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Small business owners need to place their trust in technology to help relieve the pressures from the current economic climate, according to Intuit QuickBooks research.
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Technology critical to resolving business pressures, accountants told
17 October 2024
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New research by Intuit QuickBooks has revealed that small business owners need additional support and assistance to survive the high interest rate and high inflationary period.
Data highlighted small business owners were impacted by inflation, as 97 per cent said they felt the impact of increased interest rates.
It was also found that 77 per cent of accountants believe technology can help small- to medium-sized businesses survive high inflation and interest rates by streamlining time-consuming processes.
Intuit Quickbooks head of accounting Damien Greathead said the biggest AI benefit to the accounting industry was the creation of efficiencies and accuracy.
“This is freeing up accountants to do higher level work like building relationships with their clients, focusing on growing their firms and they’re able to significantly reduce data entry error,” he said.
“The industry is shifting toward a larger focus on tech skills, with 80% of accountants valuing them as much as traditional skills, highlighting the importance of AI and cloud accounting.”
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Victorian small business owner Stuart Timms said as the tax deadline looms, SME owners should lean on their accountants to reduce stress and unlock growth during challenging times.
“My accountant has greatly improved my business financial literacy,” Timms said.
“I recommend other business owners lean on their advisors more, as financial knowledge is powerful. Learning how to manage your finances boosts your confidence in running your business.”
The results also reflected that 79 per cent of accountants agree that outsourcing is an efficient way to maintain business growth and advisory services.
Almost 100 per cent of surveyed accountants used AI over the past 12 months to support client success.
Accountants who leveraged technology and AI in the past year used it to help clients with data entry and processing, fraud detection and prevention and real-time financial insights.
Intuit said tech-advanced clients and accountants are better prepared to handle economic challenges than those less tech-savvy.
Eighty per cent of accountants surveyed said tech skills are just as important as traditional accounting skills in supporting their business growth as well as their clients.
Practice Connections Advisory founder, Alan FitzGerald, said AI would become a crucial tool within the accounting industry.
“The greatest benefit of AI for the accounting industry has been the democratisation of the technology which gives all bookkeepers and accountants access to software, previously only available to larger firms,” he said.
“Sadly, the general message is that AI will replace accountants. However, clients demand human interaction. In our role as translators, accountants should leverage AI to streamline processes, so they can focus their time on clients and anxiety transfer.”
Accountants are determined to ensure the ethical usage of AI, according to the data.
Sixty-three per cent of surveyed accountants provided notice to clients on how they use AI and 60 per cent had implemented a code of ethics or best practices.
Additionally, 59 per cent had a committee or panel responsible for overseeing ethical use of AI and 52 per cent introduced informational training.
Greathead said AI will have an overall benefit on the industry.
“AI can sometimes get a bad rap, there’s been this perception that it will “replace” accountants, but this isn’t the case,” he said.
“What we’re seeing is that because it’s streamlining more and more manual work, accountants are really able to bring deeper insights to their clients which in turn helps keep their clients happy, helps the SMBs build a sustainable business, and frees up time for them to focus on building their new business pipeline.”
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