People power is always needed, no matter how advanced technology gets.

Last week we talked about how silly it is to be afraid of MTD. Technology benefits us all, and makes financial management easier for accountant and client alike. However, there’s one element of the rise of technology that is oft-criticised, and in many ways is a valid concern.

This is the potential removal of the “human element” that comes with increased technological prevalence.

It should be no secret that at AIMS we’re in favour of using the best, most up-to-date technology available. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a very important personal element to accounting. Especially in the small business world, personality makes all the difference when it comes to an accountant and a client working together. An accountant with an entirely impersonal relationship with clients will never provide as effective a service as one who regularly talks to and interacts with their clients. Personal relationships help accountants build up their knowledge about their clients’ business, which leads to ever-more-effective service and solutions. Working closely with your accountant provides a business with an invaluable human perspective on their finances – you wouldn’t get that from software.

Software has led to a lot of changes in how accountants work. What was once paper and pen is now keyboard and mouse – a filing cabinet is now a file on a drive. New technologies have meant that accountants are no longer just a businesses’ “number-cruncher”, and now often fulfil an important role as a financial advisor for small businesses. It can be tempting when working with taxes and finance to just let the computers do all the work, but for an accountant to really succeed, they need personality!

Find your local AIMS Accountant today.