Technology is destined to transform almost every major industry and change the way we live, work, and play in the near future.
All Australia’s business including practices do not need to look far into the future to see the new wave of digital disruption headed towards them. It is already here, transforming the way companies and operate and how they engage with their customers. It is estimated at lest one-third of the Australian economy faces imminent and major digital disruption 1.
The same technologies that opens up unprecedented possibilities and the innovations which are changing economies and markets, and reinventing relationships between organisations, suppliers and customers; also have the potential to totally decimate existing markets and businesses.
Digital Disruption is changing society.
Whether you’re delivering goods or services online recruiting new talent via LinkedIn, developing a mobile app or ditching your document retention department, you’re already experiencing the upside of digital technology.
In some ways, today’s innovations – broadband, smartphones, the cloud, the ability to analyse complex data sets, social media and other tools that make it now possible to ‘digitise’ a whole business..
The above is nothing, new... what is new is the "gestation" time.
It took a decade to get rid of typewriters and typists, we pioneered "Cloud" technologies back in 2000, they are just maturing in 2015... the real pace of change has been very slow..
But during 2014 all of this changed, with the likes of Airbnb and Urber..
In the space of 18 months, the whole short term rental market has changed forever, in many cities real estate agents have simply left the market altogether, as they simply cannot compete with a direct to client supply chain, 70% of all real estate in Australia is sold via online channels, there is an explosion of DIY home sales in the last year, as sellers realise they can reach potential buyers themselves (same shortened supply chain).
Taxi owners, who paid hundreds of thousands for a taxi licence, are seeing them become worthless overnight as customers move to the same direct supply model as airbnb.
How many woman do not buy their cosmetics from strawberry net these days?
But this is just the top of the ice burg...
Not only are supply chains being decimated, but also barriers to entry are crashing down... instead of spending $500k on a taxi licence, one simply signs up to Urber and starts making money as a taxi owner?
25 years ago, one could start up a new bricks and mortar company in Silicon Valley in a day.. today one can create a virtual company with world wide reach with almost zero staff..
In the same way as there was a physical infrastructure within Silicon Valley, premises, corporate, suppliers ect, the Cloud offers an almost limitless range of suppliers of almost any service. Need staff simply plug in highly skilled staff from the Phillipines into a modern digital platform, and deliver their services directly to your clients.. All possible to day..
What has this to do with Accounting practices? or any Australian Business?
Your 20+ something year old staff, can now, just like the Urber taxi, start their own practice without any of the traditional bricks and mortar barriers..
As Cloud accounting software. spirals towards zero, same as taxi licences, a whole new world where the next generation "Cloud Accountant" delivers high quality accounting services directly to the client, much like AirBnB.
It's all about shortened supply chains and the low cost mobile delivery platforms, and next generation cloud software solutions.
Given the digital disruption of Urber and AirBnB, it is realistic to ask will traditional accounting practices exist in 18 months?
We believe the future is bright for the "next generation" of Cloud accountants, and that they exist in almost every bricks and mortar firm today..
Check out the next generation Accountants Web Office, the future is here today..
1. Dellotte 2015..
Disclaimer
The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, taxation or investment advice but rather as general product related educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Who ya gonna call....
What does Ghostbusters theme song, have to do with your Accounting Practice?
Its all about "Trust" Its obvious, if you have a ghost, then the only call is to "Ghost Busters".
As a non-accountant, I find it strange that there is a push to get Accountants to move into the AFSL world, where trust is at a all time low..
In todays global, uncertain world, Accountants should be proud that they have retained the trust of their Clients. There are many reasons for this, but like most things, clients and the general public have long memories, and the typical local accounting Practice has stood the test of time, and maintained a consistent image within their local and national communities.
Going forward, I predict "Trust" will become the single greatest asset any Practice has.
What is professional trust?
Beyond the definitions, professional trust is the confidence that one has in the people and organizations that work and deliver professional service to the extent that one can rely on their work product, opinions, and judgments..
When professional trust is low, we construct and prescribe formal systems and attempt to ensure that we receive a specific behaviour from professionals. There is a general threat of punishment if we don’t achieve the prescribed formality. This is a loss of respectful regard and has the effect of reducing the benefits of professional reliance.
See anything familiar about this approach?
When professional trust is high, we rely more on those personal professional connections and develop understood ways of working together. Practice aptitudes that involve diligence, pursuit of competence and reasonableness are evident in behavior.
Like most things within a Practice, one needs a set of procedures, policies and culture to ensure that a "trusted" result is always delivered to the client.
Modern Cloud based Practice Management, with embedded quality, and workflow, scheduling systems underpin a modern Practice service delivery, and client experience.
Check out Accountants Web Office, today...
Your future awaits...
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, taxation or investment advice but rather as general product related educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements.
Its all about "Trust" Its obvious, if you have a ghost, then the only call is to "Ghost Busters".
As a non-accountant, I find it strange that there is a push to get Accountants to move into the AFSL world, where trust is at a all time low..
In todays global, uncertain world, Accountants should be proud that they have retained the trust of their Clients. There are many reasons for this, but like most things, clients and the general public have long memories, and the typical local accounting Practice has stood the test of time, and maintained a consistent image within their local and national communities.
