The coronavirus pandemic has hit brick and mortar businesses hard. Millions of people have lost their incomes and companies. Meanwhile, the accounting industry is busier than ever with rapidly changing incomes and an extended tax date, however accountants are making major changes to the ways that they conduct business.
Increased Interest in Accounting Services
With the pandemic, the primary concern is health, but given the precautions set forth (social distancing), the secondary concern is typically money. In only two to three months, many business owners have lost tens of thousands of dollars in potential profits. Working-class professionals have been furloughed or let go altogether. Even industries that haven’t collapsed have lost suppliers or clients due to these conditions. All of these people need accountants, not just for taxes this year, but to figure out how to manage their finances given the change in the worldwide landscape.
Business owners and managers already use accountants to manage their daily, monthly and annual finances. During a nationwide health crisis, they will lose customers and profits and could lose money on major expenses that may have been the result of the impeccable — and unpredictable — bad timing. Fortunately, many accountants offer business coaching and can adapt to provide projections to help set you up for success; telling you where you can cut costs and where you need to.
Move to Virtual Platforms
More accountants are moving to online or virtual platforms to communicate with their old clients and find new ones. During this crisis, millions of people have been forced to stay at home and do most of their work from home. Of course, this doesn’t impact accounting as most professionals work from home or out of a shared office. As a result, many accounting firms are closing their offices for good and making the transition to online indefinitely.
Emphasis on Accounting Technology
As accountants start working online, their industry will place a greater emphasis on accounting software and equipment. More accountants will buy and benefit from using software to get their work done faster and more effectively. Using paper forms to fill out invoices, receipts, bank statements and other documents is an activity of the past. Nowadays, every accounting document, along with templates, that ever existed is found online.
With so much talk about business and money, and who’s losing so much of it, financial experts are needed more than ever during this coronavirus pandemic. In addition to business consultants and lawyers, accountants are the first types of people that business owners will contact regularly for advice. Today’s accountants must learn to adapt to the new, significant changes that are affecting their methods of work.