With the year nearing its close, Chris Evans, vice president and country manager at Intuit QuickBooks UK, takes the opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months and celebrate accounting professionals on International Accounting Day
As I look at the accounting and bookkeeping community today, I am extremely proud to be a part of it. After a tumultuous couple of years for all industries and small businesses in particular, the seeds of recovery are beginning to bloom, and this is thanks to the hard work and dedication of working professionals throughout the UK.
That’s why we’re grateful for the opportunity to celebrate International Accounting Day with all of our partners and colleagues in the industry. In 1972, November 10th was marked as a day to inspire those starting their careers to explore accounting as a profession. Now, almost half a century later, it marks a time for us to stop and celebrate accounting professionals most important contributions to the world of business and our economy.
At Intuit QuickBooks, accounting professionals are our most trusted and valued partners, because they share the same mission to help small businesses grow and prosper. In turn we remain committed to helping them grow their own firms and scale their impact. As partners, we want to continue to innovate by building and delivering the product experiences, training and programmes that help all accounting professionals and their small business clients grow.
We firmly believe in the power of digital technology to change the game for accounting professionals and small businesses. From working with our accounting professional partners, we know that using online technology enables them to create more efficient and productive practices, which in turn allows them to offer higher value services. With the introduction of Making Tax Digital for Business (MTDfB), HMRC hopes to make the UK one of the most digitally advanced tax services in the world and the long-term role of accounting professionals is critical in that.
Despite it being compulsory for small business owners to be MTD for VAT compliant by the April 2022 deadline, we recently undertook research which found that half of small businesses with an annual turnover of under £85k, that are eligible for MTD from April 2022, haven’t even heard of the initiative.
This is where the opportunity lies for accounting professionals to start the conversation with clients and build their position as trusted partners to these businesses. We know that accounting professionals will play a critical role in changing clients’ perceptions of MTD from an obligation to an opportunity, and the importance of this for MTD to succeed shouldn’t be underestimated. Many of you within the industry will already be discussing the necessary steps with small business clients. This will include helping them get set up with the right financial management software for their needs.
This is a significant undertaking, so we’ve developed a guide to MTD with resources that can be used to help facilitate these conversations and improve your clients’ understanding of what’s required.
Intuit QuickBooks is committed to listening to the needs of all its partners and we want to continue finding new ways to meet them. We are grateful for our partnerships and the incredible role they play in helping small businesses prosper.
Please enjoy this short video for an extra special message from small businesses and the Intuit team around the world.