How Accounting Firms Can Contribute to Sustainability

No doubt, 2020 has been dominated by the presence of COVID-19 and its impact. However, we mustn’t disregard the problems that have remained unsolved for ages. Yes, we are talking about environmental problems here. The glaciers are still melting, air quality is still getting worse, and ecosystems are still depleting.

As the world economy suffers from the pandemic, accounting firms have been pushed to move to the remote setup. While accountants were moving into their newborn remote setups, it occurred to them that they could do much more with this new way of working. Moreover, accounting firms outsourcing bookkeeping have an additional advantage.

This has given accountants an opportunity to reimagine their work setups and has propelled them to adopt long-lasting sustainable habits. Habits that help their firms grow and protect the environment and become sustainable accounting fims.

What are Sustainable Accounting Practices?

Sustainable accounting practices are a way for organisations to measure and track their environmental and social impacts in addition to their financial performance. It goes beyond traditional accounting methods by considering factors like carbon emissions, resource consumption, employee well-being, and community involvement.

Some of the easiest ways to facilitate sustainability include remote working, paperless bookkeeping and accounting, and depending on outsourced accounting firms.

By integrating sustainability into their financial reporting, companies can gain a better understanding of their overall sustainability performance and make informed decisions that benefit both the planet and society. These practices help create a more transparent and responsible business environment, where companies are accountable for their actions and strive for long-term sustainability.

8 Perks of Being a Sustainable Accounting Firm

Here we have listed down a few benefits that an accounting firm can reap by taking the sustainability route:

1. Increases efficiency & promotes cost-effectiveness

One can experience greater operational efficiencies after implementing more sustainable business practices. The intent for better conservation and utilisation of resources in a more streamlined method leads to a decrease in costs and an increase in efficiency.

2. Improved recruitment and better employee retention

People intend to work with companies that stand for a cause. According to Adecco, an international HR company, 52% of employees are more willing to work with a firm that is environmentally aware. Employee recruitment and retention take fewer efforts for firms that adopt sustainability habits.

3. Healthier clients relationships

Choosing sustainable methods have an added advantage of not only being eco-friendly but people-friendly as well. Engaging with a socially responsible firm always gives the clients a better experience and builds stronger relationships.

4. Prepares your firm for risks

Social & environmental risks can easily convert to financial risks. The pandemic is an example of the same. Keeping this interconnected relationship in mind, a sustainable approach can be helpful in managing contingencies arising in the future.

5. Enhances brand value

People are now more inclined towards engaging with firms that pay attention to sustainability. Being responsible for the environment is actually a good competitive strategy. It positions your practice as a socially-responsible entity.

6. New competitive opportunities

Sustainability promotes greenery of two kinds- Monetary & Environmental. Making sustainability an integrated part of your business increases the possibility of generating new sources of revenue.

7. Attracts more clients

Firms that regard the environment often receive higher consumer attraction. Clients prefer associating with green firms and be a part of their sustainability mission. It helps you get that competitive advantage.

8. More room for innovation

When a business evolves, it breeds innovation by updating technology, approaches and processes. When an accounting firm chooses to use sustainable methods, it drives technological and organisational change.

Towards a Greener Accounting Firm

Not one, but many accountants are keen on going sustainable. It is a fact that accountants can drive sustainability and play a crucial role in helping save the environment. Here are some ways on how to convert your green dreams into reality:

Outsourcing is Your First Step to ‘Going Green’

Cost reduction is the strongest driver for accountants that outsource. From handling all the cumbersome procedural compliances of maintaining clients’ books to payroll processing and filing tax returns, an offshore team of virtual accountants saves you from all the grunt work. But what we miss out on noticing is that partnering with accounting outsourcing firms also makes you sustainable.

With dependable IT infrastructure, the entire collaboration takes place in the virtual space. From data collection to processing to creating reports, everything is digital. Not only meeting your sustainability goals, but accounting outsourcing also fills the gaps caused by technological inefficiencies and financial inadequacies.

Here are different ways of how outsourcing can help your firm become sustainable:

Saving for Sustainability

With the help of outsourced accounting firms, you can build your own customised TechStack that aligns with your accounting needs. Outsourcing firms like QXAS can help in assembling a TechStack that ensures the smooth running of your firm and introduces a paperless approach where everything from receipts to reports is exchanged over the cloud. This practice helps reduce the overhead costs up to 50% which increases profitability. And the surplus could be used for upscaling your firm or creating a sustainable practice.

Time to Build a Strategy for a Sustainable Firm

Accounting outsourcing firms well-equipped with the right infrastructure and effective technology ensure maximum productivity with lesser resources. With technologies that aim at speeding up the accounting process, you can achieve faster turnaround and make room for contributing to other things. It allows business expansion and formulating a sustainable strategy for your firm.

Expertise that Helps Avoiding Repetition of Efforts

Is your staff pre-occupied with the groundwork for most of the workweek? With a strong investment in personnel, an offshore team has the right knowledge to provide guidance and advice on making improvements to the accounting processes and make it more effective so it prevents repetition of efforts, therefore, saving resources.

Being Sustainable as an Advisor

Outsourced accounting services free up your time and resources so that you can use them to upscale your firm or develop as a full-blown advisory model. Being an advisory firm empowers accountants to consult their clients on implementing sustainability models, advise more small business clients to be sustainable, and create a ripple effect of being a ‘business for good.’

BEGIN MY SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY

Continuing With the Work-from-home Model

The onset of the pandemic has laid the foundation for adopting more sustainable ways of running firms. Now, almost a year into the pandemic, it is safe to say that many accounting firms have settled down in their remote setups. Along with the benefits of flexibility in working hours, it helps protect the environment. It saves immense amounts of resources like electricity consumed in running an office and the fuel used for commuting.

How Can Accounting Firms be More Sustainable?

Being sustainable is the need of the hour. If you want to build a more sustainable practice, you must focus on using the least amount of resources. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Adopt a paperless approach
• Encourage carbon-free commuting
• Use environment-friendly products
• Seek consultancy

Let’s look at each of these points in detail.

Adopt a Paperless Approach

Going paperless is one of the simplest ways to reduce environmental impact. It saves tremendous amounts of paper, keeps the data safe, and that makes it easier to transfer documents to the team members or clients. With PDF editors easily available online, one can easily toss out the fax machines.

Accountants are already making optimum use of accounting software; using soft copies instead of hard copies is a convenient step to transition into a greener workplace.

Encourage carbon-free commuting

In 2019, 34% of greenhouse emissions came from transportation in the UK. Accounting firms can choose to cut down their contribution by introducing measures that allow their employees to commute without leaving any carbon footprint.

Use Environment-friendly Products 

Office spaces are a witness of massive consumption of resources. A switch to sustainability can reduce wastage and bring a massive change. To start with, replace plastic glasses near the water filter to bottles or mugs. Using greener electronics, non-toxic highlighters, and refillable ink cartridges can help in avoiding a lot of unnecessary waste.

Seek Consultancy

If you wish to implement a plan of a greater magnitude, it’s advisable to seek professional consultancy. There are counseling firms like A4S dedicated to assisting companies actualising their sustainability plan into action. They allow companies to drive towards resilient business models which are profitable and green.

To a Profitable & Socially Responsible Accounting Firm

The future is green, and it must be. Small steps towards protecting the environment can help reap greater benefits. Just a few steps and you can easily improve your environmental footprint. Save nature and help your firm grow.  A win-win situation. Don’t you think?

Note from the Editor: Stay tuned for more such articles and updates. For discussing your accounting outsourcing strategy, you can call our experts at +44 208-146-0808.