How Can CPAs Stay Relevant in Today’s Changing World?

Life for CPAs is changing. Since the inception of automated accounting software like QuickBooks, TurboTax, etc., CPA firms are continuously devising strategies to stay relevant and outpace the competition. 

If you are a CPA firm, there’s no wonder that your clients will expect a more consultative level of service from you. So, if you want to fulfil your clients’ expectations and help them navigate the ins and outs of running their businesses, staying relevant in today’s changing world is the key. To achieve this, it is imperative that you increase both the productivity and efficiency levels of your CPA firm, which can be done by adopting technology. This is where cloud technology comes into the picture, which is impacting the accounting world today. Cloud hosting for CPA firms lead to greater productivity, increased capabilities, and eliminate bottlenecks in accounting work-related processes. 

In this blog post, we will discuss some of the most unique benefits of adopting cloud technology that can take your CPA firm to new heights. Read on to explore how! 

Adapting to Cloud Environment 

A few years ago, CPAs and accounting firms awoke to cloud-based accounting; however, they didn’t realize this innovation’s impact until it became the trending way of doing business. Cloud hosting for CPA firms and other businesses has transformed how they operate. According to a report by Flexi, “67 percent of accountants prefer cloud accounting over locally installed software options, and cloud software reduces labor costs by up to 50 percent”. 

The Benefits of Moving to Cloud for CPAs 

Data Security 

There’s a rapid evolvement in the nature of the IT industry and technology. Due to this, businesses managing IT internally face challenges to combat cyberattacks. One such attack is ransomware, which encrypts files, restricts access to computer systems, and then demands an anonymous payment to leave the files untampered. 

Ransomware poses a significant threat to CPA firms, primarily due to the involvement of client-sensitive data such as SSNs, bank account details, credit card numbers, and so on. If you don’t update the security protocols of your CPA firm, you can’t protect the data and applications from these cyber-attacks and encounter both financial and reputational loss. 

One of the most significant advantages of availing the services of Cloud Hosting for CPA firms is that your cloud hosting provider will ensure the security of your system and data at all times. Before you migrate to the cloud, your cloud provider will evaluate potential weaknesses in your firm’s cybersecurity protocol. Next, they will devise preventive and predictive measures to ensure more security for your business data. If you avail the cloud hosting services from a reliable vendor, you will get the following: 

• Advanced-level firewall protection 
• Multi-layered virus and spam protection 
• Intrusion Prevention 
• Daily data backups 
• End-to-end data encryption 
• Multi-factor authentication for sign-on access 
• User-defined permissions  

Disaster Recovery 

External factors like natural disasters, fires, and theft often disrupt businesses, affecting business continuity. In such cases, recovering data could be a challenging task for you. However, you can get Disaster Recovery solutions by opting for Cloud Hosting services for CPA firms from a reliable cloud hosting provider. This is because cloud hosting providers store business data across multiple geographically isolated locations in different data centers. Even if one of the data centers undergoes maintenance or encounters a downtime, you can retrieve the data from another data center and ensure business continuity. 

Apart from the benefits mentioned above, cloud hosting for CPA firms provides easy scalability, increased reliability, high uptime, seamless integration, and more. 

Remote Access 

Shifting from a conventional IT setup to the cloud gives you an excellent opportunity to create a better work-life balance for your employees. When you avail services like cloud hosting for CPA firms, you ensure that your employees get more mobility and flexibility as they can work from any location or device. Once they start maintaining a better work-life balance, it will help them to be mentally, physically, and emotionally stable. This, in turn, could help your CPA firm provide better service to your clients. 

In addition to the above, your employees can use compatible wireless devices like laptops, smartphones, tablets, and iPads to access the business files. It is especially instrumental during tax season when you’d prefer your employees to be more productive and efficient. With cloud-based accounting solutions in place, your employees can use any of these devices from the comfort of their home or while on the go. All they need are valid login credentials and internet access. 

Some Additional Ways in Which CPAs Can Stay Relevant 

• Addressing the Pain Points of Customers 

In most cases, customers buy a product or service when they are motivated by an issue. One of the most effective ways to market your CPA firm’s services is by showing the customers how you can make their work easier. 

Succeeding as a CPA firm requires you to devise innovative ways to target your potential clients’ requirements. Additionally, you must show them why and how you can help improve their lives while saving them time on various financial tasks. 

Most people don’t prefer doing their taxes as they find it challenging and don’t have sufficient time to review the relevant paperwork. To solve these pain points of the customers, you can devise new marketing strategies for your CPA firm and explain how you can save clients’ time and money. 

• Look out for Automation 

Over the years, automation has become the preferred method of dealing with finance-related tasks. Your employees’ time is valuable, especially during tax season. In order to fulfil every assigned task on time, you must automate the firm’s services. As good practice, always look out for new programs that provide automatic task management. This will help you increase the accuracy and efficiency of your CPA firm. 

• Impart Education to Your Employees on Recent Updates 

A CPA firm is only as strong as its team members. Having said that, whenever there’s new accounting software or technology out there, ensure that your employees are thoroughly trained in it so that if your CPA firm is planning to shift, each team member feels confident about it. This way, you can always remain ahead of the game and ensure that no team member is left behind. 

Final Thoughts 

For every business, keeping abreast of technological developments is the key to staying relevant in today’s changing world. CPA firms are no exception. One of the most effective ways by which CPAs can transform their business operations is by moving to the cloud. Remote access, high-end data security, and disaster recovery are some of the unique benefits of cloud hosting for CPA firms. Besides, CPA firms can certainly take their business to new heights by addressing the pain points of the clients, adopting automation, and imparting education to the employees on recent updates about accounting software or technology. 

If you are a CPA firm and want to bring a complete transformation to your business using cloud hosting services, feel free to call our Solutions Consultant @ +1-800-432-1585.