Month: October 2024

Attracting Tomorrow's Top SMSF Talent: The Tech Advantage

Co-Authored with Graeme Colley

In a recent panel held by Cloudoffis, Graeme Colley, Marjon Muizer, and Jacob Kewley discussed critical trends shaping the SMSF audit industry. Top of mind for the panelists and attendees is the shrinking auditor workforce, the role of technology in driving industry evolution, and how to equip the next generation with the essential skills for success. Read on for more insights on these topics.

The difficulties in attracting staff to the accounting profession and particularly auditing SMSFs is concerning. More than half the registered SMSF auditors are over 60 years old and expected to retire in the next 5 to 10 years. We continue to see sustained and significant increases in the number of SMSFs being established. Both of these factors are expected to have far-reaching impacts on the industry.

The regulators indicate that around 2/3rds of SMSF auditors each complete no more than 50 fund audits annually with most auditing less than 5 funds. At the top end, around 10% of auditors each undertake more than 250 fund audits which is about 70% of all the funds being audited. The trend is that there is a decline in the total number of SMSF auditors and a move towards a greater number of funds being audited by the top end. Who is going to tackle the growing number of SMSF funds when the number of industry specialists is declining?

 

The opportunity

The challenge facing the auditing and accounting professions is attracting talent who are willing to learn the essential skills in operating and developing an SMSF audit business. These include understanding the technical issues, compliance and adapting to changes in technology.  Whether there are sufficient newly qualified accountants interested in auditing SMSFs who are willing to pursue further study to become registered may be the hurdle. Current audit education on SMSFs is limited.

Anyone who has a long-term view in shaping the future of the industry should be preparing for the expected changes in demographics and the skills required to grow a successful SMSF audit business.

Cloudoffis are well positioned to help auditors address these challenges by offering solutions that tackle both the talent attraction issue and the evolving technological demands of the profession.

By automating time-consuming tasks, Cloudoffis’ practice tools enhance efficiency and appeal to younger auditors, enabling new employees to quickly adopt processes, integrate, and start adding commercial value to the business. Technology simplifies onboarding and allows staff to spend less time on administrative duties and more on revenue-generating activities.

Additionally, by providing tools that simplify compliance and technical issues, Cloudoffis reduces the complexity of audits, allowing firms to manage more funds with fewer resources.

At the other end of the business journey, for retiring business owners, embracing technology before selling their practice can significantly boost its appeal and value. Adopting software like Cloudoffis not only makes practices more attractive to younger accountants and auditors, who are generally more comfortable with technology, but also prepares businesses for future regulatory changes, making them a more secure investment for potential buyers.

A tech-savvy practice also streamlines the transition of ownership, making acquisitions smoother and reducing post-purchase problems. New owners will appreciate not having to overhaul outdated systems, allowing them to focus on growth and innovation. By integrating modern technology, retiring auditors can enhance their practice’s marketability and ensure a seamless handover.

In a rapidly changing landscape, adopting technology like Cloudoffis empowers both new auditors and those nearing retirement to thrive, securing the future of their practices and attracting the next generation of talent.

 

 

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The Cloudoffis Bulletin-
September Edition

The Cloudoffis team has been delivering demos for eager tax teams across Australia, who have long been awaiting for a Cloudoffis solution for tax workpapers. With the launch of Tax Sorted just days away, we’re excited to expand our services beyond SMSF, so be sure to share the news with your tax team!

This month, we’re shining a spotlight on our SMSF Accountants, diving into our Sorted Lite and Class integration as we reflect on another fantastic Class Ignite event and the opportunity to reconnect with so many of our customers. We’re also featuring our SMSF Sorted Pro customer, Emily Cooper from SMSF Australia, who reduced her firm’s audit file reviews by 50% and grew 100% year on year supported by Cloudoffis.

We’re pleased to welcome two new members to our team: Graeme Colley, a man who needs no introduction, joins us as an Independent Industry Advisor, and Emma Crisp, who comes on board from Xero as our Senior Marketing Manager. So, grab your cuppa and settle in, there’s plenty to explore this month.


Graeme Colley,
Independent Industry Advisor
Cloudoffis

Emma Crisp,
Senior Marketing Manager
Cloudoffis


Introducing Tax Sorted workpapers:
we’re expanding beyond SMSF!

We’re thrilled to announce Tax Sorted, the latest member of the Cloudoffis family, is going live next week!

Tax Sorted empowers tax accountants to streamline their processes with automated workpaper creation, allowing team members to produce more accurate tax workpapers for businesses and individuals, faster than ever before.

Wondering why we’re branching out beyond SMSF? Keep reading to find out!
Find out more about Tax Sorted

Class Ignite 2024

A big thanks to our partners at Class for hosting us, Class Ignite was a fantastic industry event, uniting the SMSF accounting community to discuss trends, opportunities, and technology.

This year, our Cloudoffis theme was “Enjoy More Coffee Time with Class and Cloudoffis.” We gave away nearly 100 Cloudoffis coffee cups, and three lucky attendees won brand new DeLonghi coffee machines!

Wondering why we’re branching out beyond SMSF?

These events provide an opportunity to connect with our customers and ensure that every team is maximising the benefits of our free SMSF Sorted Lite integration with Class.

