With the rapidly growing technical advancements, accounting firms are facing numerous challenges in terms of keeping up with the rapid transitions in technology, changing rules, highly competitive markets, etc. Therefore it is extremely important to stay in the mainstream while evolving every single day with these advancements.
With these rapid changes, it is crucial to remain updated & informed about these changes on a continuous basis.
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Presenting the 7 most prominent challenges faced by the accounting firms at the present day:
1. Highly competitive market
With the advancement in technology, we are witnessing an era of growth and transition. It is very important to keep an eye on the latest developments and at the same time successfully implementing them to your current business strategies.
One of these challenges is the highly competitive market. To stay ahead in the game is to find perfect solutions that can be beneficial for both the businesses and the clients. Hence to gain a lead in this highly competitive market is to implement these technological developments.
For example, incorporating automation techniques, a website that keeps you in touch with your clients and keeping them informed further through technology.
2. New tax rules
With the changing economic advancements, new tax rules are also coming into the picture. It is crucial for both clients and accounting firms to stay updated with the changing tax rule as it can make or break many business strategies.
Therefore it is highly essential to stay in line with the changing face of the new economical reforms, and then designing the business strategies accordingly. Even giving clients constant important updates related to the latest advancements in the tax rules can be beneficial.
With the changing scenario, these points can be followed to stay updated with the current scenario:
- Newsletters of different subjects/topics/news can be beneficial in staying updated.
- Economic Times newsletter can be followed to stay informed.
- Specifically, targeted news can be followed for different topics such as GST, IT sector, and different taxation rules.
These important news updates can help you stay ahead in the competitive world. If you are staying informative also your clients will be!
3. Adopting the technological advancements
One of the prominent challenges that accounting firms face is adopting the changing face of technology. Today when everything is in transition, it is highly important to have constant upgrades that can be helpful in keeping your business ahead. Even, adopting these technological advancements can be helpful for the clients as well. As they can get hold of any essential information they want such as important receipts.
Accounting firms can add the extra touch of automation to any process that takes time and manual effort. One of these processes can be as simple as designing an app that can help in managing and uploading important receipts in one place.it will give the clients the opportunity letting the clients upload the receipts from their end. A perfect amalgamation of technology and automation can help accounting firms as well as the clients manifolds.
4. Services that ensure quality
The most beneficial asset to serve a client better and generating a chain of repeat business is to ensure better quality services. Therefore it is highly essential to provide services that are not only just useful for the clients but also ensures swiftness with quality and in a timely manner.
To ensure better quality services, firms can take advantage of the technology. Bringing new tools and methods that can give a hassle-free experience to the clients. Even just adding a new tool that can simplify the process in the rush hours of tax filing can be beneficial for both the clients and the firms. The methods of automation can bring swiftness to the process.
- Accounting firms no matter how small or big can set up a reminder system for upcoming compliances.
- Collecting relevant information from clients in a timely manner.
- Give them a dashboard to show the business health check as derived from your accounting analysis.
5. Business reachability
In 2021, as the world unfolding new advancements, business reachability is becoming a top-most priority. In fact, ever since the pandemic has struck the world, work-from-home culture is becoming quite prominent.
Statistics are evident that how due to the global pandemic, businesses taking their services online to perform better reachability while being in the mainstream. They are becoming more available online to attain better customer outreach.
A study shows that the global pandemic has encouraged businesses, no matter how small or big the businesses are, to move their products and services online.
But it is not just about moving online, there are so many benefits that businesses can gain while keeping their services online. These benefits can be measured as:
Clients can reach out to your business irrespective of their geographical location. For an effective business growth mechanism, it is essential to have an online presence that can be able to showcase your talent. These are certain reasons why businesses are moving online:
- A website can be useful in reaching more clients as well as retaining pre-existing clients.
- You can display all the important information related to client-servicing on the dashboard itself. It will give your clients a hassle-free experience.
- Websites that are mobile-friendly and accessible from all other devices will help your clients in accessing the information anywhere they want.
The first and foremost way to showcase the business presence is to have a website that can help you to market your business. A good website ensures better customer reachability and at the same time, clients will have the benefit to reach out to you in no time. Therefore, having a web presence that is up and running is highly essential in 2021.
6. Retaining the talent
Firms that are initial growing stage cannot possibly let go of their important employees. But this is the most challenging aspect that growing firms do face. The draining talent pool can be really a matter of concern. But it is not always about firms not being able to retain the employees but also the added obstacle in providing quality services on the time.
By bringing new methodologies that can smooth out the work process, accounting firms can definitely tackle down the extra added pressure on the employees during the rush hours. This will definitely help employees to smooth out the work process leading to less workload.
- Hiring System (Applicant Tracking System) can be used to provide efficient hiring techniques.
- Clarity of the roles provided/ well-defined system.
- Smooth process of transition so that when someone leaves the firm, the replacement can be swift.
- Clarity on the job role for the betterment of the work transition. It will be beneficial for both the employees and employers.
- No company can stop an employee from leaving but can work towards making the transitions swift.
- Bringing consistency should be brought in the hiring with the help of system processes and technology.
7. Customer satisfaction
For the progression of any business, it is very important to provide services that can be effective for customers. In this highly competitive era, where the market is filled with many competitors for the same service, it is very important to provide services that customers like. But accounting firms and CAs face many issues in this regard.
To ensure high quality especially during the time of the peak hours of work, it is highly difficult to retain the quality of the services. Hence, there are high chances that the clients can move to a different firm altogether.
To solve the problem of providing not only just efficient services to the client but also giving way to the repeat quality business, bringing new advancements to the work is the need of the hour. Bringing effective tools of technology to the system such as constant reminders, adding automation to the repetitive tasks, etc.
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