An overwhelming majority — 78% — of small-business owners would consider changing their accountant to one who is using the latest technology, according to a new survey.
The survey, by the cloud-based practice management software provider Canopy, polled 1,001 small businesses and found that 63% admitted that their current accountant doesn’t offer an online portal, while 56% said they viewed an online portal as an important feature. More than two-thirds of the respondents (70%) said they would be interested in switching to an accountant that allows them to take photos of their documents for easy sharing.
Accountants have long been using technology to make their work more efficient, but the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the reliance of firms on technology as many of their employees continue to work remotely away from the office and deal with clients from their homes.
“There is a clear desire from accounting clients across the board for streamlined communications and easy access to upload, share and sign documents online,” said Canopy chief product officer Larry Furr in a statement Thursday. “While this trend is not new, we have seen a considerable increase in client’s technology expectations over the course of the last 18 months. This survey shows that with the latest technology, accountants will certainly have a competitive edge.”
The poll, conducted for Canopy by Atomik Research, found that 95% of respondents from the financial industry would consider changing their accountant to one that has an online portal, and 96% of respondents from the financial industry would consider changing their accountant to one that uses the latest technology.
In addition, 70% of respondents from the manufacturing industry and 63% from the energy, oil and gas industry would consider changing to a more tech-savvy accountant, and 96% of respondents from the distribution and transport industry want to be able to use their phone to upload documents.
The survey also indicated that when it comes to sending documents online, only 29% of businesses with between one to five employees have accountants that provide access to uploading and seeing documents securely online. That proportion increases to 40% of businesses with six to 10 people, 68% of businesses with 11 to 50 people, and 69% of businesses with 51 to 100 people.