A special thanks to Leanne for visiting our stand and sharing her insights on how Sorted Pro has helped her grow her new practice, SMSF Co-Pilot. Check her feedback below:
Play Video


Get started with Sorted Lite

If you’re using Sorted Lite or looking to get started, be sure to jump onto our website and download our easy to navigate user guide.

$500 referral bonus SMSF Sorted Lite accountants

Did you know that as an SMSF Sorted Lite accountant, you can earn a $500 referral bonus when you refer your auditor to use Auditomation?

With your auditor on Auditomation, not only will you gain more control over every fund you manage, but you’ll also be able to automate your workpapers and submit audit files to your auditor with just one click. And with both of you collaborating on Cloudoffis, you’re guaranteed to speed up the turnaround time of funds, as auditors will receive more structured data to work on. You’ll both benefit from easier collaboration with improved query management tools.
Refer Now

How SMSF Australia Slashed Audit File Reviews by 50% and grew 100% year on year supported by Cloudoffis

In the fast-paced world of Self Managed Super Funds, efficiency isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a critical factor for success. For SMSF Australia, the journey to greater efficiency continued with the adoption of Cloudoffis, a solution that transformed their audit file review process. Here’s how they achieved these remarkable results with Cloudoffis as their wingman.
Read the full story


Cloudoffis Tours Tasmania

This month, our team hit the road and toured Tasmania, engaging with both new and long time customers to showcase our latest innovations, across Sorted Pro, Auditomation, and Tax Sorted – our new Tax Workpaper solution launching next week. A huge thank you to Michael Meredith of Bentley’s Tasmania for hosting us and facilitating so many engaging conversations in the region.

We’re always on the move, so if you’d like to meet face-to-face with our team, don’t hesitate to reach out. We love visiting both existing and potential clients to help them get the most out of their Cloudoffis experience.
Book a time

Product updates

Import & Re-import Flow in Auditomation & Sorted Pro

We are thrilled to announce a revamped import & re-import flow for both Sorted and Auditomation! 🎉 Experience the new, efficient workflow today.

What’s New?

  • Instant Access: The moment you import financial data, you can jump straight to the job dashboard. No more waiting around!
  • Improved Efficiency: Financial data is accessible immediately while other data like observations, reports, and documents load in the background.
  • Enhanced Performance: With backend optimisations, system performance is significantly boosted, ensuring smoother execution and better resource management.
  • Streamlined Processes: These enhancements will make your existing processes more efficient, saving you valuable time.

BGL Workpaper Doc

We’re excited to bring Auditomation customers a major time-saving enhancement: Auto Availability of BGL Workpaper Docs! 🚀

Previously, you had to manually convert each BGL Workpaper document to a Cloudoffis-supported format to use our bookmarking and search features. This was time-consuming, especially with a large number of documents.

The Solution? BGL Workpaper documents will now be automatically converted to the Cloudoffis-supported format. No more manual conversions needed!





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How SMSF Australia doubled growth with Cloudoffis.

In the fast-paced world of Self Managed Super Funds, efficiency isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a critical factor for success. For SMSF Australia, the journey to greater efficiency continued with the adoption of Cloudoffis, a solution that transformed their audit file review process. Here’s how they achieved these remarkable results with Cloudoffis as their wingman.  

emily cooper-qoute


Life before Cloudoffis

Before Cloudoffis, SMSF Australia’s accounting team had a far more manual process to review files and create workpapers which was a limiting factor to their exponential growth. The main issues included:  

  • Sorting and reviewing documents manually.  
  • Inefficient workflows due to separate handling of financials and source documents.
  • Significant time spent collating and verifying information.  

Although the team wasn’t actively searching for a solution, they recognised the need to streamline their processes to improve efficiency and accuracy.  

Introducing Cloudoffs

SMSF Australia discovered Cloudoffis through a trial offered by Class, and it quickly became clear that the new system would enhance their workflow. The key benefits of Cloudoffis included:  

  • Combining review and collation of audit files into one streamlined process.
  • Automatic recognition of figures and matching with source documents, through Cloudoffis’ OCR capabilities.
  • An improved three-stage review system including an initial review by processors, a compliance review, and a final review before the auditor commences work.

 

A worthwhile investment

SMSF Australia enjoyed significant results, including a 50% reduction in audit file review time and a 100% increase in overall productivity across the team. 

  • Time Savings: File reviews, once taking 2-3 hours, have been streamlined to approximately 1.5 hours per file marking a 50% reduction. 
  • Increased Productivity: The firm has more than doubled its output allowing them to further scale their business hitting their 100% growth targets year on year. 
  • Cost Efficiency: Improved operational efficiency has not only enhanced profit margins but has also enabled SMSF Australia to maintain competitive pricing while delivering industry leading quality services, strengthening their competitive edge in the market. 

SMSF Australia’s favourite Cloudoffis features

We asked Emily what Cloudoffis features her team rely most on 

  • The integrated review process simplifies the review and collation of audit files, reducing procedural steps. 
  • The error detection feature facilitates easy identification of discrepancies and missing documents. 
  • Cloudoffis’ workflow management supports a thorough three-stage review process for comprehensive checks. 

 

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