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REMOTE ACCOUNTANCY AFTER LOCKDOWN As we near the end of lockdown restrictions, businesses across the economy are reevaluating how they’d like to work in future. After a year in which people have been encouraged or required to work from home if they can, the relationship between workers and workplaces has transformed. Official figures show that 47 per cent of workers across the country have been working from home, and commentators are predicting that many will continue to do so - either in part, or entirely - long after the obligation to do so ends. There are many considerations which employers and employees need to consider; ranging from the impact different arrangements may have on mental health to productivity and team dynamics, but how will it affect accountancy and business advice services in future?
accountancy, tax and business advice to HR, IT, legal and probate services. Some of our most senior team members share their experiences of how remote working has worked for clients.
expectation. But the last few years have seen advisors and clients adopting more and more systems and practices which make face-toface, in-person working less of a requirement and more of an optional preference.
A break with tradition
Back in 2019 when the first phase of Making Tax Digital was soon to come into force, many predicted that it would take years for businesses to adapt to cloud accountancy and remote systems, let alone embrace it. Post-pandemic, remote working has taken over.
“Before the pandemic, regardless of the fact that Duncan & Toplis was able to conduct meetings remotely, and had been doing so for International work for some time, all parties generally preferred an in-person meeting as that has always been ‘the tradition’”, explains Matthew Appleyard of Duncan & Toplis. “The pandemic has required both the profession and clients to break from tradition and embrace a remote system model”, he continues.
As the Making Tax Digital deadlines approached, some clients seized on it as a chance to streamline their services so that more could be achieved in less time through remote accountancy services, but most preferred face-to-face, in person services; even if it was simply for the purpose of looking someone in the eye and shaking their hand.
At Duncan & Toplis, we work with more than 12,000 businesses and individuals with a wide range of services including
Not long ago, face-to-face meetings and site visits were a necessity; printed paper documents needed to be examined, shared and signed, and, of course, it was a cultural
Alistair Main
Kay Botley
Kayleigh Williams
Kevin Edwards
Matthew Appleyard
Tara Bellamy
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This will undoubtedly play a role in determining how the balance is struck