Going forward, I predict "Trust" will become the single greatest asset any Practice has.
What is professional trust?
Beyond the definitions, professional trust is the confidence that one has in the people and organizations that work and deliver professional service to the extent that one can rely on their work product, opinions, and judgments..
When professional trust is low, we construct and prescribe formal systems and attempt to ensure that we receive a specific behaviour from professionals. There is a general threat of punishment if we don’t achieve the prescribed formality. This is a loss of respectful regard and has the effect of reducing the benefits of professional reliance.
See anything familiar about this approach?
When professional trust is high, we rely more on those personal professional connections and develop understood ways of working together. Practice aptitudes that involve diligence, pursuit of competence and reasonableness are evident in behavior.
Like most things within a Practice, one needs a set of procedures, policies and culture to ensure that a "trusted" result is always delivered to the client.
Modern Cloud based Practice Management, with embedded quality, and workflow, scheduling systems underpin a modern Practice service delivery, and client experience.
Check out Accountants Web Office, today...
Your future awaits...
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, taxation or investment advice but rather as general product related educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Are you the "Miley Cyrus" of Accounting Practices?
Miley Cyrus has many talents, but without question she has a talent which allows her to "stand out" in the crowded music scene. The question is how does any Accounting practice differentiate its services from the sea of Accounting Practices..
As the level of automation increases, within Cloud accounting services, and accounting software fees fall towards zero, how do all the practices using QBO(now only $4.99 per month), or Xero($35 per month), or Cognition(Free) stand out from the Crowd?
The answer is simple, service and just like Miley Cyrus, something that is unique which clients are willing to pay for....
If client finds a number of accountants, all using the same QBO/Xero accounting software, then what is the difference? Typically this will be in the first instance your fees...
The drivers..
The professional services market within Australia and beyond has changed significantly.
The tax and accounting industry is not only about delivering technical service, but doing so in a consistent and high quality manner. With the market becoming more competitive than ever, clients expect more from their accountants to not only guide their business through the mase of compliance requirements but to take full advantage of the opportunities that come their way. Never before have accountants been in a position to make a real and lasting difference for their clients.
The brave new world creates new business process complexities for many SMEs which many are not equipped to handle alone. When an SME starts selling online, taking credit cards, or streamlining their paperless workflows, they often don’t have the expertise needed to evaluate options and integrate the chunks to create an efficient business system, the explosion of expensive "add-ons" makes many of these decisions critical to the overall solution.
For accountants who stick to financial statement and tax preparation services, the dramatic improvements in technology will continue to commoditise those services.. Payroll and sales tax service, which today have become not much more than pressing the submit button on the software product, there is simply no margin in these, without significant volumes, which most practices simply don't have.
But?
Only 15% of clients think that their accountants are tech-savvy enough to ask for advice. The rest say their accountants are not keeping current, falling behind, or simply don’t know.
So what do clients really want?
1. help me remain compliant
Most SME clients don’t understand or want to understand all of the complexities of compliance especially with regards to tax, so they rely on accountants to get it right and they prefer not to have issues with a tax authority, let alone be investigated
2.Save me tax
Most SME's cannot control their income. so this best dollar any business can save, because tax spend doesn’t help one make more money. There are nearly always things one you can do to legally, only pay the tax due.
3. No surprise bills
This is the number one reason why clients leave their accountant. Always provide your clients with a upfront quote for everything, and if you don’t know how much it will be, give an upper limit of where you will stop. Every SME likes to how much they’re going to have to pay before they make the decision to buy your services.
4. Want be treated well no matter how small I am
Be sure that the right people in your client’s organisation are talking to the right people in your firm. Its all about relationships, every client likes to feel they’re important, which they are. So treat them as such.
The gaps between what clients want and what accountants are delivering is huge. But then, so are the opportunities for the accounting firms that can separate themselves from the pack.
How does a practice separate themselves from the pack?
The first point is that the typical Accounting Practice, is not a technology expert and never will be, this includes Cloud Accounting Software.
As almost every Practice makes use of Xero or MYOB to various levels, there is simply no point of differentiation with this approach. Additionally as Cloud Technologies become communities, the whole issue of "which" accounting software becomes mute, so being a specialist in any specific software is not going to make any difference.
In fact to many Sole Traders the whole concept that one needs to pay $35+ per month for accounting software is "out-of-this-world", and not in touch with any commercial reality..
In the old days a Sole Trader bought MYOB for $100 full stop... not the current $400 per year.
In reality the current Xero/MYOB does nothing fundamentally different to the old one-off $100 software.
So what is happening here, when did Accountants move to become Software Accounting Resellers?
In fact Freshbooks, have a mantra, that many do not need any accounting software at all, and with 3 times the number of users as Xero, there may be some truth in this.
Most accountants tell us that they would like to spend more of their time providing strategic advice to their clients. But of course, solving logistical and tactical challenges (like client errors and data transfers) gets in the way, and those challenges probably take up the majority of your staff’s time. That’s low-level “value” that any accountant could deliver, and that lack of differentiation is the single greatest threat to your practice’s growth and profitability.
So
Step one, is to remove the practice from any association with Accounting Software fees, this allows the client and practice to focus on the clients requirements, after all this what accountants have traditionally done. The old made new again...
