How accountants can provide better customer service in 2021

Key quotes:

• "Though the deadline for filing your taxes may be months away, most small business experts agree: the two best times to get a jump on tax planning are “now” and “all the time.” We know that isn’t always easy for an overworked, enterprising small business owner, but it’s crucial to your company’s growth and success to make tax planning and strategizing a year-round effort."
• "Some common mistakes or miscalculations business owners might make include: There’s a good reason financial experts say small business owners need to make tax planning a year-round effort: you’ll be better equipped to make smart decisions that help you minimize tax liabilities and you’ll make wiser business choices."
• "BONUS TIP: do a strategic tax planning session during your 4th quarter since you’ll have a good idea of where the year is going to end up and then implement a strong plan to roll over to the new year."
• "Whether it’s surviving an audit or finding tax-friendly ways to run your business, tax planning is a year-round event that helps you reduce tax obligations and make paying taxes less, well, taxing!."

Key quotes:

• "According to the World Bank report about 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked globally, i.e."
• "they do not have an account through a mobile money provider or at a financial institution."
• "People would no longer need to travel far to a financial institution, digital technology could increase the service affordability by driving down the cost of receiving and sending payments."
• "AI creates change in every area of the financial services industry, including the front, middle and back office."
• "Integrating financial data and account action with software agents which can hold a conversation with customers is the most promising front office AI application, with the smart virtual assistant market expected to reach up to $19B globally within five years."
• "Legislators, technology companies, and reputed financial actors, will work together closely to launch new regulatory innovations, but these frequently need time to mature."

Key quotes:

• "Blockchain “The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.” — Don & Alex Tapscott, authors Blockchain Revolution (2016) Blockchain is the leading technology to pave the way in the transformation of services making traditional financial business models obsolete."
• "The barriers to entry and level of competitiveness from traditional giants are very high in the financial industry, but new FinTech firms using sophisticated technological innovations like blockchain among others, have found a way not only to compete but capture market share for some of the most profitable elements in the financial services industry."
• "However, for the financial services firm it is imperative to actually research and understand where the technology can make their process more efficient; using innovative solutions just for the sake of it, won’t work."

Key quotes:

• "Many applications help the tax pros and accountants to manage their work and increase productivity."
• "The application will help to maintain a high level of productivity and excellent service to the clients during the burning tax season."
• "It easily tracks the time on any device, streamlines the complete process of the payroll, and sends accurate invoices."
• "It will help them make their taxation process faster and more comfortable and make the tax season 2021 more effective and productive."
• "Both the parties, accountants, and clients can help one another complete the tax process task — a great tool to beat the deadline in the tax season 2021."
• "Accountants and CPAs can use this tool to track their team and colleagues’ time and work, access the critical data or documents required and finish all their tasks on time to improve the productivity during the upcoming tax season 2021."

Key quotes:

• "While automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) represent a quantum technological leap, accounting firms of all sizes can foster rapid growth by leveraging strategic changes in technology and management philosophy."
• "Their expectations and demands have transformed customer experiences in the B2C space, and now, in the accounting firm and professional services space as they begin taking on key leadership roles."
• "One of the best ways to do this is to understand the questions that drive your accounting firm."
• "The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) used by your firm today reveal what your teams are working towards."
• "Most CPA firms today use KPIs that were formulated several years back during a period of sustained economic growth."
• "CPA firms need to figure out new metrics and dashboards that help in meeting evolving expectations through rapid retooling."