"We've been building solutions in the cloud for the last decade," said CCH North America president and chief executive Mike Sabbatis. "and they're working well for CPA firms supporting mobility, streamlined work processes, and a paperless, work-anywhere environment. It's a critical intersection of professional productivity, data security, and accessibility for the accounting industry."
For Jim Bourke, partner in the New Jersey CPA firm of WithumSmith+Brown, the value of cloud computing is reinforced by the natural and man-made disasters of the past year. "We've seen the effects of tornadoes and fires on companies and their CPA partners," he said. "When Hurricane Irene struck in the summer of 2011, our 15 offices and 500 professionals were literally able to weather the storm due to our investments in cloud computing. It is a technology that secures data, and ensures that your company data is there when you need it. We are a big advocate of the technology for ourselves and our clients."
And yet, many are either not convinced or have no clear understanding as to what cloud computing is, its benefits, or how to maximize those benefits.
A survey of 30 multinational firms in December found that a fourth currently have no cloud computing plans, and that half of the companies plan to invest in their own internal data centers along with or rather than relying on the cloud. Most cited concerns over data control and security, among other things.
THE CLOUD'S SILVER LININGS
Cloud computing is sometimes referred to as Lego for grown-ups - a system that allows you to create virtually anything you can imagine from a standard set of building blocks. While this may be true in theoretical terms, the benefits for accounting firms often differ from those of their clients, and of businesses in general.
The five general benefits are:
Reduced IT costs. Cloud computing can reduce the costs of hardware, software, networking management and overall IT investment. With cloud computing, you pay for what you use.
Scalability. In real terms, the IT resources can be expanded or reduced according to the needs of the company. This is particularly true of storage space and computing power.
Automatic updates. Software and hardware are updated by the cloud vendor. While these costs may be reflected in monthly or annual fees, they are implemented automatically - reducing implementation costs for the user.
Accessibility. Accountants and their clients can access and update information wherever they are, and meet where they need to meet, with full access to applications and data. This is also true of client employees, who can self-manage their data within the system for payroll and other applications.
Disaster relief. With your company's data safely stored in secure data centers, instead of an on-premises server, getting back up and running in a disaster is faster, easier and less expensive.
The benefit of accessibility is one of the driving forces behind the adoption of cloud computing for accountants, and one that is seen as offering the greatest potential for cost savings and revenue growth.
"We've seen that the ability to access applications from anywhere is transforming business, particularly when it comes to globalization and outsourcing," said Paul Turner, senior director for product marketing at cloud ERP provider NetSuite. "For companies with multiple locations, this means they can use their best people from where they are, and don't have to move them to a single headquarters or location. This is a major factor in the velocity of a business - the ability to rapidly shift resources to where they are needed without having to staff up in every location."
But experienced cloud vendors and users note that all of the benefits do not necessarily accrue to all companies.
"It isn't about moving to the cloud," said Rene Lacerte, chief executive and founder of online accounts receivable concern Bill.com. "You have to develop the applications for the cloud if the accounting firm or company is going to realize the potential and benefits. The synergy of online tools working together is what maximizes productivity and visibility for the firm. What we hear consistently from clients is that the use of newly developed tools like cloud-based client portals enables them to gain more visibility, which translates into bottom-line revenues in new services and expanded levels of business."
"The value proposition is clearly different for the typical small accounting firm than it is for firms in the 10-40 professionals range, and different again for the enterprise-level CPA firms," said Roy Keely, director of marketing for Xcentric, a company that focuses on IT support for the accounting profession from its headquarters in Alpharetta, Ga. "In small firms, the benefit is in not having to spend critical administrative time fooling around with software patches and servers. Mid-range firms also gain from a reduction of administrative time spent on IT problems. Honestly, mid-range firms seldom do well on IT by themselves, and use of cloud resources allows the administrative and management teams to focus more of their time on generating revenues."
"Large CPA firms are better able to take a long-term view, and to leverage the cloud resources for higher productivity and greater revenues," he said. "Those productivity gains may seem intangible, but they are real, and they do accrue to the firm's bottom line."
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER
Cloud computing is not without its baggage and problems that accounting firms and their clients are wise to bear in mind. Here are some of the most critical:
Be the first to comment on this post using the section below.