Step two, the value proposition, most client’s value work that makes them or saves them money. They rarely value compliance reporting.
Step three, run your practice in the same way as you recommend to your clients..
We see practices pushing online accounting software, but running their practices with "Old World practice management solutions, some have not changed in the last 15 years, and many have no workflow or automation capabilities.
How many practices make use of Modern Cloud based Practice Management Solutions today?
How many practice who push Xero to their clients actually use Xero for their own accounting purposes?
Step four, Cognition, the next generation of Cloud Accounting allows each practice, or even bookkeeper, to develop, customize and deliver their very own Cloud Accounting "APP", allowing a unique client offering to their specific market.. Gone are the days of a one solution fits all. There are some 2 million+ Mobile Apps available for android alone today.
The future is bright for the modern Cloud based Accounting Practice, get on-board today, just like your clients..
Your own unique practice Cloud Accounting App, allows your practice to have the "Miley Cyrus" differentiator, so your practice does not compete with the "crowd" on price alone..
Ask about our Cognition ISV program, to deliver your Practice "Miley Cyrus" Cloud Accounting solution today..
Stand out from the Accounting Practice Crowd..
Embrace the "Miley Cyrus" approach, but perhaps skip her "wrecking ball" hit...
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, taxation or investment advice but rather as general product related educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements.
As the level of automation increases, within Cloud accounting services, and accounting software fees fall towards zero, how do all the practices using QBO(now only $4.99 per month), or Xero($35 per month), or Cognition(Free) stand out from the Crowd?
The answer is simple, service and just like Miley Cyrus, something that is unique which clients are willing to pay for....
If client finds a number of accountants, all using the same QBO/Xero accounting software, then what is the difference? Typically this will be in the first instance your fees...
The drivers..
The professional services market within Australia and beyond has changed significantly.
The tax and accounting industry is not only about delivering technical service, but doing so in a consistent and high quality manner. With the market becoming more competitive than ever, clients expect more from their accountants to not only guide their business through the mase of compliance requirements but to take full advantage of the opportunities that come their way. Never before have accountants been in a position to make a real and lasting difference for their clients.
The brave new world creates new business process complexities for many SMEs which many are not equipped to handle alone. When an SME starts selling online, taking credit cards, or streamlining their paperless workflows, they often don’t have the expertise needed to evaluate options and integrate the chunks to create an efficient business system, the explosion of expensive "add-ons" makes many of these decisions critical to the overall solution.
For accountants who stick to financial statement and tax preparation services, the dramatic improvements in technology will continue to commoditise those services.. Payroll and sales tax service, which today have become not much more than pressing the submit button on the software product, there is simply no margin in these, without significant volumes, which most practices simply don't have.
But?
Only 15% of clients think that their accountants are tech-savvy enough to ask for advice. The rest say their accountants are not keeping current, falling behind, or simply don’t know.
So what do clients really want?
1. help me remain compliant
Most SME clients don’t understand or want to understand all of the complexities of compliance especially with regards to tax, so they rely on accountants to get it right and they prefer not to have issues with a tax authority, let alone be investigated
2.Save me tax
Most SME's cannot control their income. so this best dollar any business can save, because tax spend doesn’t help one make more money. There are nearly always things one you can do to legally, only pay the tax due.
3. No surprise bills
This is the number one reason why clients leave their accountant. Always provide your clients with a upfront quote for everything, and if you don’t know how much it will be, give an upper limit of where you will stop. Every SME likes to how much they’re going to have to pay before they make the decision to buy your services.
4. Want be treated well no matter how small I am
Be sure that the right people in your client’s organisation are talking to the right people in your firm. Its all about relationships, every client likes to feel they’re important, which they are. So treat them as such.
The gaps between what clients want and what accountants are delivering is huge. But then, so are the opportunities for the accounting firms that can separate themselves from the pack.
How does a practice separate themselves from the pack?
The first point is that the typical Accounting Practice, is not a technology expert and never will be, this includes Cloud Accounting Software.
As almost every Practice makes use of Xero or MYOB to various levels, there is simply no point of differentiation with this approach. Additionally as Cloud Technologies become communities, the whole issue of "which" accounting software becomes mute, so being a specialist in any specific software is not going to make any difference.
In fact to many Sole Traders the whole concept that one needs to pay $35+ per month for accounting software is "out-of-this-world", and not in touch with any commercial reality..
In the old days a Sole Trader bought MYOB for $100 full stop... not the current $400 per year.
In reality the current Xero/MYOB does nothing fundamentally different to the old one-off $100 software.
So what is happening here, when did Accountants move to become Software Accounting Resellers?
In fact Freshbooks, have a mantra, that many do not need any accounting software at all, and with 3 times the number of users as Xero, there may be some truth in this.
Most accountants tell us that they would like to spend more of their time providing strategic advice to their clients. But of course, solving logistical and tactical challenges (like client errors and data transfers) gets in the way, and those challenges probably take up the majority of your staff’s time. That’s low-level “value” that any accountant could deliver, and that lack of differentiation is the single greatest threat to your practice’s growth and profitability.
So
Step one, is to remove the practice from any association with Accounting Software fees, this allows the client and practice to focus on the clients requirements, after all this what accountants have traditionally done. The old made new again...
