Jeremy Tauri: Numbers changing

Business owners are now more engaged with IRD processes.

I've been around long enough to see a lot of evolution in accounting.

But it's been especially obvious that in the last 10 years the internet, and the move to the cloud has changed our industry immensely. Business owners are now more engaged with IRD processes because they have access to their IRD account information, financial and tax calculators and information at their fingertips to search through and read.

These changes have added to more positive experiences for businesses owners. Their interactions with professionals they use are improving as their level of understanding is increasing. This is especially true as the ease of record keeping and compliance filing continues to evolve.

Accountants, and especially those in public practice have been moving into a new phase of business advisory and business coaching, rather than being solely number crunchers.

This makes sense, as compliance and transactional processing and tax demands have reduced over the years. I have seen some accountants rebranding areas of their business as this seems more appropriate for business owners seeking more than just compliance services as their needs change towards assistance and advice on growth.

I've also seen a surge in the bookkeeper's profession. A bookkeeper is a little easier for businesses to relate to, and is viewed as cost effective for day-to-day activities, especially for small business and start-ups.

As business confidence improves it suits us well to know that we have business advice and financial literacy support for different types of businesses.

What might accounting look like in 10 years? I think we will have even less contact with our clients' numbers. Instead, we'll be able to hone strategy and help with financial and business planning.