Rosallee Scott writes: Online workforces are becoming more prevalent every year, including virtual accounting teams. If you are considering becoming part of an online company, you should consider a few factors that will differ from working in an office setting. Depending on the company that you work for, there are also similarities, such as educational criteria and knowledge of privacy practices.
The qualifications to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) vary by state. To be hired by a virtual accounting team, you will need to check out the company's specific criteria. It may be based on the state that it's physical location or owner of the business resides in. Some states require special educational course credits, as well as a certain number of hours working in a real-life setting. Even if you meet your state's guidelines, you may not meet those of a specific online accounting department. As with any job, thoroughly research what the virtual accounting company is looking for in employees or freelance accountants.
Working for a virtual accounting team may mean that you have to continually learn how to use new and improved databases. Make sure to keep up on the latest in technology when it comes to bookkeeping practices so you are a step ahead of what your company expects from its workforce. This will help you to gain access to bigger clients and more responsibilities, just as it would in an actual brick-and-mortar office setting. Even if you are a freelancer whom works on a per-contract basis, you will stand out as a productive member of the virtual accounting workforce if you are a step ahead in knowing the latest technological advances in the field. In addition, you will be able to help your virtual coworkers learn about them, helping to create a team player environment that any company would appreciate. Join online accounting communities to stay abreast of the latest news, as well as network with others in your field.
An article on The virtual accountant (below) discusses how many corporations, both large and small, are turning to virtual accounting companies to take care of bookkeeping needs. Even though this may seem like it would cause the process to become less personal, it is actually the opposite. Online databases make it easier for many clients to monitor their accounts, rather than call up an accounting department to receive copies of the records. It has also affected how clients choose to communicate. More business owners are asking questions and wanting to be involved in the process. This could be because of the anonymity that the internet has to offer and they are not as worried about appearing ignorant or because it takes less time out of their schedule since they are already online for other business tasks.
Working in a virtual accounting team means no professional dress code. Just remember that you must retain your professionalism to succeed. It is up to you to crunch the numbers to see if you have the discipline to stay accountable when you are concealed by a computer screen.
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Caroline Biebuyck for Economia writes: The Virtual Accountant
There’s a quiet revolution going on in the world of accounting. Rather than a shareholder spring, this is a democratisation of data: the collection, management and understanding of business information. Businesses are getting smart about how using online accounting systems can mean they have greater control of their accounts while cutting costs.
The question is: what impact is this having on accounting practices? Online accounting might seem like the death knell for the traditional accounting practice. However, a growing number of members are treating the online accounting revolution as an opportunity rather than a threat, using IT as an enabler to fundamentally change the way they run their businesses, reducing and automating compliance work to have more time to spend on adding better value services.
Clients understand their accounts far better. Now they ask us for advice in interpreting the numbers and seeing what they can do about them
One firm which has taken great strides with this approach is Value Added Services, set up by partner Stephen Paul in 2011. Paul needed to run his accounting practice from different locations and so decided only to take on clients that agreed to use online bookkeeping systems. Some of his clients keep their records themselves while others choose to let the firm do it instead. But whatever route clients choose, Paul says that by using online software the firm is giving its clients control over their accounting information. “Our clients understand their accounts far better than they ever did,” he says. “Now they ask us for advice in interpreting the numbers and seeing what they can do about them.”
Having client information online brings accounting practices closer to their clients. “If I’m at my desk and about to talk to a client then I can go online and take a look at their accounts before speaking to them,” says Paul.
Most firms that offer online accounting models also provide the more traditional service. One such practice is Glover Stanbury. Partner Kevin Salter says the online service makes it far easier for the practice to keep abreast of a client’s financial position. “We’ve got much more of a handle on our clients’ business affairs, and this enables us to give them a better service,” he points out. “We’re now doing quarterly accounts for people who didn’t have them in the past. This is making them far more aware of how their business is doing.”
Barbara Kroll, managing director of online accounting provider Twinfield, thinks this additional value is the angle accountants should be taking. “Rather than trying to make money from disruptive bookkeeping services, accounting practices need to embrace market demand and exploit valuable, highly-qualified expertise,” she says. “SMEs need financial advice today more than ever.”