Step two, the value proposition, most client’s value work that makes them or saves them money. They rarely value compliance reporting.
Step three, run your practice in the same way as you recommend to your clients..
We see practices pushing online accounting software, but running their practices with "Old World practice management solutions, some have not changed in the last 15 years, and many have no workflow or automation capabilities.
How many practices make use of Modern Cloud based Practice Management Solutions today?
How many practice who push Xero to their clients actually use Xero for their own accounting purposes?
Step four, Cognition, the next generation of Cloud Accounting allows each practice, or even bookkeeper, to develop, customize and deliver their very own Cloud Accounting "APP", allowing a unique client offering to their specific market.. Gone are the days of a one solution fits all. There are some 2 million+ Mobile Apps available for android alone today.
The future is bright for the modern Cloud based Accounting Practice, get on-board today, just like your clients..
Your own unique practice Cloud Accounting App, allows your practice to have the "Miley Cyrus" differentiator, so your practice does not compete with the "crowd" on price alone..
Ask about our Cognition ISV program, to deliver your Practice "Miley Cyrus" Cloud Accounting solution today..
Stand out from the Accounting Practice Crowd..
Embrace the "Miley Cyrus" approach, but perhaps skip her "wrecking ball" hit...
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, taxation or investment advice but rather as general product related educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Cloud Accounting Due diligence..
Proper due diligence, focuses on identifying the players within the Cloud relationship.
That is, who is actually involved in providing the services and are they the same entity (or entities) that are processing or storing data?
In the case of aggregators, for example, a Cloud user could be dealing with a single entity which itself is provided services by various third parties.
The Add-On Dilemma?
Recently, many Cloud accounting providers, chose to only offer core features. This leads to of the required business functions, are now provided by a range of Add-On providers. You now need to ensure that you perform due diligence on all providers; required to support your operational requirements.
From a contractual and liability perspective, it’s important for the cloud accounting practice and their clients to know whether it has a directly enforceable contract with the key players or whether it is relying on those with whom it does have a contract to enforce relevant provisions.
If you cannot get answers to all these question then you should consider the Google example below as a typical response for most Cloud providers, and make the appropriate assessment.
Google Apps noted that “... Google and its licensors make no warranty of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular use and/or non-infringement. Google assumes no responsibility for the use of the service(s). Google and its licensors make no representations about any content or information made accessible by or through the service. Google makes no representation that Google (or any third party) will issue updates or enhancements to the service. Google does not warrant that the functions contained in the service will be uninterrupted or error-free.”
Google also has a complex set of corporate relationships where the Australian licenced Google Entity, which in fact may not actually be involved in any Google related activity, typically one can find that one is actually using a foreign Google entity located in Island or Bermuda, rather than the Australian Entity, even if the transaction is totally inside Australian jurisdiction.
Specific Security questions for your cloud providers:
Perform the due diligence, ask the questions, and then assess the Risk vs Benefit..
There is nothing new about Cloud outsourcing, just need to understand the risks for your practice and your PE liability for your clients data, especially the cyber crime related liabilities. The above general questions are designed to assist with this risk assessment.
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, legal or security advice but rather as general educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements. You are advised to always seek professional advice to meet your specific requirements.
That is, who is actually involved in providing the services and are they the same entity (or entities) that are processing or storing data?
In the case of aggregators, for example, a Cloud user could be dealing with a single entity which itself is provided services by various third parties.
The Add-On Dilemma?
Recently, many Cloud accounting providers, chose to only offer core features. This leads to of the required business functions, are now provided by a range of Add-On providers. You now need to ensure that you perform due diligence on all providers; required to support your operational requirements.
For example, a review of terms should seek to assess issues such as:
- The parties in the Cloud stack not just the contracting parties and their roles, rights and obligations, especially regarding data, its processing, storage location, and ownership;
- Whether each party has the rights required from other parties in the Cloud stack;
- The capabilities and liability of other parties in the Cloud stack;
- Backup/restoring data and disaster recovery plans;
- Service levels and what happens if the internet is unavailable;
- Continuous availability of services for business continuity;
- Treatment of data on termination/insolvency;
- What happens in the event of a security breach?, client reporting obligations; and
- Issues such as change of control, service levels, service credits, audit rights, compliance with security standards, procedures in the event of a breach, force majeure.
If you cannot get answers to all these question then you should consider the Google example below as a typical response for most Cloud providers, and make the appropriate assessment.
Google Apps noted that “... Google and its licensors make no warranty of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular use and/or non-infringement. Google assumes no responsibility for the use of the service(s). Google and its licensors make no representations about any content or information made accessible by or through the service. Google makes no representation that Google (or any third party) will issue updates or enhancements to the service. Google does not warrant that the functions contained in the service will be uninterrupted or error-free.”
Google also has a complex set of corporate relationships where the Australian licenced Google Entity, which in fact may not actually be involved in any Google related activity, typically one can find that one is actually using a foreign Google entity located in Island or Bermuda, rather than the Australian Entity, even if the transaction is totally inside Australian jurisdiction.
