How to

Solve the Most Pressing 3 Challenges as Accountants

How to Solve the Most Pressing 3 Challenges as Accountants The accounting industry is changing rapidly and is not what it used to be. Today, accountants face many challenges in their daily lives, including the ever-increasing demand for technology and competition from other professions.

It's no longer enough to be good with numbers, and accountants need to adapt quickly or risk falling behind in an industry that has become increasingly more competitive.

Here are three challenges Accountants face today and solutions on how you can overcome them:

Adapting to new technologies

Accountants have been using pencils and calculators for decades, but now there is an influx of technology that can be more efficient. Whether it's cloud spaces or software like QuickBooks, accountants will need to be able to adapt quickly.

Many businesses are using online accounting cloud software. With the internet playing such an essential role in people's lives today, online accounting software is becoming much more popular among businesses. 

Instead of focusing on multiple platforms and learning all of them, specialize in one and get certified. Certain aspects about these systems make them appealing to accountants, like how automated it is. You'll spend less time on manual accounting tasks, leaving you the time to focus on more important tasks. Cloud-based accounting software gives you the ability to access it anywhere so you can work remotely. 

Increase Risk of Cybersecurity & Email Phishing Scams

The accounting industry has always been vulnerable to hackers, but cybersecurity risks have only grown in the past few years. Phishing scams are becoming more lucrative to criminals. They are targeting accountants because they know accountants will be working with large sums of money or have access to that information. 

A phishing scam is when the criminal pretends to be the company's CFO and sends emails requesting documents, passwords, or other personal information to steal money from the company's bank account. According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, phishing scams resulted in $1.7 billion losses in 2019.

To avoid being targeted for this type of scam, accountants need to recognize these red flags:

  • Suspicious messages.

  • Links in messages that lead to unfamiliar sites.

  • Requests for personal information not included in any previous correspondence.

  • Unexpected emails containing grammatical errors.

  • Requests for personal data come from an outside email address rather than the company's official one.

  • Don't download or open any suspicious attachments. 

Outsourced Accounting Jobs

One of the significant issues facing accountants nowadays is outsourcing. Outsourcing was more prevalent in earlier decades but had been growing ever since. Deloitte's 2020 global outsourcing survey found one of the main reasons for outsourcing jobs is to reduce cost. 

To overcome this challenge, you can apply to work for public accounting firms that offer outsourced services, find a job at another company with an in-house accounting department or become a freelance accountant.

Accountants are under constant pressure to adapt, change and grow. As you continue to evolve your skillset through the process of CPE, accountants will be able to overcome these challenges one at a time.