[1] The Great Debate is brought to you in conjunction with accountsIQ, your first choice for online accounting and business intelligence.

Second proposer:

Mike Ivey, managing director, Leeming Brothers [2]

"Paper is here to stay"

Leeming Brothers are a luxury stationery company. We use a traditional printing process called engraving to achieve a raised – or embossed – effect using a copper die. Historically engraving is the method customers have used to obtain a luxury feel for their stationery. Our printing presses date from the 1930s.

Our clients include the aristocracy, blue chip companies and affluent domestic consumers.

The death of prestigious writing paper has been predicted for a long time, when lazer printers were invented for example, then digital printing presses and more recently email and the internet.

I think there will always be a market for high quality print. A corporate invitation on thick card with gold edging provides that something extra which cannot easily be replicated. A thank you note hand written on an engraved card and delivered through the post conveys more meaning than a text message or email. An engraved business card on a beautiful watermarked board creates a lasting impression for that all important first introduction.

In the US engraving is very common amongst financial institutions and lawyers
There is a scene in American Psycho where the bankers compare their cards and gasp at one of the character’s cards, which is hand engraved and produced on a luxury watermarked board. The main character collapses in envy!

There is a sense that having a top quality business card says a lot about who you are and the company you represent. Those in the know will recognise an engraved card and take note of the bruise on the back – a small indentation behind the letters – which is the signature of the process.

It is of course the case that more and more work – previously printed – is being sent electronically, but there is an opportunity in that. When less paper is being sent out, that paper can be more distinctive and more money lavished on it. A metallic ink or a blind embossed logo can look spectacular. Some companies we work for have engraved stationery – paper and cards – for board directors only as they know the calibre of the people they will be corresponding and meeting with the justifies the cost as they need to create a impression

A very common feature among our corporate clients who use engraved stationery is that they have customers overseas, in the US but also the Far East. Engraving represents tradition and niche British brands selling traditional products can emphasise this through their writing paper.

I hope that in 20 years there will still be a place for quality paper and print and the paperless office will be an erroneous aspiration, itself consigned to the rubbish bin!

Second Opposer:

Jon Milburn, senior consultant, Scan Worx [3]

"The credit crunch means going paperless is more important than ever."

Today’s accountancy firms are faced with a choice -to embrace technology or to watch it happen. Those who embrace technology definitely gain an edge over their competition and are usually the firms (not necessarily the largest) that deliver a superior service to their clients. This in turn can also provide the best tools for their employees to work more efficiently. Research has shown us that a more efficient team, tends to deliver healthier savings within the running of the practice.

With the “credit crunch” firmly gripping the economy, accountants are increasingly looking to their IT infrastructure to enable them to deliver a better service to their clients during the frenzied dealings within the financial markets.

By embracing technology such as document management, firms can take back control over information and the way it is used. Tracking documents, knowing who has done what and when, having millions of paper files at their fingertips and being safe in the knowledge that even misfiled or missing documents can be located in seconds. Going paperless can also provide many other benefits to a firm such as remote working and is an essential part of a business continuity plan – the list of benefits goes on.

Evaluating and choosing a document management product is just the start as there are so many different systems on offer. However, many of these can be dismissed purely down to cost and functionality. The key to getting the right product for a firm is to evaluate their processes and then to see how a system can be flexibly tailored and adapted to seamlessly match their procedures. It also has to be reliable, idiot proof and easy to use. Many firms have under estimated this vital point as employee/user acceptance is essential. The paperless office certainly isn’t available straight out of the box, but the myth that its configuration and implementation can be long-winded is exactly that -a myth.

For those firms that watch and wait, this can be a missed opportunity to improve and streamline processes and a costly one. No firm should ever stand still and should always re-evaluate and seek ways to improve efficiency. Otherwise they may find themselves falling behind the pack. So where do we stand, now that the credit crunch is upon us?