Specific Security questions for your cloud providers:
- Where is the data hosted, and if outside of Australia is there documented support to meet APP8
- Is all data encrypted in transit, i.e. is it possible to access the site via http:?
- Is all data encrypted at rest, on-line and archive (should be a minimum of AES256)
- If encryption is used are the keys unique, and under the exclusive control of the Practice
- Is there support for Industry standard Multi Factor Authentication(MFA)
- Can MFA support be mandated on all outside of Australia logins to support APP8
- Does the system support industry standard mandatory password changes, on at least every 60 day basis
- Is the system PCI or ISAE3402 certified.
Perform the due diligence, ask the questions, and then assess the Risk vs Benefit..
There is nothing new about Cloud outsourcing, just need to understand the risks for your practice and your PE liability for your clients data, especially the cyber crime related liabilities. The above general questions are designed to assist with this risk assessment.
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, legal or security advice but rather as general educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements. You are advised to always seek professional advice to meet your specific requirements.
The Cloud ate my data..
Cloud computing can work a bit like Hotel California; you can check your data in OK, but will you ever get it out?
One of the least thought about issues is exactly how does one get data out of the Cloud.
A Practice needs to consider the notion of being locked-in to certain applications or systems,
all Practices' and their clients need to consider the requirements to access data some years into the future for a range of regulatory reasons.
Backup of data may well require the applications which created the data to be available in order to sensibly access it. When was the last time you opened a MYOB-4 archive?
This may be achievable if complete system backups and there exists perpetual licences to applications which allow a user to rebuild a system so as to restore data. But does this exist in the current Cloud Accounting world?
In a Cloud setting, rebuilding an application years later so as to make data intelligible in most cases is impossible — and yet that is precisely what organisations might have to be able to do in order to remain compliant with data retention laws and regulation. All records, whether electronic or not, should be retained for at least the minimum period stated in any applicable statute or regulation.
In Australia there are more than 80 acts of legislation, regulations and rules specifying document retention requirements applicable to companies under Australian law. Depending on the situation data needs to be accessible for five, seven or 10 years after creation.
If a court orders a company involved in litigation to make available records from six years ago, or during an ATO audit, excuses such as “the Cloud ate my data” simply won’t wash.
Such scenarios should be considered at the outset of any relationship, and give rise to questions such as:
SAF-T The International Audit and Archive Format
In order to address a number of the issues above, we recommend that when considering any Cloud Accounting service, that as a minimum they support the Internationally standardised OECD SAF-T data archive format.
It is preferable that the SAF-T export is available to a client on-demand, but at a minimum that the Practice performs a yearly SAF-T archive.
Due to the scope of data within the SAF-T archive this file "must" always be exported and encrypted at rest. All major Accounting Software, Oracle, SAP, Cognition etc., support SAF-T exports.
SAF-T can be opened, viewed, and utilised, via any industry standard spread sheet program, our accountants typically make use of Excel.
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, taxation or investment advice but rather as general product related educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements.
One of the least thought about issues is exactly how does one get data out of the Cloud.
A Practice needs to consider the notion of being locked-in to certain applications or systems,
all Practices' and their clients need to consider the requirements to access data some years into the future for a range of regulatory reasons.
Backup of data may well require the applications which created the data to be available in order to sensibly access it. When was the last time you opened a MYOB-4 archive?
This may be achievable if complete system backups and there exists perpetual licences to applications which allow a user to rebuild a system so as to restore data. But does this exist in the current Cloud Accounting world?
In a Cloud setting, rebuilding an application years later so as to make data intelligible in most cases is impossible — and yet that is precisely what organisations might have to be able to do in order to remain compliant with data retention laws and regulation. All records, whether electronic or not, should be retained for at least the minimum period stated in any applicable statute or regulation.
In Australia there are more than 80 acts of legislation, regulations and rules specifying document retention requirements applicable to companies under Australian law. Depending on the situation data needs to be accessible for five, seven or 10 years after creation.
If a court orders a company involved in litigation to make available records from six years ago, or during an ATO audit, excuses such as “the Cloud ate my data” simply won’t wash.
- If service providers change, can the records be usefully accessed?
- Can I access archived data, years into he future without the service provider?
- Are there any lock-ins, such as licensing ( i.e. will the application even open the file if there is no current licence) which prevents access to accounting or SMSF data?
- Does the supplier limit the data that can be exported from their application, and will such limits still allow one to meet any data retention obligations?
- Can data be extracted on-demand from the Cloud?
- When will archive data be transferred and what form will it take?
- What are the obligations on each party regarding an exit plan?
SAF-T The International Audit and Archive Format
In order to address a number of the issues above, we recommend that when considering any Cloud Accounting service, that as a minimum they support the Internationally standardised OECD SAF-T data archive format.
It is preferable that the SAF-T export is available to a client on-demand, but at a minimum that the Practice performs a yearly SAF-T archive.
Due to the scope of data within the SAF-T archive this file "must" always be exported and encrypted at rest. All major Accounting Software, Oracle, SAP, Cognition etc., support SAF-T exports.
SAF-T can be opened, viewed, and utilised, via any industry standard spread sheet program, our accountants typically make use of Excel.
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, taxation or investment advice but rather as general product related educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
BYOD, Those pesty Mobile devices and your Practice...
