No surprise here: Accountants found to be tech-savvy in CCH poll
Posted by AccountingWEB in on 12/22/2009 - 04:42
- Technology was voted as one of the biggest factors driving change in the accounting profession in a recent poll
- Tech-savvy accountants are now streets ahead of clients in their use of technology to grow their businesses
- There is a gap between accountants and clients when it comes to sharing documents online
While they may not be widely known for their tech-savvy, accountants are way ahead of other professions in using new technologies to grow their business according to research by software provider CCH.
In a poll conducted in October 2009, 39% of accountants agreed that technology was the biggest factor driving change in the profession, placing it second only to increased regulator complexity (57%) and equal to the impact of the global recession. This figure is even higher among accountants in practice, with almost half (43%) saying technology is the biggest factor driving change.
In a poll conducted in October 2009, 39% of accountants agreed that technology was the biggest factor driving change in the profession, placing it second only to increased regulator complexity (57%) and equal to the impact of the global recession. This figure is even higher among accountants in practice, with almost half (43%) saying technology is the biggest factor driving change.
The majority (95%) of accountants are now comfortable reading and searching for accountancy information online, and with processing information and data online, which 84% say isn’t a problem. In this respect, accountants are ahead of business owners (clients) and managers surveyed – only 70% say the same.
There is also a gap between accountants and their clients when it comes to sharing documents online, with 45% of clients saying they don’t share documents online and don’t plan to in the near future. Only 34% of accountants say this and a quarter (25%) say the ability to work with digital documents has been most beneficial development to the accounting profession on the last decade.
However, accountants may be wary of moving their processes entirely online too quickly because over half (55%) of the clients polled expect them to process information both online and in hardcopy format.
Cathy Wolfe, the UK CEO of Wolters Kluwer, the parent company of CCH, says: “It is good to see that accountants are leading the way when it comes to using new technologies in their businesses. By moving processes and information online, they can improve speed and efficiency, accuracy and cut down on paper. This all means better service and happier clients.
“However, it seems that they may have some work to do to make their clients understand the benefits of what technology can bring in terms of process efficiency.”
Reprinted from our sister site, AccountingWEB.co.uk
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