How To Keep Up With Accounting Industry Trends In Tax Season?
New year celebration is near to end. While everyone is busy celebrating, accountants are waiting with bated breath for the tax season to begin. A new tax season means embracing changes, new tax laws, and staying up to date with the trends.
Now, you may ask, how will learning about the new trends even influence your performance as a tax accountant? Well, with the tons of new tax laws that have come into action in 2019 and the changing infrastructure of the small businesses as well as the larger corporations, not staying up to date with the tax laws can mean falling behind for your tax firm.
How Tax And Accounting Trends Changed In The Last Year?
Bookkeeping and accounting are indispensable for all businesses. There was a time when entrepreneurs got in touch with their tax accountants and attorneys once a year, right before tax season.
However, the current trends of outsourcing work and hiring freelancers demand that a company’s management update their records and remain in constant touch with their accountants.
Accounting firms are extending their services beyond bookkeeping. Here are the other services that are demanding their attention throughout the year –
i. Payroll Management (25%)
ii. Tax (24%)
iii. Compliance (20%)
iv. Advisory (17%)
v. Audit (15%)
The above data comes from a survey conducted by FinanceOnline, among small and large tax firms in the US.
How Can You Remain Up-To-Date With The Accounting Industry Trends?
It is a massive cultural shift that has been accelerated by the new tax laws, the integration of state-of-the-art communication technology in several industries, and the increasing need for complying with new tax regulations.
According to a report by Sage, more than 90% of US accountants feel the cultural shift in their workspace is due to the heavy reliance on technology during the accounting process.
As an “outsider,” you can find it difficult to follow accounting-related news or find the correct resources. Here are a few easy steps for all CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs to remain on top of the latest tax and accounting trends for the upcoming tax season –
1. Follow a Dedicated Tax and Accounting Journal/Publication
Keeping abreast with the new trends demands more than reading the daily news and glancing through mobile notification updates. It has become imperative for all tax accountants to keep a close eye on the news, publications, and updates from trustworthy resources across the nation.
For example, The CPA Journal and the Journal of Accountancy can act as your steady source of trend updates in the tax, accounting, and auditing field.
You can get a fresh slice of the FASB news, GASB, and IASB updates, simplified and made precise by the editors of The CPA Journal. Try to subscribe to their daily newsletter for learning about the small changes that make a huge impact on the way you perceive the tax and accounting industry.
2. Install and Check Tax And Accounting App
When your competitors are adopting the latest technology, you should not stay behind either. Do not shy away from installing at least one “accounting news” related app on your phone. You can find a number of authentic and unbiased applications in the PlayStore that can act as your window to the world of new tax and accounting trends.
The best of the best apps have separate menu options for “trends” and “insights”. Since most of these apps are free for Android and iOS phones, you can try them to learn about ways to protect your company data, methods to integrate cloud computing to existing desktop-based accounting software, and the best consumer relationship management (CRM) software platforms.
These apps aim at bridging the gap between professional accounting services and the latest range of technologies the accountants can use to serve their clients better. In the next season, it might even become tricky to cater to your client’s needs without an integrated app that gives you access to your accounting cloud solutions.
3. Look For an Integrated Cloud Accounting Platform
You can find CPA firm that uses cloud-based accounting solution that provides the whole deal. By the “whole deal” we mean news on tax reforms, updates on the latest trends, information on your clients’ tax and accounting need daily, along with specific services for order management, financial data management, big data and content management, and the integration and distribution of accounting functions.
The integration of AI for sorting through your accounting data can be optional, as long as your cloud computing platform can manage the current bulk of financial data flowing in. Additionally, your all-in-one cloud-accounting software should provide remote login for authorized employees.
Cloud-hosted accounting software can help the firm keep all invoicing, expenses, cash flow, and sales information in one place. CPA firms are transforming themselves with the help of cloud-based accounting services.
The advent of cloud computing into the world of tax, accounting, and audits have helped professionals push their boundaries and redefine the services they provide to different clients from various industries.
4. Follow Blogs and Subscribe To Podcasts for CxOs
For some light and casual reading, you might want to follow blogs that publish news and updates on the different trends that govern the fields of tax and accounting. However, blogs can share number of great information, since they do not have as strict and an editing verification process as the recognized journals, be very careful about the stats and numbers you pick up from the blog pieces.
You can choose to follow blogs of recognized tax and accountancy schools and organizations for receiving accurate information at all times, irrespective of your location. Subscribe to podcasts and channels that exclusively cater to CPAs. There, you can find correct information relayed in easily understandable formats for all professionals across the US.
Few Last Words
Following the correct trends can mean gaining access to information that can save you during the upcoming tax season. You might even find a new tax firm that is better capable of handling your company accounts.
Remaining updated with the latest changes in tax laws, technologies in accounting, and the changing needs of the industries your tax firm is catering to can be quite challenging. The trends have shifted towards automated accounting, outsourcing accounting functions, focus on data analytics, blockchain technology, cloud-based accounting, AI-based accounting, and tax prediction and remote tax accounting services.
