AccountingWeb

Accountants see no benefit from admin changes, despite HMRC endeavours

March 2008, – MYOB has discovered that three quarters of accountancy practices have not seen improvements to compliance processing since the introduction of administrative changes from HMRC. The results, from a recent study of UK accountants, highlight the importance of efficient tax return processing, enabling firms to adapt to recent Government changes and choose a future direction that is right for their practice.

More than half (61 percent) of firms said they would offer business consultancy and strategic support services, marking a shift towards more diverse services. It is encouraging to see that one in five practices plan to increase the type of services they offer within the next 12 months, in response to growing demand from clients for more consultancy advice. But, with only 16 per cent of practices believing that the changes have enabled them to take on a more advisory role, the results indicate that further support is needed.

To address this market shift and provide the practical tools, MYOB today launches the updated MYOB PerTAX. It’s unique ‘real-time’ exception reporting and workflow tools will allow practices to de-skill data entry and free up time for senior staff to focus on client service, tax planning and strategy.

This entirely .net product has been rewritten to provide enhanced management control, real-time reporting capabilities and integration with a centralised suite to give users a pro-active easy to navigate system. Unlike most workflow systems that assume a positive outcome, MYOB PerTAX addresses negative outcomes automatically, allowing the user to streamline processes, without time-consuming manual interception. This feature, combined with the ability to identify errors in real-time, gives supervisors peace of mind and confidence when tax return forms are handled by junior accountants.

Anne Porter, tax product manager says; “It is clear that client demand will ultimately drive change within the market, forcing accountants to be increasingly efficient and spend less time on filing tax returns. Instead, practices will focus on what they were trained to do – tax planning and strategy, satisfying both the wants of the accountants and the needs of their clients. However this isn’t a shift that will happen overnight. Factors such as reduction in administration and an increase in the number of tax payers filing their own returns will continue to drive change in the coming years."

Kevin Thomas, partner of accountancy firm Bird Luckin, one of the first adopters of the new software, said: “Faster tax return filing is now essential to accelerate growth for accountancy firms either in the direction of a tax-oriented practice or akin to the trend set by the US by offering more business consultancy. The good news is that MYOB PerTAX08 will help us to react to HMRC’s admin changes, while completing tax returns quickly and efficiently. “

About MYOB

MYOB is a global provider of solutions that ease the burden of day-to-day administration for business owners and accountants, enabling them to achieve business success. MYOB develops and delivers award-winning software, services and support for more than 500,000 businesses and over 10,000 accounting practices worldwide. For further information, please go to www.myob.co.uk

*Methodology: 122 accountants were surveyed in February 2008. Please contact Hotwire for full details of the report.

Press contacts:
Kate Hamilton
Hotwire
T. 020 7608 4671
kate.hamilton@hotwirepr.com

Nicola Truman
Hotwire
T. 020 7608 4673
nicola.truman@hotwirepr.com