Accounting firms "risk being left behind" if they neglect digital native clients

Accounting firms that don’t cater for the needs of digital native clientele by establishing a tailored online service offering could lose business to rivals, industry figures say.

According to Stephen McCullough, head of business development and marketing at accountancy firm Armstrong Watson, smaller practices are most at risk of missing out on time-pressed clientele seeking accounting advice they can trust.

“Clients want easy access, they crave peace of mind, and they will not sit back and wait. they will turn first to a firm that is well-established,” he says.

“In a digital-first world, where prospects and clients are becoming increasingly digital-savvy, if traditional firms do not address these issues, then leading digital-savvy firms will continue to benefit, and smaller firms will be left behind.”

McCullough also argues that digital marketing can be an effective and uncomplicated solution to this. “Stripping out complexity” while “focusing on themes with matching sectors” is actually the best way to attract relevant prospective clients, he says.

Research published by telephone answering service provider Verbatim in August 2022 found that just 8% of accountancy firms ran a website with live chat functionality.

Despite estimating that over 95% of digital users regularly use social media, the report also found that three-quarters of those surveyed either didn’t have or didn’t promote a Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin presence.

This resistance to digitisation has also been noted by Aleksandra Zaronina-Kirillova, head of SME professional insights at the Association for Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). The phenomenon has been consistently observed during the Association’s virtual practitioner meetings, she says.

However, Zaronina-Kirillova also notes that, once presented with the consequences of failing to adapt to the changing business landscape outlined in Verbatim’s report, reticent firms soon change approach.

“If you’re looking at acquiring some specific age segments or industries, for example, for potential gen-z customers, if you’re not present online and not communicating digitally, you’re basically non-existent.”

“I think we need to explain that it’s not about just promoting your service. It’s about the result, it’s about winning clients, it’s about attracting the right people.

“In our Practice Rooms [virtual practitioner meetings], I could see the opinion of people changing when we explained that it’s not that superficial, that you also need to analyse this. It’s important for your strategy and for your future.”

Firms have “no choice but to adapt”

Similarly, MHA MacIntyre Hudson’s national head of marketing, Martha Harley, says it’s down to marketing teams to “find ways of taking their firm’s staff forward to the digital age”.

Since employing a consultant to conduct an experience survey a year ago, MHA has changed tack, Harley adds. The firm has, for instance, launched a webinar that has driven a 10% rise in its site traffic, and a 49% jump in social media page visits, she says.

“Pre-Covid, if we’d asked our partners to do a webinar or a video, we would have been told to go away. The recognition and traction we’ve gained in a very short space of time has been extraordinary.

“Companies have to realise that Covid has accelerated the arrival of the digital future, and it’s not going away. If you want to survive you have no choice but to adapt.”

Concurring, ACCA’s Zaronina-Kirillova adds that the industry has been “talking about cloud solutions” for at least a decade . With Covid having brought this technological shift forwards, practices are being forced to seek new ways of catering for clientele, she says.

“With the take up of cloud solutions, the situation is changing. I think that Covid really accelerated the [growth of] accountancy firms’ digital presence.

“We saw so many online communities formed by practices just getting together to discuss how they could better support clients. So I think that while Covid was a challenging moment, it was also quite positive in this sense.”

Digitisation is key to recruitment 

But despite these encouraging trends, Zaronina-Kirillova maintains that those still not catering to digital natives are also jeopardising their position in the talent market.

In a survey conducted by PwC in May 2022, almost 20% of UK workers said they planned to change job over the next year.

To remain attractive as an employer, Zaronina-Kirillova argues that now more than ever, firms need to “clearly communicate who they are”.

“Nowadays, there is a new generation of talent coming to the market with very different expectations from firms.

“If you don’t communicate clearly on what you’re doing, you’re risking not getting the right talent, and this is so important for the long-term existence of practices.”