What BYOD is and isn’t
BYOD – or Bring Your Own Device – is what happens when your employees, clients or guests use their own personal smart phones and tablets to access your Cloud Practice and Accounting Software. They bring their own mobile apps… security risks… privacy demands…with the intent to connect to your cloud enterprise. And they expect you to make it work, this includes managing any increased Cloud and BYOD risks for them.
Because it’s their own the device, uniformity goes out the window. You’re not handing them preconfigured devices to connect to secure enterprise networks, with work applications preloaded,
and all administrative privileges pre-vetted by your IT staff. And you can expect that these devices take the path of least resistance to connect; whether that’s your secure network using existing credentials or the guest network. BYOD means that hundreds or thousands – or tens of
thousands – of essentially rogue devices are interacting with your and your client organisation’s confidential data…and it means that you need to come up with a plan that protects this privacy and your confidential data and is transparent.
Who’s getting the most of it?
There isn’t an industry – or a corner of the globe – that isn’t putting the mobile revolution to work for them.
Here are a few examples of what they’re doing to accommodate BYOD.
Enterprise
Everyone wants to stay connected to the office now. So enterprises are leveraging authentication methods and policies they currently use for IT-managed laptops, and extending them to personal devices.
Education
Higher education practically invented BYOD. Colleges and universities have had to support student-owned devices for many years and have done an excellent job leveraging BYOD to transform the teaching and learning environment. Now, these same institutions are extending BYOD to faculty and staff.
Retail
Retail spaces are completely transforming as a result of mobile devices. While most of these devices used by staff are issued by IT - such as iPads for mobile point-of-sale (POS) - there is a growing trend to also allow BYOD in stores for certain employees. But the big story for BYOD in retail is for shoppers. Armed with smartphones, shoppers are price checking and reading product reviews while in the store – a Google/Think Mobile survey found that 77% of all smartphone users browse while
shopping. Wi-Fi networks can gather information about shoppers; improving the customer experience with real-time product information and special promotions to establish long-term social media connections.
Accounting
The modern Accounting Practice is moving from using commodity third party accounting software ( MYOB, Xero) to their very "own" mobile APP's.
These APPs are targeted to their specific clients, and exploit the over 3 million Android APPS today.
The practice is part of the ecosystem with their clients, delivering professional services around the clock. The modern Cloud Practice now has a "differentiator" in the market, which now includes sticky clients.
The next "big thing" in this space is the upcoming suite of personalised SMSF APPS, keep a look out in 2015, within this space..
What about the numbers?
"Worldwide combined shipments of devices (PCs, tablets, ultra mobiles and mobile phones) are projected to reach 2.5 billion units in 2014, a 7.6 percent increase from 2013"
"Mobile phones are expected to dominate overall device shipments, with 1.9 billion mobile phones shipped in 2014, a five percent increase from 2013",
according to Gartner, Inc.
What exactly DO you lose if you don’t move to BYOD?
To put it bluntly... your ability to manage risk.
As users increasingly combine work and personal applications on their devices, your management challenges grow more complex – and the chance that confidential data are leaked rises exponentially.
Devices are replaced, and lost or stolen, without IT being informed. Documents are not encrypted, but then stored in personal cloud applications. Jailbroken devices are infected and then connect to the network, which can have a detrimental effect on other users’ data.
Given that application and data security is the top IT concern regarding BYOD, an emerging approach is to combine device and application management within the network access-management solution.
In other words, an integrated approach.
What is the main security issues with most Cloud Solutions today, and BYOD.
With the move from Corporate to Cloud computing, most of the security infrastructure has been thrown away..
Policies which were developed over many years of operational experience has been lost as new entrants driven solely by cost enter the Cloud market.. Many of these companies did not exist 5 years ago..
Simple test, ask yourself the last time your Cloud anything asked you to change your password!
That's right even basic password policies are missing from these services, what else?
Some simple Questions to ask your "Cloud Software Supplier":
- Is my data stored within Australia (APP8)?
- Is there a mandatory password change policy in force?
- Can I optionally use a Multi-Factor-Authentication to protect my access?
- Is my data encrypted at rest?
- Are any encryption keys securely stored inside a Hardware Security Module (HSM)?
- Is there a disaster recovery plan in place for my practice data?
- Can any BYOD APP store user passwords?
- Can I enforce a One Time Password (OTP) to protect all BYOD access?
- Can "I" revoke an individual device access to any of my services, from within my Practice Console 24*7?
If you don't receive a satisfactory answer to all of theses questions, then you need to consider the associated risks Before using the service..
BYOD offers a bright future for Cloud Accounting Practices, as part of the next wave delivering unique Professional Accounting services "directly" to their Clients 24*7*365.
But all opportunities have associated Risks, ensure your Practice understands the risks for your Practice and your clients data..
Ask the Questions, until you are satisfied you understand the Risks for your Practice..
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, taxation or investment advice but rather as general product related educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Cognition, Cloud Accounting engine, for Mobile platform developers.
We are witnessing an explosion, of new generation Mobile Platform "Apps", targeted towards business; in particular the sole trader (tradies, consultants ect) and small business owner or operator, and their staff.
