Technology is advancing so rapidly that it can be hard to keep up, but taking advantage of the latest developments will transform your workflow to maximise your accuracy and efficiency. Most notably in the financial sector, software to automate tax calculations is taking the industry by storm – but how exactly are these programmes revolutionising accounting?
- Compliance
The priority for accountants analysing tax is ensuring compliance with current guidelines. This avoids over- or underpayments and potential fines which can take months to resolve.
Tax requirements can be complicated, especially for clients or companies operating outside of the UK. Using global solutions like SAP tax automation, you can instantly calculate and amalgamate obligations such as value-added charges at each stage of a product’s journey. This makes it simple to ensure compliance with all related tax requirements.
- Risk management
Due to the complex legalities of tax, it is easy for errors to be made and these can rack up costly charges which grow with interest until settled. Using software means there’s less room for error when working out the correct charges, from corporate tax to VAT, so there’s a reduced risk of failing in your duties to the company or client you work for.
Even though accountants are rarely liable for accounting errors, taking this step to manage risk is worthwhile in helping you preserve your reputation.
- Trends
Tax regulations change fairly regularly, especially in times of economic uncertainty, so you must proactively stay up to date with the latest government guidelines on tax for UK businesses to ensure your advice and calculations are correct. Software is automatically updated with the latest rules and regulations so you can have confidence in staying ahead of shifting trends.
- Strategy
One of your key responsibilities as an accountant will be advising on financial strategy. The data stored in tax automation programs can be analysed (using the software itself) to identify areas of improvement such as ways to save money or streamline operations.
Having access to such a large amount of information that can be read in seconds is incredibly valuable to informing the right decisions on tax management and wider business strategy.
- Admin
As with the automation of any process, the major benefit is usually saving time. Trusting a programme to complete complex tax calculations will free up more hours for you to devote to other tasks, from advising and consulting to drafting projections for the next financial period.
If you’re operating as a freelance accountant, you could use this time saved to take on more clients and boost your revenue.
