It’s no doubt that 2020 was a rollercoaster year. One way successful firms survived the many twists and turns was by leaning on integrated digital tax workflow. Tech tools helped firms adapt processes quickly and be more agile in responding to changing client needs. Meanwhile, tax software integration provided fully digital workflows, efficiency-gaining automation, and a centralized database in the cloud.
Tax technology saves time
In a recent survey of nearly 1000 tax and accounting professionals, the vast majority reported a variety of benefits in several key areas essential for profitability and growth. For example, 82% reported that technology reduced the number of hours worked per client. Automation helped remove monotonous tasks so staff could shift their time and focus to tax advisory services. A centralized database and work-from-anywhere accessibility reduced client response time and hours worked per client as well as increased chargeable hours per client. Many firms also were able to respond challenges by offering clients a “no touch” tax return.
Tax software integration leads to revenue increases
In fact, the move toward integration is paying off on the bottom line too. Our 2020 survey of tax and accounting professionals at firms and corporations showed high revenue growth was closely tied to the degree of integration in firm solutions. Fifty-six percent of firms using highly integrated solutions were able to increase revenue this past year. However, only 42% of firms lacking integration achieved revenue growth.
Integrated software helps firms serve clients better
As tricky as it has been for firms to adapt on the fly this year, clients struggled too. They missed the face-to-face contact, for example. And they needed a bit of extra handholding to understand how new contactless processes could work for them. Luckily, firms that used a high degree of integrated technology solutions were significantly more confident about their ability to navigate change and meet client needs than those that used little or no integration. Firms with highly integrated solutions were 20% more likely to feel extremely confident that they could meet client needs than firms with less integrated solutions. The streamlined processes were simple and secure for clients.
Firms responded in many ways to changing conditions in 2020. Find out how the most successful firms learned to adapt and thrive by downloading the whitepaper “Building Firm Resilience Through Advanced Technologies and Agile Processes.”