Most of these Apps have very simple, and also very good user interfaces, in many cases better than the transitional software developers like ourselves. Additionally they move with the times, it does not take 4 years to get a basic function like an estimate, in many cases new stuff happens weekly or monthly at the longest. The typical Mobile developer looks at business functions with a new insight, they are not "cut down" versions of existing desktop accounting software.
Today you can get a Mobile App to do almost anything.
But any analysis of this market, shows in almost every case (Freshbooks is an example) these Apps lack even the most basic accounting functionality and none of the ones we reviewed had even the basic double entry accounting or complied with any of the accounting standards or registrations. We typically got responses like, "we don't need any accounting standards, as we target non-accountants", but this is no excuse to not comply with reporting and compliance standards. Removing complexity, for a target market is a grand goal, but one still needs the basics. In fact Freshbooks was the catalysis for Cognition, as we needed a engine to allow accountants to perform back office, Activity Statements, and perform basis accounting functions, bank loan reporting, bank feeds, tax returns ect. In many ways Freshbooks was our first Cognition "App" but the integration was done at the back end database, not the front end App developer. This approach has many draw backs, synchronization being the lest of these. We concluded that to be successful, the integration must be done at the developer App level.
Even non Mobile accounting solutions, like the market leader Xero maintain a set of +/- transactions, rather than the traditional double entry, which one can see within their journal API.
When it comes to functions like BAS, online ATO returns, bank feeds, AAS25 reporting and compliance with accounting standards, the typical "App" is found to be sadly deficient..
Compliance and reporting is the "Hard" bit and takes a lot of time and money to get right..
The new bread of App Developer
The rapid growth within the Apps market, has been driven by "Free" or very low cost applications, which are very easy to use, most cost less than $20.. This means that any paid App needs significant volume to make money..
If an App developer, makes use of an traditional accounting solution say Xero as their engine, they hit the "Fee" brick wall, where the excessive fees, limits the "volume" and in most cases will stall the App take up, free trials do not help. Also these traditional solutions, compete directly with the Apps market developer, this leaves very little market for the agile Mobile developer, and their customers.
We see that there is a fee threshold or about $100 per year, for this market.
Additionally the interfaces for the likes of Xero are way too complex, and not suited to the typical "light weight" application developer.
Volume underpins the success of any mobile platform "App"..
The Future Accountant
Many say the future for accountants is bleak, the increasing pressure from Adviser channels and the cost of new AFSL compliance, makes it all toooo hard. Many who are reaching retirement, see it as time to move on..
We, actually see a rosy future for the new generation accountant especially for those servicing, sole trader, trade persons, consultant, or road warrior small business, offering a local personalized service to their clients.
Most of this markets clients do not really care about BAS/IAS, tax returns, they "need " to focus on their day to day business, the last thing on their "to do list" is producing complaint reporting for Banks or Investors or the ATO.
While the new generation of Apps, can keep track of payments and cash flows, most of the Apps market users are time poor, and more than happy to "in-source" professional advice and specialist services.
The "in-sourced", virtual CFO, the future of accounting..
Also working with accountants over the years, many are latent "developers".. in that they realise the only way to differentiate themselves in the market is to offer unique and personalized services to their clients. If all practices use Xero where is the differentiation, from a clients perspective.
As there are currently over a Million Android Apps, in the market today, so there is no shortage of App developers in the market.
The new generation of Accountants get this differentiation,and have the "savvy" to understand the market changes.
With the release of Cognition, a practice can now offer a totally unique and personalized service to clients via any Mobile Platform..
Accountants simply re-selling Web Site services like Xero, Reckon, MYOB are the "old world"...
The future is unique practice services, delivered directly to your clients, you own and control your destiny.
Bottom line you can provide superior and in almost all cases, a more cost effective solution to your clients.
In marketing world this is called the "sticky client"...
Cognition "The Cloud Accounting Engine"
Enter the Australian first, and only, dedicated cloud accounting engine for Independent Software Developers.
Unlike all other cloud accounting services, Reckon, MYOB, Xero, Sage quicken ect.
Cognition has no user interface, it is exclusively a "engine" for App developers, to provide the Enterprise Accounting back end to their own "Apps".
Developer
Features:
Cognition: Cloud accounting engine, partners with Australian App developers and Accountant services to deliver the future today.
Availability
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, taxation or investment advice but rather as general product related educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements.
Most of these Apps have very simple, and also very good user interfaces, in many cases better than the transitional software developers like ourselves. Additionally they move with the times, it does not take 4 years to get a basic function like an estimate, in many cases new stuff happens weekly or monthly at the longest. The typical Mobile developer looks at business functions with a new insight, they are not "cut down" versions of existing desktop accounting software.
Today you can get a Mobile App to do almost anything.
But any analysis of this market, shows in almost every case (Freshbooks is an example) these Apps lack even the most basic accounting functionality and none of the ones we reviewed had even the basic double entry accounting or complied with any of the accounting standards or registrations. We typically got responses like, "we don't need any accounting standards, as we target non-accountants", but this is no excuse to not comply with reporting and compliance standards. Removing complexity, for a target market is a grand goal, but one still needs the basics. In fact Freshbooks was the catalysis for Cognition, as we needed a engine to allow accountants to perform back office, Activity Statements, and perform basis accounting functions, bank loan reporting, bank feeds, tax returns ect. In many ways Freshbooks was our first Cognition "App" but the integration was done at the back end database, not the front end App developer. This approach has many draw backs, synchronization being the lest of these. We concluded that to be successful, the integration must be done at the developer App level.
