring process in less time as you may simply outsource!
- Scale Up and Down
Outsourcing experts can take on extra work on short notice, which will be extremely beneficial to your company as it grows. Small and medium-sized UK accountancy firms can get flexible services as they can outsource their accounting work to more or fewer people. It totally depends on whether the specific period is at its peak or not.
Instead of trying to manage the haphazard workflow on your own, that shoots up during specific periods like tax season, year-end accounting or festive season, it seems that outsourcing can come to the rescue. When you are loaded with work, you may outsource to more people and fewer people when the workload is not as much.
- Focus on Business growth
There is no rocket science that outsourcing will empower you to improve the efficiency and processes of your business. When you get quality services along with data protection at a lower cost, it gives you a competitive edge – helping your firm to contemplate more on growing your business.
- Outsource Bit by Bit
Outsourcing all the functions of accounting at once can be dreadful. You need to test the waters before completely diving into them. Hence, you may choose to start with one function at a time. You might be willing to outsource Bookkeeping or Payroll or VAT returns etc. The outsourcing partner can customize their services to your needs based on your preference.
Bottom Line
Further, there are several other factors that accounting outsourcing can assist with, however, as set out above these are the major advantages that small and medium-sized UK accountancy firms can experience and keep away from the issues related to technological trends and staffing.
For over 14 years, Acobloom has been a prominent provider of accounting and taxation outsourcing services. Contact us today at uk@acobloom.com to learn how our team of qualified, dedicated, and dependable specialists can assist you in scaling your business and providing a satisfying experience to your customers.
You can also read: Perform the Roles of a ‘Modern Day’s Accountant’ by Outsourcing