Challenges Today
CPA firms today are under high pressure to deliver a comprehensive array of CPA outsourcing services and maintain quality consistently. With evolving customer demands this necessitates having to work at reasonable rates and have flexible work schedules.
According to the 2019 PCPS CPA Firm Top Issues Survey, finding qualified staff and keeping up with the rising complexity of the legislative changes are two of the top concerns of CPA firms. Moreover, cybersecurity, in the age of rapid digital adoption, has further added complexity and challenges in the CPA industry.
These challenges make it imperative to stay relevant and credible and maintain a competitive edge particularly with a rising number of CPA firms inundating the market and the speedy adoption of accounting automation.
How can Technology help?
The challenges that CPA Firms face today have led them to take on a much higher workload with fewer resources. For instance, handling day-to-day responsibilities and tasks such as bookkeeping, compliance, audit, and risk management are still the norm. These tasks are manual, time-consuming, and labor-intensive.
Technology makes it easy to connect the front-end to the back-office allowing business operations to run smoothly with fewer errors. This leaves more time for advisory and consultancy tasks which have been proven to be beneficial for increasing revenue and client retention rate.
How can Outsourcing help?
According to Gartner, by implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in accounting, an accounting team of 40 could save up to 25,000 hours of avoidable rework per year, freeing up time for higher-value work such as analysis and forecasting while increasing engagement and reducing staff turnover.
While humans will be important in accounting even with the automation of accounting, it is necessary for CPA firms to expand the repertoire of their services and knowledge base to maintain relevance. While the optimal technology can make work a breeze, it can also burn quite a hole in the pocket. However, staying old-school while technology is constantly evolving means the risk of losing relevance and market share.
Understanding the firm’s current requirements and future business plans will make finding the right technological fit much easier. Firm resources are usually tied up delivering traditional, lower margin, assurance, tax, and outsourcing accounting services. Coinciding with the prior issue is the fact that firms are not spending enough face-time with clients. Automation helps save time so that the focus can be on non-repetitive, strategic tasks such as financial planning and analysis, or financial risk management.
With real-time data, actionable insights help identify key drivers affecting the success of the business and help in working toward them. Cpa outsourcing Services also allows a holistic view of all processes, providing an opportunity to preemptively address issues before they arise. This reduces the time and cost of redressal and resolution.
Additionally, work can be done on remote access servers so that your original files do not leave your office. With data backup on multiple secure servers and disaster recovery systems, the confidentiality and security of your data won’t be compromised.
The Final Word
Clients often underestimate the true value a CPA firm brings to their business. Providing higher-value services that save clients money and command higher premiums allows CPA firms to stay relevant. Clients will gladly pay for consulting and advisory services while Sentient Solutions allows you to cut costs of operations without sacrificing the quality standards they’ve come to expect as standard from you.
Consulting services can be one-off projects or ongoing services delivered on a retainer basis. However, such types of fee structures aren’t achievable by providing standard tax and accounting services which is why a partnership with us is key to your future. Allow us to free up valuable resources to optimize the consulting services you offer your clients.
Looking for help in transforming your accounting firm? Please reach out to us today for your free consultation.