Even non Mobile accounting solutions, like the market leader Xero maintain a set of +/- transactions, rather than the traditional double entry, which one can see within their journal API.
When it comes to functions like BAS, online ATO returns, bank feeds, AAS25 reporting and compliance with accounting standards, the typical "App" is found to be sadly deficient..
Compliance and reporting is the "Hard" bit and takes a lot of time and money to get right..
The new bread of App Developer
The rapid growth within the Apps market, has been driven by "Free" or very low cost applications, which are very easy to use, most cost less than $20.. This means that any paid App needs significant volume to make money..
If an App developer, makes use of an traditional accounting solution say Xero as their engine, they hit the "Fee" brick wall, where the excessive fees, limits the "volume" and in most cases will stall the App take up, free trials do not help. Also these traditional solutions, compete directly with the Apps market developer, this leaves very little market for the agile Mobile developer, and their customers.
We see that there is a fee threshold or about $100 per year, for this market.
Additionally the interfaces for the likes of Xero are way too complex, and not suited to the typical "light weight" application developer.
Volume underpins the success of any mobile platform "App"..
The Future Accountant
Many say the future for accountants is bleak, the increasing pressure from Adviser channels and the cost of new AFSL compliance, makes it all toooo hard. Many who are reaching retirement, see it as time to move on..
We, actually see a rosy future for the new generation accountant especially for those servicing, sole trader, trade persons, consultant, or road warrior small business, offering a local personalized service to their clients.
Most of this markets clients do not really care about BAS/IAS, tax returns, they "need " to focus on their day to day business, the last thing on their "to do list" is producing complaint reporting for Banks or Investors or the ATO.
While the new generation of Apps, can keep track of payments and cash flows, most of the Apps market users are time poor, and more than happy to "in-source" professional advice and specialist services.
The "in-sourced", virtual CFO, the future of accounting..
Also working with accountants over the years, many are latent "developers".. in that they realise the only way to differentiate themselves in the market is to offer unique and personalized services to their clients. If all practices use Xero where is the differentiation, from a clients perspective.
As there are currently over a Million Android Apps, in the market today, so there is no shortage of App developers in the market.
The new generation of Accountants get this differentiation,and have the "savvy" to understand the market changes.
With the release of Cognition, a practice can now offer a totally unique and personalized service to clients via any Mobile Platform..
Accountants simply re-selling Web Site services like Xero, Reckon, MYOB are the "old world"...
The future is unique practice services, delivered directly to your clients, you own and control your destiny.
Bottom line you can provide superior and in almost all cases, a more cost effective solution to your clients.
In marketing world this is called the "sticky client"...
Cognition "The Cloud Accounting Engine"
Enter the Australian first, and only, dedicated cloud accounting engine for Independent Software Developers.
Unlike all other cloud accounting services, Reckon, MYOB, Xero, Sage quicken ect.
Cognition has no user interface, it is exclusively a "engine" for App developers, to provide the Enterprise Accounting back end to their own "Apps".
Developer
Features:
- Free to all Sole Traders
- Fixed fee of $50 per year, or $5 per month which includes payroll..
- Only developers can use engine, as no end client interface, so fee cannot be under cut.
- Zero account setup fee, above fixed fee can be bundled "in App" all services are white labeled.
- All access via, secure, light weight REST API, using JSON message sets.
- API is free, to all registered Australian App developers.
- No Cognition "App" or web service to compete with.
- Secure, Enterprise double entry accounting engine, been in use since 2000, long before the likes of Xero even existed.
- ATO registered, for BAS/IAS with integrated SBR gateway
- Secure cloud based Auskeys
- Unlimited translations per entity,
- Unlimited customers, suppliers per entity
- Limited to 20 staff (SME market), and fair usage.
- The API usage is also unlimited, Xero has 1000 transactions, and rate limited.
- The API has paging, which limits the max set to 100 entries per page.
- Optional support for SMSF Apps, via our SMSF365 service engine.
Functions
- Invoicing, Estimates
- Expenses, Receipts
- Projects, Tasks
- Time Entry
- Payments
- Items
- Staff
- Contractors, Suppliers, Prospects
- Payroll
- Tax
Accountant Only
Features:
Features:
- SBR for activity statements, via AWO
- Tax returns, via AWO
- Optional Payroll Processing via AWO
- Traditional accounting system, journals ect, with AAS25 reporting for SME's
- Registered with the ATO.
- Payroll Bureau with AWO
- Same accounting engine in use since 2000, used in Web Ledger, Web Office and SMSF365 services.
- Deliver in-sourced, professional accounting services
Cognition: Cloud accounting engine, partners with Australian App developers and Accountant services to deliver the future today.
Availability
- Trials Q3 2014, available to all Australian App developers, and Accountants
- Commercial availability Q4 2014.
Disclaimer The contents of this site should not be understood to be accounting, taxation or investment advice but rather as general product related educational information that may or may not meet your specific requirements.
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