The past few decades have seen a technological revolution across almost every industry. Contacting is no different. If you run a CPA firm and aren’t incorporating at least some technological advancements into your business, you are undoubtedly falling behind.

As an accountant, it’s up to you to keep yourself up to date with trends, whether you are a big business owner, have a small shop, or are planning on going it alone in the future. Technology is constantly evolving, and new solutions and techniques are coming out regularly.

Accounting has traditionally been very conservative with changing and adapting, but that seems to be changing. For example, remote work, remote data storage, and other advancements were unthinkable not that long ago.

So, you need to be up-to-date with technology to be a great accountant and own a business that will provide the best service possible to your clients. Keeping your finger on the pulse will allow you to quickly adapt, adjust, and provide new services that will keep your clients happy and potentially bring in new ones.

Checkout Four Important Technology Trends For CPA Firms:

Here are four technology trends for CPA firms in 2022.

1. Digital Data

Never before have we had access to so much data. In the old days, data for accountants was kept in large books. Then it was kept in files and folders. Then computer spreadsheets made it so that you could store your financial data on your computer as well as run calculations.

Nowadays, you can have all of that structured financial information plus unstructured data that wasn’t possible to collect before. Everything you and the client does can be digitized. Time-of-day revenues, time-of-month expenditures, and much more can all be collected and analyzed without doing any extra work.

Data is crucial when it comes to making decisions and making projections. With more digital data than ever before, you and your clients need to be able to leverage the technology that manages this data so that you can get the best insights possible to make your operations more efficient and find new ways to increase revenue.

2. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is closely connected to big data. If you aren’t already familiar, cloud computing means working with and storing information in “the cloud.” This means that data is held remotely in digital form and can be accessed no matter where a user is physically located. As a result, you no longer have to be right in the office to pull up reports, make some updates, or double-check some information.

Why is this important for accounting firms? For one, good accounting means providing information to clients as soon as possible. With cloud computing, when you make an update, it can be immediately available to the client to view, no matter where they are.

There’s no need for mailed monthly statements or updates or to scramble through files and ledgers to find what they need. It’s all right there, and they can run reports and pull up vendors all on their own if they need to. If you aren’t already using cloud computing, then you’d better get on it soon. Your competition certainly is, and they are providing better service to clients because of it.

3. CPA Firm Management

As an accountant, you undoubtedly have the requisite skills to provide financial services to your clients. However, running and owning a CPA firm takes much more than accounting knowledge. Whether you are a sole proprietor or have many employees, you need to be organized and efficient and be able to pull up information when you need it.

A robust accounting practice management software solution will help you do all of that. It provides you with a portal to view and manage projects, get updates on the work your employees are doing, delegate staff, schedule meetings, and even handle payroll.

Everything you do on a day-to-day basis can be managed through software. It saves you a lot of time and a lot of money since you won’t have to hire an assistant to help. Accountants are known to pay attention to details. With the right software, you won’t miss anything about your business or let anything fall through the cracks.

4. Blockchain

While not yet widely used, blockchain is probably the next big thing in accounting and other financial sectors. Blockchain is a shared ledger that is almost impossible for anyone to hack or enter without the proper credentials. So you, your team, and your clients can have access and make updates, but nobody else will be able to access it.

Accounting is about the accuracy, and blockchain also automatically verifies everything entered to ensure that it is 100% correct and accurate. In time, it may eliminate the current 2 step process for accurate accounting. Now, data is entered, and the ledger is updated.

The next step is that every year everything is audited, and discrepancies and errors are corrected. With blockchain, verification is done immediately. In time, it will reduce the costs businesses face for accounting, enhance security, and make transactions easier to trace.

Technology is not something to be afraid of. Many people, accountants or otherwise, get stuck in their ways and do not want to adapt to a changing world. However, if you own a CPA firm and aren’t adapting to new technology, then you will fall behind.

Clients want what’s new and provide them with a leg up on their competition. They need data faster than ever to make decisions and to have accurate projections. By embracing technology and keeping abreast of what’s out there, you will be better positioned to provide them with what they need from their accounting services.

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• When Should You Hire a CPA?
• How Accountants Can Build Their Skill in the Wake of Automation
• Brent Cherne, CPA Shares What You Need to Know About Becoming a Certified Public Accountant