Nearly two-thirds of accountants plan to adopt some form of cloud computing technology over the next two years. according to a recent survey, and a third of them are expecting to do so within the next 12 months.
The survey of over 3,000 accounting professionals, which was part of audit and analytics software provider CaseWare International’s 2022 State of Accounting Firms Trends Report, found that the most common reasons firms plan to invest in cloud technology are for easier collaboration and reducing errors via standardization of processes and tasks. Relatedly, 45% said it would improve relationships with clients, and 41% said it would save time and control costs. Other reasons cited include having real-time access from portable devices, increased security, risk mitigation, and improving flexibility and scalability.
While 77% of respondents already use collaboration software to communicate and share files with their clients, the majority of users (57%) said their overall client engagement process is not as efficient as they’d want, pointing, for example, to finding time to use the technology and internal resistance to new tools.
Technology overall is on the minds of a great number of accounting firms: The poll found that 43% cited using new technologies as the biggest practice management challenge encountered over the past year, outranked only by ”new tax laws,” at 47%.
“We are driven by the needs of the industry and what we hear from this report is that remote work has accelerated the move to the cloud and those who are embracing new technologies have the competitive edge,” said CaseWare CEO Dave Osborne in a statement. “This is a clear indication that firms of all sizes need tools that go beyond securely sharing files, and the cloud is where the adventurous forward-thinkers are headed to equip themselves for effective collaborative work.”