It seems that because of system constraints and limitations, many accountancy firms are struggling to deliver normal client services during the pandemic. In this article, Colin McArdle, Tikit’s Senior Account Director for the Accountancy sector in EMEA, is therefore asking if it’s now time for firms to think about upgrading their digital capacity with the introduction of a cloud-based document management system.

All businesses are dealing with unprecedented challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But arguably, accountancy firms are facing a double hit. Not only do they have to look after their staff, and work to make their businesses function as effectively as possible until the acute phase of the pandemic has passed. They’re also having to cope with the added pressure of trying to help their clients navigate a slew of new measures, regulations and virus-induced impacts. And they know that this altered landscape will have an impact on firms for years to come. So how are they getting on?

Of course, all firms have had to activate their contingency and business continuity plans. Each firm’s success has then been inextricably linked to the quality of its planning and accessibility of their systems. Anecdotally, many firms have been struggling with the transition to working from home, both technologically and culturally. They’re trying as much as possible to continue with business as usual – but even regular tasks take more time and resource than normal.

Unfortunately, many are hampered by the fact that they’re still relying on an on-premise legacy document management system (DMS) or a network folder structure, and the use of additional collaboration tools or separate client portals. As a result, a lot of accountants are struggling to access business and client documents quickly and easily.

This issue would be resolved if firms moved away from on-premise servers to a cloud environment but many simply do not fully understand the operational, cost, security and maintenance advantages of doing so. There is also a certain amount of hesitancy as to when and how to make the transition because of the change management aspects involved. Furthermore, too many IT departments are staying with an old technology stack that no longer actually meets the demands of the firm, just because the software is still supported. All that said, what matters now is that firms find a way to maintain cash flow to see them through the crisis.

‍How firms can benefit from cloud
Firms will benefit from a move to the cloud now because being able to access files remotely, using any device, will have an immediate impact on the productivity of accountants who are working from home. In addition, the right DMS lets users quickly and easily search, save, share and collaborate on client files. It will provide document audit trails from creation to disposal, plus version control management. It will also provide email filing, which is a great time-saver and means that users can always rely on the fact that there’s a single complete electronic version of each client’s file. Remember too that today’s systems provide an intuitive user experience that leads to quick adoption.

A cloud-based DMS also, of course, eliminates the need to connect via existing systems. We know that when too many people try to access via a remote network, there’s a tendency for it to run slowly, leaving those working from home unable to connect and get on with their work at the desired pace. When you’re cloud-based, documents can be accessed much more quickly and reliably.

It’s also important that a cloud-based DMS provides advanced, high-level security that in a lot of instances is much more robust than the on-premise measures many firms are currently relying on. A cloud-based DMS also undergoes extraordinary resilience testing so that they are always available in a crisis. So, for the future, a cloud-based DMS brings with it the advantage of mitigating a lot of risk, as well as taking care of a lot of disaster recovery and contingency planning.

For now, in a time of uncertainty, a cloud-based DMS also makes economic sense. Systems are subscription based so no capital investment is needed, just a per-user monthly fee. Meanwhile, the firm’s on-premise infrastructure and off-site server and archive costs can be progressively scaled back and off-set for this investment. Moreover, having a multi-tenanted cloud DMS means that systems need less maintenance as updates and upgrades are automatically applied.

The time to act is now
It’s understandable, of course, that many firms will succumb to a “crisis” mentality and feel that now is not the time for the assumed disruption and upheaval that can come with the introduction of new technology. As a consequence, for many, the default thinking will be that they’ll stick with the current solutions “for the duration”. But actually, what will that duration be?

It’s arguable that even once lockdowns are gradually lifted, people who can work from home may not want to rush back to the office until they feel it’s safe to do so. Likewise, firms may struggle to institute adequate social distancing in the office environment. They may also decide that, given their duty of care, it’s better for the time being not to compel employees to return to the office. So, should firms then just persist with sub-optimal solutions indefinitely? The answer has to be that they really shouldn’t.

Indeed, there’s probably never been a more important time for firms to adopt agile thinking and to adapt to circumstances. As such, bringing in a cloud-based DMS is one innovation that perhaps accountancy firms really should not be putting off any longer.