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Technology and automation hold the answer to the accounting skills shortage, according to a survey by cloud-based wealth firm Class.
It found that an increase in automated technology in investment trust services helped financial advice and accounting practices combat skills shortages, deliver data and digital interactions to clients, and achieve time and cost savings.
Current demand for accounting professionals outstripped supply by about six to one, the survey found, but technology could help.
Two-thirds of Class Trust clients said that they were able to service an increase in clients due to the use of technology, while only 47 per cent who used other platforms felt the same way.
It also found that two-thirds of respondents said their clients wanted an increase in real-time information regarding their trusts while 58 per cent of firms providing trust management services had been asked by clients for more reports and advice.
Class’s research discovered that approximately two-thirds of firms now expected their staff to work electronically and use automation to maximise time saving, while 59 per cent of respondents said that their staff was keen to automate steps wherever possible.
Seven out of 10 respondents said their firm used a trust accounting system which allowed it to reduce the need for highly specialised staff while raising productivity and service levels.
Almost 80 per cent of respondents reported that using a trust automation platform improved the quality and accuracy of their service to clients, with 75 per cent confirming that a platform had saved staff time.
Class said that its Trust system provided a method to simplify and automate trust accounting and administration and could increase business efficiencies for accountants.
The firm said it could increase productivity through comprehensive trust financial statements, tax reporting and electronic lodgement direct to the ATO, saving on manual data entry.
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