Biggest mistakes accountants are making

Accounting has been around for almost as long as money has. References have been made by intellects to concepts that quite resemble modern day accounting methods. But for accountants to progress and flourish over time it is important to adapt to changing times and new trends. We are now at such a cusp and if accountants don’t understand the mistakes they are making they will without a doubt get left behind. Even though there are many elements of the profession that can use some tweaking, here we have focused on three main areas of concern.

1 Adopting technologyThe first and perhaps the most predominant area of concern is the hesitation to adopt new technology. Accounting has always been looked upon as a miserable and boring job. Accountants bear a scar of being “bean counters” that are only concerned with figures, and with the hesitation they exhibit in accepting new technology one can understand how this stereotype can become reinforced. The leap in technology in the last 20 years has been so great that a standardized profession like accounting fumbles to embrace the changes. Nevertheless, accountants need to understand and adopt these technologies as it will not only benefit them financially but will also lead to the evolution of the profession as whole.

2 Succession planningThis is a matter that most accountants know is inevitable yet still refuse to acknowledge until it may be too late. With the baby boomers starting to reach the age of retirement, the likely scenario is the number of small to medium sized accounting practices will begin to shrink. To avoid this it is advisable for accountants to start considering a succession plan right away. Succession planning has multiple options ranging from mergers, acquisitions to partnerships and more. However, the crucial factor is to start planning for these set-ups. The majority of accountants want to keep growing their business and continue being profitable but without a good succession plan in place, much of that effort may go in vain.

3 Data entryAs an accountant this may not seem like a matter of concern, in fact, for many it is just a part of the job. Which indisputably is true but it also is a key area for cost savings. An accountant possesses a unique skill set that should be put to proper use. Accountants lose their true potential doing time-consuming tasks such as data entry, and this is a prime part of the workload that could be outsourced to other companies. Doing this could result in huge cost savings and deliver the greater benefit, the amount of time it will free up to focus on more profitable areas such as consultancy and advisory/planning work.In summary these are just some of the mistakes that accountants are making today. The encouraging fact about these mistakes is that they can be corrected anytime effortlessly. Accountants have been stereotyped as a frugal bunch who are really ‘by the numbers’ type of people. Then it makes perfect sense for them to genuinely explore the suggestions above and see where the future takes them.