Technology of today
Currently the technology is changing almost daily. Whether you like or not, you have to keep up. Standing still in the river (of technology) is actually going backwards.
What about in the accounting world? Historically, things do change but extremely slowly. The basic principles of accounting have not changed and will never change. How the information is reported and or regulated will change but not quickly at all. Taxation is changing on a regular basis but at a pace that is certainly manageable. In South Africa it’s about once (maybe twice) a year.
Change is going to happen. Many don’t like it. This is due to them being taken out of their comfort zone. It does not matter whether the change is going to enhance their lives or even business. The biggest change is from the “workstation” computing to “in the cloud”. This certainly not limited to accounting. You will be happy to know that accountants are moving with the trend too.
Why should we be embracing this change?
B.C. Accounting Services (BCAS) is embracing this move for 2 reasons (so far):
1. Safety of data.
Data loss can cripple businesses instantly. With an cloud based system, backups are stored in the cloud and cannot be lost. Here is an example: Your company is in the cloud. Thieves come shopping one night and on their list is your computers. All are taken. Being a responsible business owner, your insurance covers such events. However, unless a working back up is taken regularly, all the data on those computers is gone. Not true!
You log onto the internet and log into your accounting system. It opens and there in front of you is your complete set of accounts as you left it yesterday.
Simple and you have only lost time buying new computers. Given the computers you require, shops open at about 9am and computers can be in the office in less than three hours. The back up may take a little longer.
2. Convenience for our clients (and us)
No more long meetings and time away from your computer while the accountant is there. The process can be performed or monitored remotely. You may receive an email asking certain questions that arise. This results in a short meeting, once a month (quarter etc) to discuss the main points of the months reports and in time to implement any change of strategy in current month.
Two major impacts on your business:
1. As the accounting packages allow an accountant access to the files, clients can still work on the package and the accountant can oversee everything remotely. An audit trail is kept of who did what and when to eliminate any confusion or the “blame game”.
2. This brings an opportunity to run your business from anywhere with an internet connection. The craze is to say you can run it from anywhere but if you don’t have access to your computer? Then what? With online accounting, find a computer with connection and log into your account. Boom, there is your business.
Perhaps the biggest change is the cost element. Over the last 5 years, we have noticed that this system when used properly*, can save up to 50% time and therefore WILL CUT the cost to your business
Advancing Technology
Technology is advancing and although accounting principles are not going to change, the way those principles are implemented is changing with the latest development in the world of computers.
With the recent global pandemic, there really is no real reason not to go “into the cloud”.
This post was updated on the 31st March 2021