Sage research points to SaaS and better use of technology

Dennis Howlett tipped me off to an excellent piece of research carried out by YouGov and Launchpad Research for Sage, which analyses the responses from 486 accountants and 2301 businesses about the relationship between businesses and their accountant.  You must go and download/read the full report, but some key sentences which jump out:

• 55 per cent of businesses felt that the working relationship with their accountant could be improved.
• 81 per cent of accountants believe that they can use technology to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the services they provide.
• A third of businesses believe accountants can make better use of technology to increase the effectiveness of the service they offer.
• 36 per cent of businesses and 37 per cent of accountants would use a hosted service if it meant that data could be shared more effectively between the two.

Some of the other frustrations listed in the report were to do with arguments over fees, and communication issues on both sides. 

Firstly, this highlights that use of Software as a Service solutions to share data between the business advisor and the client is already in the minds of a significant proportion of the audience on both sides.  The second point is that effective use of new technology can affect many of the communication issues raised here, whether it is use of CRM, practice management, extranets, document management or blogging.  As with anything to do with marketing and business development, the keys are relationship building combined with effective dialogue in all areas of the business.  Those companies that start to review these areas, move away from the traditional software approaches, and look for cost effective ways they can improve their interaction with their customer and business partner communities will be the ones who succeed.

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