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As businesses move to a remote working environment amid the coronavirus pandemic, accountants and bookkeepers have had to adapt to continue supporting their clients. We find out how.
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How accountants are adapting to remote working
30 March 2020
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13 minute read
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With the government now announcing $214 billion worth of economic stimulus measures to counter the coronavirus-induced downturn, accountants will now play a big role in helping clients access support measures and tax plan for the future.
While there has been a lot of concern surrounding cyber-security issues for companies with staff working from home, remote work is still the go-to solution for businesses to keep trading.
Some firms had already implemented systems to work from home before the coronavirus emerged, and the key, they said, was to embrace the different forms of technology to keep business flowing as normally as possible.
Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton has encouraged the use of video conferencing programs like Zoom and Skype, highlighting the importance of face-to-face virtual interaction with clients.
Grant Thornton technology advisory partner Matthew Green said being flexible with what you are using is the best way to engage with clients.
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“Adapting to everyone’s technology is a call-out around we’re not all using the same thing; you’ve got to work with your client in terms of what technology they’re using,” Mr Green said.
“It might be Zoom, it might be Webex, it might be Skype, it might be Teams — we’re using all of those things at the moment, so from the firm perspective and the client delivery perspective, it’s about absolute flexibility and being able to make lots of technology work and not just pushing our own solution.
“I think from a technology standpoint and a client engagement standpoint, the most important part of that is the video conference.
“The video puts a face to the voice and lets people know that you’re still interacting with the same human… [and] all the non-verbal cues that we all rely on so much when we’re talking to someone.”
Grant Thornton chief information officer Andrew Pritchett advised “basic home hygiene” in regard to working from home.
Mr Pritchett said being close to the Wi-Fi router and setting limits on internet usage for non-working family members are some of the ways staff can avoid technological slowdowns when engaging clients through virtual means.
Otherwise, he said, if businesses were getting stuck with implementing remote working, the best thing to do was to “strip back to the basics”.
“It’s making sure [staff] have got the equipment, then getting together… and trying to just have a chat to get one person to... find the tool they’ll use for video conferencing, what they will use for sharing documents, really basic stuff,” Mr Pritchett said.
Change Accountants & Advisors
Change Accountants & Advisors chief executive and founder Timothy Munro said the focus on technology and being able to work from a distance means the social restrictions keeping staff out of the office has made zero difference to how the business operates.
“We are fully able to work out of the office — our office is closed now, but we’re all working remotely,” Mr Munro said.
“That’s the whole thing with technology, we’ve gotten out and tried things a long time ago, so right now it’s easy for us.”
According to Mr Munro, the ideal scenario is being “old school” with client service and being able to hold meetings in person, but given the current global situation, using video conferencing programs to still have face-to-face interaction is vital.
“We’ve been using Zoom and [Microsoft] Teams for meetings and that just saves a lot of time,” Mr Munro said.
“We’ve found that it has been something that recently has been very well taken up, and with COVID-19 to last, I suppose, two months… tools like Zoom [have] been working beautifully.”
He believes firms that are struggling to adopt new technologies for remote working should not be afraid to contact other firms and ask questions.
“Accountants should not be competitors, but should be collaborators; I’d be saying reach out, connect and talk to those ones that are using [technology] successfully,” he said.
All That Counts
All That Counts founder Lielette Calleja said that the main way to effectively work from home was to get to know the tools.
“I think understanding how to use the tools and you have to guide [clients] and take control because they don’t know this stuff,” Ms Calleja said.
“But when [clients] can see that you know it and you’re confident in it, they feel relieved and they feel like their bookkeeper or accountant knows what they’re doing.”
She said, though, she had adopted remote working some 18 months ago and had been relying on Zoom meetings, and finding a way to communicate with groups of clients had been beneficial.
“Because I needed a way to communicate to all my clients at once rather than emailing individually, I started using newsletters as a way to keep them all up to date,” Ms Calleja said.
Ms Calleja also advised keeping up with “virtual touch points” to support clients, which included actions as simple as responding to emails or sending an SMS.
While technologies were very useful in a lot of areas for remote business, Ms Calleja said keeping it simple was sometimes the best way to go.
“I would say rather than be bogged down and focused on the whole, we need to be technically set up and we need to be able to do video calls and meetings, go back to what’s important,” she said.
“Clients need to hear from you. If that’s just a 30-second phone call or a quick SMS because that’s all you have, then that’s fantastic.
“I know it’s cliché now, but we’re in this together. We all want to see each other succeed.”
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