The Institute of Public Accountants’ Tony Greco concedes that there is a growing number of cheaper compliance offerings on the market today, with practices struggling to hold on to clients unless they expand their service offerings or consider outsourcing.
“There’s quite a lot of work in compliance. It’s not dead by any stretch of the imagination, but they have to be smart on how they do it to remain competitive in a space that others are trying to provide similar services for lesser fees,” Mr Greco said.
“So what we say to practices is to think about your business model, think about expanding the range of services that you offer to counteract some of those trends. Those who want to stay in compliance, take advantage of all the technological opportunities that present themselves.
“Like everything else, competition is competition. You can choose to ignore it at your peril or you can embrace it.”
Similarly, HLB Mann Judd tax partner Tony Fittler believes accountants need to be on the front foot by adopting new technological opportunities in the coming financial year.
“It’s harder to disrupt an accounting practice but I think if we’re not careful, it will happen, so accountants need to keep adapting to the times and be aware of technology improvements and looking how efficiently they deliver their service,” Mr Fittler said.
“The trap in public practice is not giving yourself time to run the accounting practice as a business. It’s a common problem in any business but in professional life, it is very easy to focus on the client instead.”
