What software struggles do larger accountancy firms face?

Whenever I think about the software challenges accountants face, I often consider the type of practice they are in. Are they part of a large firm, a medium practice, or a smaller operation?

There’s a good reason I think about this: my experiences in a Top 500 accountancy firm are somehow similar but different from my time as a sole practitioner - in the large firm, everything is amplified, and the problems are usually multiplied.

You can see some of the big challenges facing small and medium firms in a recent post.

In a bigger firm, the nature of the challenges is on a much larger scale, representing often higher risks. You put a lot of effort into working with multiple teams, possibly across several offices – and you deal with a very different variety of client requests. This is because you have so many more clients you’re working with, and they represent a wealth of sectors, industries and backgrounds.

The importance of software to a larger accountancy firm

Without the right software setup to help, you can quickly find yourself in trouble.

However, software often gets tangled and disconnected in a large firm. It can also fail to keep pace if you grow quickly. Information can go missing, and tasks may end up being duplicated.

At best, it’s a headache chasing missing data; at worst, you can suffer lost clients, disgruntled staff, and slowed growth.

So, how do software issues slow down larger accountancy firms?

In short, it’s usually due to software choices and implementation errors.

Here’s how this can happen, even with the best of intentions.

Your software solutions become fragmented

Sometimes, people in a larger firm make important software decisions without consulting the wider team.

This can cause chaos if the business needs everyone on the same page, with their solutions working together and sharing data.

It’s not just about people thinking they know best. The people who cause this mix-up are often the most well-meaning individuals you’ll work with.

They include:

• Independently minded staff choosing a solution they think will work great for them – but not considering if it will sync with the firm’s central client list.
• New acquisitions bringing their software on board. While this is somewhat unavoidable, the danger lies in not having a plan to eventually integrate the newly added team into a system more widely used by the rest of the firm.
• Leaders adding a new solution to help their individual teams. In their effort to support staff, they might miss the bigger picture of whether their solution will sync with the rest of the firm’s software. This can lead to disconnected work, duplicated tasks, or efforts that are not trackable by the wider business.

Your firm gets bigger, and the software doesn’t keep up

Large firms were not always that way. There’s a lot of growth that has to happen first!

The problem is that as they grow, many end up reinvesting in new software at each stage of their journey. Why? Because it’s not always clear that the software won’t adapt to more staff, bigger clients, extra offices, and new accountancy challenges.

Clients become more complex – even if your firm doesn’t change

If you keep your business the same size and stick with tried-and-tested solutions, there’s always the risk that your clients will switch things up. Sometimes, they are the ones who grow and become more complex, with a range of contracts, agreements, premises, and assets that need tracking and reporting.

When they put their trust in you, how will your existing software handle these new challenges?

It’s difficult to track different software from different vendors

Keeping an inventory of your software is important. It’s central to establishing best practices, knowing who is doing what, ensuring the system shares data correctly, and controlling costs to the firm.

But software can slip the radar, especially when it doesn’t plug into the rest of your solutions.

Not knowing something is being used can be a security issue. The bigger your firm, the higher the bar is set for security when it comes to checking for updates, staff sign-in processes and more. But how can you check software if you don’t know it’s a part of your system?

This is a real challenge if you have multiple offices or staff working from home.

Your software fails the change management process

Sometimes, this software clutter happens because you’ve tried implementing new solutions firmwide, but only a few people have switched to it.

Why? Because the software was unwieldy. Nobody should have to feel like they’re back in training again because it’s so difficult to understand a new solution.

Your software struggles to scale to new client requests

So, we’ve talked about the complexity of client needs, but what if your software can’t handle batch work?

This can be a real problem, wrongfooting a firm taking on large amounts of routine work for a client. The issue is that your system isn’t automated enough, or it can’t pull data in from other parts of the system.

Trying to compensate for this will take up a lot of time that would be better spent on more profitable tasks.

How can you solve these software problems all at once?

You solve this challenge the same way your clients do – talking to experts in the field and letting them devise a bespoke solution for your firm.

Put vendors through their paces when you speak to them. Challenge them to find your firm a solution that is joined up and replaces the patchwork of solutions that might have crept into your practice over the years.

When they suggest a software solution for your larger firm, ensure they tackle these areas:

• Change management: Is it easy to use? Can you use it without a manual?
• Firmwide cohesion: Can it sync data across all solutions into one client list?
• Upgradability: Can you pay for what you need and add more only when you want it?
• Sophistication: Can it meet the depth of your daily compliance challenges?
• Protection: Is it built with safety in mind?
• Productivity: Can it bring your practice together, even if people do different tasks in different offices?
• Adaptability: Can it work securely with other parties? For example, can you outsource your bookkeeping and integrate that service with your system?

Why not look and see if we can meet your accounting challenges?

Click here to visit the IRIS Accountancy page and see how we put 45 years of working with leading UK firms into practice.