Are you one of the few firms that are still hesitant to adapt to the new normal at work? The world of work was forced to adapt quickly to lockdown 1.0.
Whilst many practices were already seasoned in remote work; even the most ardent supporters of “work has to be done in the office” were jolted into the world of Teams, Zoom, Slack and fully remote working processes.
There is no denying that the ideal work setup has changed.
Despite the full swing of return-to-office, the majority of firms are keen to use the benefits of a remote work setup to solve the ever-worsening skills shortage in the world of accounting. REMOTE WORK – WORKS!
Is it great to have people in the office and do meetings face-to-face?
Of course, it is.
But does it mean collaborating with team members remotely is less valuable?
No.
Hundreds of businesses around the world are turning to technology to ensure work flows continuously outside an office.
There is no longer a question of whether accounting work can be done remotely.
Forward-thinking accounting firms have been leveraging remote work since prior to the new normal.
And the rest of the firms are now jumping in and taking a second look at the benefits of hiring remote staff.
We embraced the Remote Desktop, Teams, Zoom, Slack, Skype, Xero, QBO, Dext and a plethora of other Cloud Accounting tools to get the job done and not only did we survive – we’ve thrived! THE FUTURE IS NOW
We’ve been banging the drum and yelling this since 2011.
The accounting firm of the future is willing to adapt and do what is needed to provide valuable services.
Every accountant I speak with tells me they’ve never been busier and only see more work coming down the pipe.
With the move to Digital Accounting, more and more of the end-to-end workflow is online; from cloud accounting packages or simply a cloud server with remote access for your IRIS, Digital or CCH.
There should now always be enough work happening digitally to keep at least 1 remote team member busy every week.
More firms than ever are choosing to use their newfound connectivity and confidence in remote work to finally address their capacity issues.
Our partner firms are sick of having to battle it out for underqualified staff due to a lack of options.
Salaries are skyrocketing, staff feel so busy that alternate opportunities offering more money look more appealing than ever, so loyalty is also harder than ever to achieve.
Accountants are voting with their feet and Frontline Accounting has had a record year to date with an increase in client numbers of 30%+ in the last 4 months alone.
“IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IT'S 40 MILES OR 4000 MILES…”
You owe it to your team to support them.
87% of teams report losing a team member due to burnout.
If your team feel overworked and under-supported, they will leave and it's harder than ever to recruit.
The world of work has not only shifted for employers but employees as well.
If you have adopted flexible working arrangements to attract talent, then the door is now open to regions of the world with highly educated and capable accounting staff like The Philippines.
Why should you hire substandard candidates simply because they can attend the office?
Surely bringing people in who can’t do the job in person is worse for your firm and morale and at UK salaries and Recruiter fees – it's an expensive mistake to make!
Plus, this is also an opportunity for you to bring in more hands for your existing team and give them the support they need to flourish in their role.
Get the right people doing the right jobs – clear the decks for your fee earners, and ensure they are not jumping in to do things like bookkeeping and compliance work.
Build an engine room of highly capable accountants and bookkeepers with Frontline and allow your fee earners to do what they do best – without destroying margins!
This setup may not be for you, and that’s fine.
But other firms can and will adapt to the new normal and still provide valuable service without cost constraints or encountering capacity issues.
What will your response be?
Where to From Here?
You can book an appointment with our team to learn more about offshoring and be at the forefront of the accounting industry.