Well, we have spoken to number of accountants using a paperless solution and have found that there are more reasons than you may think for adopting document management, even during the credit crunch. Having adopted a paperless solution four months ago, a practice in Yorkshire employing 35 staff said they have noticed a distinct improvement in client service through increased efficiency in file retrieval. This allows them to respond to client
enquiries faster, hence helping to retain existing customers. By increasing service to existing clients, and reducing the time taken to complete jobs, more time is made available to track down new business opportunities. In addition to this, the increased level and speed of customer service available offers an extra benefit to entice prospects to become clients.

The practice also utilizes their paperless solution to maintain “prospective client” files which allows faster responses to new business enquiries (searching through correspondence, identifying missing introductory documents etc), further increasing the potential for gaining new clients. All of the above is important to this practice during the credit crunch as there is a need to retain existing customers to maintain cash flow, but also to allow more time to gain new customers to boost profits.

A practice in Essex, employing 40 staff, mentioned that using a paperless solution during the credit crunch can help to assist them during client investigations. Should a client go bust for whatever reason, or be subject to any financial investigation, the authorities (e.g. HMRC) may need to gain access to, or remove client files from the accountants’ offices.

As these can all be stored in a paperless solution in an organized format, they can be presented to the relevant authority much faster than previously possible, hence allowing the investigation to proceed to its conclusion quicker. Albeit, perhaps this highlights the negative side of the credit crunch, the reality is that as Accountants and business advisors, your clients will be relying on your skills and services to help them sail through the rough waters ahead. Perhaps your clients may also see the benefits and savings of going paperless?

Having spent over 5 years within the accountancy sector, I have seen accountants refer their clients to look at the paperless office in order to reduce general administration costs. An example would be recently being referred too via an accountant for a transport company looking to save money within their own accounts department. From the accountant’s recommendation, their client is seeing a reduced overhead, helping them deliver a competitive edge against their
competitors.

It was also identified that the use of a paperless solution provides the company with a sound and robust business plan. Through this, they are able to survive the effects of the credit crunch. Companies without a sound business plan will be found out by the credit crunch and may suffer. The effective use of a paperless solution system can also free up more office space. This can allow for the expansion of a staff base allowing more chargeable work to be completed.

Another practice based in Derbyshire who have been using a paperless solution for a year said that the focus for an accountancy practice during the credit crunch should be on balancing chargeable time against recoupable fees. The use of a paperless solution should allow the company to reduce the cost of completing a job – by increasing efficiency, more people can be in front of their PCs actually doing chargeable work -hence making the business more profitable. Through the same logic, the company should also be able to become, or remain more competitive than other accountants by offering reduced fees without affecting their profit margin. Doubtlessly, during the credit crunch clients will be shopping around for cheaper fees. Being able to offer these, whilst also adding the possibility of increasing profitability, can be directly attributed to the use of a paperless solution.

A practice in North Yorkshire with 25 staff gave the opinion that a paperless solution can really help during a credit crunch by offering tangible cost savings to a business. By reducing potential office space being used up for filing, companies in a high rent area (such as London) could save money. This could be achieved by either reducing the spaced rented, subletting the spare space or by simply avoiding the need to move to larger premises should the company experience a period of growth.

To use an old cliché in the accountancy market, time is money. A London firm employing over 100 staff said that the effective use of a paperless solution can allow firms to stem leaks in chargeable time through filing and retrieval, improve the speed with which they complete work for their clients (and hence offer a better value-for-money service) and potentially increase the ability to grow their client base.

The facts speak for themselves and with accountants looking to tighten their belts and reduce overheads; the paperless office can deliver some significant benefits and cost savings. If going paperless can save you time and money, surely this makes the idea a more serious consideration than ever before?

The credit crunch is offering all businesses a challenge to maintain a healthy bottom line and it appears that the paperless office can be a useful tool in assisting practices today and into the future.

So, is the paperless office a credit crunch buster? On its own, the answer is no. However, combined with a positive attitude to embrace new technology and the ability to accept that change can be a good business practice, then the answer starts to edge towards the positive.

With the major accounting software suppliers recommending document management solutions, my advice would be to have a look for yourself and see if your practice is ready to go paperless.

Further reading:

Paperless pointers for accountants in business. By Kevin Salter [4]