How Accountants Can Prepare for New Year

With 2019 coming to an end, we will not only be stepping into a new year but a new decade. 2020 will be a year of new technologies, changing policies, changing accounting trends, and a lot of innovations.

Accounting plays a major role in any business. And with all the changes coming up, it is essential for the accounting industry to keep on par with them. Thus, accountants must be prepared in various ways to step into this new decade.

1. Close the Books of 2019

At the end of the year 2019, it is important that you review and complete all the pending work. Make sure all your monthly financial statements match with the cash and account transactions.

It is also important to wrap up all the paperwork and review the sales, revenue, and growth of your business so that you can be prepared for the coming year. Also, gather and organize all the required documents for the year 2020.

2. Know the Policies and the Deadlines For 2020

Before stepping into the new year, make sure you know the accounting calendar and the various tax deadlines. Once you know all this beforehand, you can be better prepared for filing tax returns and other paperwork.

Moreover, since the accounting and the tax policies keep changing every year, it is helpful if you are aware of everything before the new year.

3. Migrate to the Cloud

Cloud computing has been on the rise for the past few years. Cloud hosting has changed the way people work through its virtual and secured environment. Many industries such as accounting have moved to the cloud to boost their growth and productivity.

Accountants have also started using cloud services. If you still have not, this is the time for you to start changing your choices and move to the cloud.

Hosting of your accounting applications and services allows you to store and access files, share it with your teammates, and access it from anywhere around the world. It also helps cut down the heavy expense of purchasing and maintaining hardware and provides a secure environment for all your important files and information.

4. Move to Automated Accounting

Although manual accounting practices have not become ancient, automated processes are changing the way work is done in the accounting industry.

Automation helps reduce manual errors and increases the speed and efficiency of work. Moving to automated work, you can save a lot of money and your precious time.

Not only this, keeping in mind the harm we are doing to the environment, automation helps to prevent it by reducing the usage of papers.

5. Use Social Media Platforms

Social media was once considered unprofessional. But these days, it is used by accountants for marketing their services as well as building a relationship with the users.

Platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. are a medium for accountants to connect, share ideas, and learn from other industry experts. You also stay updated with the latest accounting trends and other sectors with the help of social media.

6. Attend Accounting Events and Webinars

Attending accounting conferences is one of the best ways to stay updated with the latest changes in the accounting sector.

Make sure you know all the accounting events that are scheduled to happen in 2020. Decide which accounting events you want to attend and make sure you take out time to attend those events.

7. Focus on Security

With digital advancement in the accounting sector, cyberattacks are also increasing at a very high rate. Being an accountant, you cannot afford to risk your critical files and data. Thus, security should be your major concern in the coming year.

Moving your accounting work to the cloud would be a smart decision to keep your information safe from any kind of attack. Cloud hosting providers offer advanced threat protection and BCDR (Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery) features to keep your work safe.

So, move your accounting work to the secured cloud environment in 2020.

8. Prioritize Your Clients

Keeping your customers happy and satisfied with your services is the key to a successful business.

2020 should be the year in which you give your customers the utmost priority. Make sure that you build a healthy relationship with all your clients and give each one of them equal importance.

9. Invest in Yourself

Investing in yourself is the best investment. In the coming year, make it a resolution to take out time from your professional work and invest in your own personal growth and development.

Final Note

Apart from your professional skills, acquire knowledge in other areas that you like. You should make it a habit to read good books and newspapers every day. Socializing with people other than your professional clients is also important.

All of this will help you develop a good personality and attitude. Ace your accounting work in 2020 by keeping in mind the above-mentioned factors.

Do you know some more points not mentioned here? Please write to us in the comments section.