How accountant word has evolved,
long back accountant was a one man show for all the documents, data entry, reporting, coordination to various people, agencies and consultants.
Then came time when consultants played major role in accountants’ domain due to start of heavy compliance era.
Then came the technology one portion is handled by the technology and rest remains the same.
Does this make accountants unessential?
Well frankly NO, rather it became more complex to find an appropriate accountant now, so making it a scarce resource.
Why still the dependency of accountants is increasing?
There three major reasons to this
Knowledge: Unfortunately, business owners though being go in rest of activities in business, when it comes to accounts have a very different attitude, sometime not ready to learn, or not giving enough importance, or lack of technical education or literacy of this field.
Complex and fast compliances: The timeline for compliances is so short that it is very obvious to rely on someone who can provide the data faster that’s “Accountants”
Technology: Though technology has come into play people are very skeptical to go for complete automation hence again relying partial on manual processes and technology makes it more complex than reducing the dependency, hence again someone who understands it needs to step in again that is “Accountant”
What is the Cost to be borne?
Due to change in scenario, the cost to be borne has to be considered in a comprehensive manner,
As Accountants salary, spending on technology, and allied consultants’ fees are the factors in play.
What we can afford to pay salary, or this is amount you have been paying so far these things doesn’t matter now, you have to spend what is required.
Any trial and error to save on this cost will not just cost you the delay but also cost you huge in terms of penalties, interest and other financial liabilities, which shall be much more than the amount you have to spend
Simple example: any mistakes in your GST data done due to lack of proper verification mechanism, can sometimes cost you complete bill amount going in dispute or hold.
So Last question is where to find a “Good Accountant”?
Firstly, there is no good or bad Accountant, it is “Appropriate or Inappropriate”
You have to define the exact skill set they need to have, and set of questions or activities to test these skill sets, to choose an appropriate accountant
Before that you need to assess, do you really need a full-time accountant or outsourcing is a solution you can explore? not because of your convenience or choice, but as per todays need to adapt with technology and find an optimal solution.
Last but a rule you must understand very thoroughly, if you want an “Appropriate Accountant” you need to treat the “Accountant” as an “Accountant” and not as Accountant cum admin cum office help cum recovery agent cum sales executive and many more remaining tasks you tend to allot to them.
Only then you will find a right person or an agency.