Information Technology
It may not be obvious at first why you should
use your accountant for IT advice.
One good reason is that as your accountant
follows a Professional Code of Conduct,
and
they will provide you with independent unbiased advice but
here are 5 more good reasons.
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Accountants are trained to
look at businesses as a whole in order to make sure that the
records represent the reality on the ground. They are
therefore very much concerned about data and information and
decision-making. They are, in effect, information managers.
Many have therefore developed an expertise in how businesses
should be using technology to improve management, business
value and profitability
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Accountants work for many
similar businesses and can see how IT is effectively used.
By selecting an accountant who understands your business you
are likely to benefit from the collective knowledge so
gained.
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Accountants are well used to
using technology internally within their practices. They
have gained a deal of experience first hand. You can measure
an accountant’s astuteness in this area by seeing how well
the accountant manages the relationship with you. Many
practices have client relationship management systems that
help them to know at any time the status of all the work
they are doing for you and the current status of your
business affairs.
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Accountants develop an
on-going fiduciary relationship with you. They work with you
on systems and IT projects and do not walk away at their
conclusion. They place a value on these services that they
offer you and align their success with your success.
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Accountants that are members
of the IAAITC are keeping up with the latest IT developments
and can easily identify where an application of such a
development will benefit your business. They relieve you of
the obligation to be at the leading edge of IT, Letting you
get on with what you know best: the day-to-day running of
your business.
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IT should support the business and maximise
the efficiency of the business processes. The majority of
SMEs in the UK do not have a documented IT strategy that
supports the business plan. Developing and documenting an IT
strategy is therefore a prerequisite for any successful
business.
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All projects carry an element of risk and IT
projects are no different. The risk may be in the actual
project itself, or from doing nothing. There are however
other associated risks with an IT project that need
consideration — legislation, security and disaster recovery
for example.
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There is today an amazing selection of
hardware and technologies to choose from and getting it
right is not always easy. The Internet and technologies like
WIFI and Bluetooth have opened up avenues that even a few
years ago were not viable for many businesses.
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If choosing software was easy there probably
would not be so many choices. Whilst all businesses have the
same basic requirements many software packages have
specialist functionality that can really be helpful, if you
know it is there and what to do with it.
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Implementing any IT project requires careful
management if it is to come in on time and within budget.
Whilst managing an IT project can at times seem like a black
art, your staff are probably best allowed to get on with
their jobs whilst the IT project management is done by
experienced professionals
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Many IAAITC Member Firms have full time
technically qualified staff who can provide the Installation
Services required to ensure that your IT project is a
success. One of the strengths of being a national network is
that resources will be available to deal with remote and or
regional offices around the country.
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An area often overlooked, and therefore not
budgeted for, in many IT projects is ensuring that the
necessary skills are in place to achieve the desired
results. Many IT projects fail because although the software
selected had the functionality it was not implemented and
nobody was shown how to use it and change their working
practices.
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Once an IT project is successfully completed
it will need ongoing Support and Management to ensure that
it all keeps working as intended.
There are a variety of ways this is possible.
It may require regular onsite visits to ensure that server
resources are correctly configured as data volumes and or
users increase. It may just require adhoc remote access by a
technician. Your accountant will be able to advise on what
is appropriate and necessary for your business.
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Just as your business plan will evolve and
develop to keep pace with changing market conditions it is
important that you review your IT on a regular basis. In
fact a review of what you have is often the first place to
start in developing the strategy.
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