At Try Lunn & Co, partner Chris Try anticipates the numbers of clients opting for the online route growing fast in the next few years. “The demands placed on businesses by HMRC are becoming ever more onerous,” says Try, who is also a member of the OTS Small Business Tax Consultative Committee. “With the introduction of real time information (RTI) and the need to do universal credit filing within seven days, I can see more people turning to us to keep real time records online.”
Practices thinking of migrating to online systems need to consider the kind of software they will use. Online software providers generally fall into two categories: those who specialise in dealing with accounting practices directly, and those whose programmes are designed to be used directly by businesses or their external accountants.
Top of the list of concerns are security and data control. Yet Richard Anning, head of ICAEW’s IT Faculty, thinks these are less likely to be problems than people think. “You may find your data is safer in a data centre than in the office on a PC that runs the risk of being turned off by the cleaner or having coffee spilled on it or not being protected by the latest anti-virus software.”
Anning thinks firms should instead pay more attention to issues including who legally owns and has access to the data, whether the data is held within the EU, and whether the accounting practice is a data controller and therefore subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act.
Supplier continuity is vital. “Will the supplier continue in business? Does it have a track record? Examine its service level agreements – do they work for you? And make sure you have ‘divorce procedures’ for worst-case scenarios.”
If you don’t do online accounting, you’ll be left behind
One of the matters that concerns Peter Hollis, chairman of ICAEW’s Practice Committee, is that firms or businesses using online packages sign up to pay ongoing monthly rental charges. “With the traditional packages you only had to pay one fee and didn’t need to worry about an upgrade until you no longer had software support,” he points out.
Another issue is broadband access. This may be fine in the nation’s cities, but can be problematic elsewhere. Anning cites an accounting practice on a business park that has been struggling to get the bandwidth to run a decent online system. Hollis is concerned about what happens if, for example, a road is dug up and the broadband cable is damaged in the process. “If you have a practice in which a dozen staff can’t work as they can’t get online, then you have a massive problem,” he says.
Weighing against this is the convenience of automatic software updates and regular data back-up. “There are definite advantages to online accounting but firms need to consider the downside risks carefully,” Hollis cautions.
Feedback from IT Faculty members suggests that online accounting can work well for small businesses with little legacy technology, making it easy to switch over.
“The larger the business is, the more complex its systems and the harder it is to replace these or to integrate them with a new system,” says Anning.
He thinks practices need to be prepared to migrate more of their work online and should speak to their clients to see whether they are happy to make the move. But he warns that they shouldn’t delay. “We’re seeing clients forcing practices to change; they’ve been talking to online accounting vendors and really like how they work.”
Salter’s advice for small practices is simple. “If you don’t do online accounting, you’ll be left behind.” Paul agrees. “Online is the way that accounting is going. If accountants don’t embrace this, they will lose clients.”
HOSTING IN THE CLOUD
Firms wanting to make the most of cloud computing can also think about moving their other systems onto hosted environments run by service providers. Glover Stanbury is one firm that decided to take this route. The firm operates from two offices, which ran as discrete operations. Each had its own software packages so that if staff wanted to transfer information they had to back it up on one system before moving a copy on to the other. Although there was a connection between the two offices, it often dropped out a dozen times a day.
The catalyst for change was when the firm needed to replace its server and legacy PCs. Partner Kevin Salter analysed the costs and benefits of moving online, and soon convinced his fellow partners that having a hosted environment made both economic and logistical sense.
First, they moved their accounts production databases, then shifted their document management software. The benefits were immediate. “Anybody can work from office or home – a real time saver,” Salter says.
As well as saving the cost of a server, the firm now only requires machines that can access the internet. Another major saving has been time. In the past, Salter and another partner used to spend much of their day on tasks such as upgrading software packages and configuring computers for staffing changes. These issues are now all dealt with by the service provider.
“Hosting has freed up a lot of time,” Salter says. “Would we go back to servers on the premises? Definitely not.”
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