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More than half of Australian accountants have claimed the profession has become progressively more challenging in a recent survey by The Access Group.
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Being an accountant is ‘harder than ever’, survey reveals
06 November 2024
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New research from The Access Group highlighted the hardships faced by accountants and the industry in 2024 and predicted they would continue into 2025.
The report, Beyond the Numbers: An Accountant’s Perspective 2024, conducted by Agile Market Intelligence revealed key industry challenges and surveyed 422 Australian accountants.
Sixty-eight per cent of respondents said being an accountant is “harder now than ever before” and only 9 per cent said the work is easier than when they first began their careers.
According to The Access Group, when recipients were asked about the role of technology in the accounting space, 91 per cent said they would save at least one hour per day if platforms were integrated.
Fifty-three per cent said they would save four hours or more, and 33 per cent said they would save more than seven hours a week if their systems were integrated.
The Access Group’s APAC president, Kerry Agiasotis, said despite the promise that technology would streamline processes, too many tools that required manual interaction had the effect of creating more work.
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“There is seemingly a tool out there to help accountants solve every part of their workflow. But when those tools are not integrated, it simply creates more complexity and confusion,” he said.
“Technology is often billed as the key to relieving workload, but our research has shown that the ‘urban sprawl’ of unplanned, non-integrated and siloed technology is negatively impacting accountant workloads.”
Other key findings within the report demonstrated that 85 per cent of accountants said technology was a necessary skill set for success, 40 per cent said their workload was ‘heavy’ and 26 per cent said they were overwhelmed.
It was also found that 84 per cent of participants said their clients valued advice, mentoring and guidance.
Results showed that half of respondents were using three to five different pieces of technology to help automate workflows and that accountants with more platforms had a smaller chance of having them integrated.
Agiasotis said accountants wanted to avoid a reliance on manual processes, re-keying data and a need to double-check work or accuracy as it wasted valuable time.
“Technology should enable accountants to focus on what matters most- their clients. But if that tech is not connected, it further complicates compliance and introduces a situation where accountants feel they need a degree in software to run their practice.”
“When you charge for your time, if your tech is costing you time, it’s ultimately costing your practice money.’
Agiasotis noted The Access Group wanted to strive to solve the issue of disconnected point solutions for the accountants and firms they worked with across Australia and New Zealand.
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