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New research from an accounting software provider has revealed that accountants in regional and rural areas are providing more advisory services in a bid to grow their practices following the rapid uptake of cloud accounting products.
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Spike in regional accountants' advisory take-up
02 August 2017
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Intuit recently surveyed 438 accountants from towns Wodonga, Geelong, Newcastle, Mackay, the Sunshine Coast and Ballarat during its roadshow across NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
The results indicated respondents see advisory as a growth opportunity, and that their small business customers are increasingly seeking insight beyond basic compliance work from their accountant. Regional firms are, as a result, evolving their service offerings.
“The accounting profession is undergoing a dramatic shift which presents an opportunity for accounting professionals to change the nature of their engagement with clients. These interactions will increasingly become a value exchange where accountants become business advisers offering strategic solutions and advice,” said Nicolette Maury, country manager and vice president of Intuit Australia.
The popularity and suitability of advisory services for the accounting profession has been a point of contention for the last few years.
Recently, chief executive of Sequel CFO, David Boyar, told Accountants Daily said the arguments for advisory work are often "fear inducing."
“I think the reality is that compliance fees are under pressure. There’s always more compliance to do though. More audits, more accreditations,” Mr Boyar said.
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“There’s a whole lot of other compliance that still requires an accountant,” he said.
He also said there are a host of other revenue opportunities which are likely a better fit for Australian accountants.
“There’s wealth management, risk and governance, family planning, family office, so many other revenue streams that will really suit accountants’ training and personality traits. I feel like those things aren’t necessarily included in the conversation when the conversation is about compliance fees are under pressure, and we should open our eyes to that,” he said.
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