The impact of the digital revolution in the accounting industry has been substantial. With the accounting processes becoming automated due to cloud computing, accountants and CPAs can upgrade their role to that of an advisory, providing additional client value, along with enjoying the following benefits:-
1. Software Quality
With the advancements in computer technology, software quality has improved a lot. If we talk about cloud accounting, the software quality has increased considerably.
Ledger transactions with hands is replaced completely with cloud accounting, which provides access to the data from anywhere at any time.
2. Incorporating Automation
With cloud accounting, automation comes into play at large. Although not all the financial tasks can be automated, some of the major ones like invoicing, inputting, auditing, searching, updating, reconciliation, etc. can be automated for sure, resulting in an overall reduction of the workload and time consumption.
Apart from this, it also streamlines the accounting processes. which include counterparties settlements, data analysis, lending operations transaction, and more.
According to Verizon 77% of businesses feel that cloud technology makes them have a competitive edge.
3. Inflated Accessibility
Through the medium of the internet, cloud computing provides access to any part of the world. For instance, a CPA can access and review the files of his/her clients along with dealing with the tax planning requirements and concerns while traveling. This eventually speeds up the client feedback too due to instant data access and sharing.
4. Data Security
Data security has always been a major concern for the accountants, but with cloud accounting, this concern comes down to the minimum level. With data encryption, firewalls, Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDS & IPS), and more.
Cloud accounting is strong enough to resist any unauthorized access, explains a provider of QuickBooks bookkeeping services. As per a recent survey, 20% of the cloud users who said they had switched to cloud technology were able to recover their data in less than 4 hours.
5. Enhanced Productivity
A significant increase in productivity has been witnessed in the daily operations of 59% of SMBs, as per a Forbes report. This is due to the fact that the time spent on manual works is reduced greatly, and CPAs are able to utilize the same time in improving their work productivity.
Apart from this, the time required to correct the manual errors also comes down to zero, leading to even better utilization of the time.
For example, beverage company Sunny Delight cut $195,000 in employee costs and increased yearly profits by $2 million.
6. Minimized Technology Concerns
It has been observed that CPAs find it hard to understand the various versions of the accounting software, making them spend an enormous amount of time trying to understand its working.
However, with cloud accounting, such concerns are reduced greatly since the accountant and client share the same platform on the cloud.
7. Proficient Systems
One of the biggest benefits that come along with cloud accounting is the paperless environment of working.
Accountants can gain quick and easy access to the business and client data through a reliable storage system that is safely stored and secured properly. As per the Pike Research Report, the energy consumption of the data center will come down to 31% by 2020.
8. Data Recovery
There have been numerous cases in the accounting world, where data is lost due to poor manual handling or unauthorized access.
Cloud accounting helps you to stay prepared for such mishappenings by offering automated backup facilities and data storage in various geographical locations, ensuring zero data loss due to any man-made or natural disaster. 43% of IT employees reported planning of moving to cloud accounting for a better data recovery option.
Conclusion
The above-post clearly explains the importance of incorporating cloud accounting in your accounting operations.
With access from any part of the world, the communication between the client and the accountant becomes simplified. This speeds up the accounting operations as the suggestions and improvements become real-time.
