State of play
From AI to hourly rates, the ICAS Practice Survey 2024 takes the pulse of firms, small and large, and gauges their expectations for the near future
State of play
From AI to hourly rates, the ICAS Practice Survey 2024 takes the pulse of firms, small and large, and gauges their expectations for the near future
This summer, ICAS members in practice were asked a series of questions about their day-to-day operations and the key challenges they face. Respondents range from small-town practices to large firms based in the City, although a clear majority of those taking part in this survey are sole practitioners.
One of the more surprising aspects of these results is consistency. We are all acutely aware of the disruptive forces at play in the accounting profession, whether that’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) or more profound developments such as sustainability reporting and AI. Yet the ICAS practice community appear to be, if not impervious to, at least resilient in the face of the headwinds blowing through the economy.
We’ve pulled out some of the survey’s key findings below. You can also read analysis of the results from ICAS Director of Practice, David Menzies CA, as well as a response from the sponsor, Xero, below.
For best display, please view the graphs in full screen.
This summer, ICAS members in practice were asked a series of questions about their day-to-day operations and the key challenges they face. Respondents range from small-town practices to large firms based in the City, although a clear majority of those taking part in this survey are sole practitioners.
One of the more surprising aspects of these results is consistency. We are all acutely aware of the disruptive forces at play in the accounting profession, whether that’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) or more profound developments such as sustainability reporting and AI. Yet the ICAS practice community appear to be, if not impervious to, at least resilient in the face of the headwinds blowing through the economy.
We’ve pulled out some of the survey’s key findings below. You can also read analysis of the results from ICAS Director of Practice, David Menzies CA, as well as a response from the sponsor, Xero, below.
For best display, please turn mobile to landscape.
Embracing the future
Kate Hayward, UK Country Manager at Xero, says the profession’s move away from basic bookkeeping is to be welcomed
The results of the 2024 ICAS Practice Survey point to broader trends that we’re seeing with small businesses across the UK. Accountants are helping their small business clients to digitalise parts of their business to operate more efficiently and get time back to spend on doing what they love. From automating basic accounting tasks, such as data entry, bank reconciliation and invoice processing, to using apps designed to solve their unique business needs.
We’re also seeing accountants and bookkeepers leverage more digital tools to automate processes within their practice, so that they can spend more time on winning new business or providing a wider range of services to existing clients. So it was especially noteworthy to see such a marked drop in the demand for bookkeeping skills, from 50% in 2021 to 39% in 2022 and 28% this year.
Indeed, we said back in 2022 that we expected to see a far greater adoption of automation-driven tools – this survey bears out that prediction.
It also comes as no surprise that AI suddenly ranks so highly among the anticipated future changes to the profession. While some are still hesitant to use AI, we’ve seen some really practical use cases start to emerge on how practices are using this technology to save time, and spend more time serving their clients.
While AI can automate routine and repetitive tasks, the accountant’s role is evolving towards more strategic, analytical and advisory functions. And as generative AI gains traction, accountants are empowered to become an even more valuable resource for their clients.
Conclusions
For the time being it is very much business as usual, but CAs representing practices of all sizes recognise that change is coming. Our next survey may well show just how profound that change will be, especially among sole practitioners.
For more resources for practices, visit our Evolve programme
Built with Shorthand