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Elena Ramkalawon
Partner & Head of Outsourcing at Haysmacintyre
"It’s about the adviser looking at the data for the client and spotting any abnormalities, highlighting opportunities which boost their business. Betaking a step back and reviewing the figures rather than simply dispatching them to a client, that’s where a firm’s outsourcing team can add real value."
Ian Bowden
Tax Technology Partner at BDO
"The abundance of data means the profession needs to change, to look at a lower cost for the services which can be commodified, and to find ways to add value to their clients. In commercial terms, accountancy firms have got to disrupt themselves."
Becky Shields
Partner & Head of Data Analytics and Articial Intelligence at Moore Kingston Smith
"Rather than talk about commodification we should consider whether there are tasks which can be automated so an accountant firm can be more focused on partnering with the client on their journey, rather than continuing to spend time on low
value manual tasks."
Matthew Campbell
Audit Chief Technology Officer at KPMG UK
“I would argue that the complexity of capabilities we are able to deploy is a differentiator - artificial intelligence, robotics, data automation - which means that the future skillset at an accountancy firm is going to be part auditor and part data scientist."
Mark Curtis
Partner at Larking Gowen
“As soon as technology is applied to produce meaningful data at the right time it unlocks opportunity for a conversation with the client. But one fundamental which can get missed is the need for client to be effectively digitised! Having the software doesn’t mean they’re going to produce great data. Technology is only an enabler."
Mandy Bagot
Head of Outsourcing at Silver Levene
“I would say the role of the accountant which has to be communicated is about how we can help clients deliver the dream, and to do that means the profession needs to find ways of having a more continuous dialogue with the client, helping them to set and adjust their goals, to talk through issues such as e-commerce or to pro-actively suggest funding opportunities."
Jason Appel
Partner & Head of Property at BKL LLP
“Having live data means that an accountancy firm has to change the purpose of what it wants its people to do, which should be to interpret and understand data, to provide insight for the client. This couldn’t be more removed from the traditional end of year focus. Now it’s about providing advice from live data so that clients can make meaningful real-time decisions. "
Lyndsay Hardwick
Senior Business Innovation Manager at Milsted Langdon
“The value is that technology enables us to provide advisory support when before, that data wasn’t to hand to interpret, and we wouldn’t have been able to address a problem other than historically, after something had happened. Technology means the focus can be on looking forward rather than fighting unexpected fires."
Julian Gray
Partner and South East Regional Market Leader at PwC
“We need to look at this differently if we are to solve complex challenges in a sustainable way which is human led, technology powered - in other words, bringing a combination of human ingenuity, and the passion and the experience that comes with that, alongside the power of technology"
Jason Mitchell
Head of Technology at MHA MacIntyre Hudson
“What I would say is that the holy grail of providing real time advice is totally dependent on the quality of the information put into the system. If what happens is the application of that old saying about data entry - rubbish in, rubbish out - it won’t enable an advisor to suggest anything meaningful, whether in real time or not"
