As daunting as many of us find the domination of artificial intelligence and automation in so many industries nowadays to be, its benefits to so many professions are hard to ignore.
When it comes to accounting, new technologies such as automation can be incredibly beneficial; helping a variety of accounting processes to be more efficient, more accurate, and more transparent. But, while such technology undoubtedly benefits the accounting professionals themselves, it can also have a positive impact on the customer facing side of things. And, if an accounting firm employs technology that can improve their customer’s experience, this will only ever be beneficial for their competitivity and overall appeal.
If you’re considering employing some new technologies in your accounting practises, it’s important to use them in the right way, but once you do, here are just some of the ways they could enhance your client’s experience:
- Supporting client operations
If you’re using the right technology within your accounting firm, you should be provided with valuable insights into how you can improve your client’s daily business operations and give them comprehensive and secure access to their data at any time.
- Meeting depth and consumption demands
The demands of the client cannot typically be met by simply assessing the financial reports and feeding advice back to them. Nowadays, modern business clients want specific insights that can help them to address their problems (or potential problems) quickly and efficiently. In order to achieve this, the accounting professional must delve further than the realms of the record books, and assess other market demands, too, something which new technology can help them do.
- Providing a high-touch service
Accountants are expected by their clients to be proactive, and instead of the client contacting them to ask about their data and finances, the accountant should do so unprompted, and regularly. With technology that supports the instant and accurate sharing of data and feeds, accountants can easily reconcile the accounts and forward the relevant reports to the client. Interacting in such a deep way and being able to securely share data is made entirely possible with new and emerging technologies, and clients and accountants can interact with each other in real time, and be in constant sync with one another, especially when it comes to monthly or weekly reports and spreadsheets.
- Improving internal and external relationships
With the best use of the right technology, accountants can give their clients a level of service that’s both quicker and of a higher value, and deliver much more than mere reports and figures. Not only that, but technology gives accountants the chance to quickly analyze data and provide clients with real-time insights and guidance, helping them to become an even more valuable asset to both the accounting team, and the client and their business. Overall, this enhanced level of efficiency and accuracy enables the accountant’s firm to take on more work and more clients, while still being able to manage the workload with ease, and still providing higher value services.
Technology has had a significant impact on accounting processes, and while it can never be a replacement for the expertise of an accounting professional, it can help them carry out their work to greater effect, and offer services that are of a much higher value to their clients.
