Has your practice started using the cloud yet?

By Matthew Thompson | 10th December 2013 | 8 min read
The title of my latest blog may seem a little dramatic, but I believe it to be accurate. The reality is that the financial reporting changes mandated by FRS101 and 102 are coming… and coming soon.
 
Following my presentation on this topic at IRIS World 2013, I have continued my own education and research. This has included attending external courses where I still too often hear that these changes are "years away" and "nothing to think about yet".
 
My belief is that there is so much to be aware of in this area, many changes to consider for your clients, and a wide range of changes to prepare for. Whilst not an exhaustive list, areas where changes are likely to impact include:
 
Financial instruments
Investment properties
Deferred Tax
Goodwill and intangible assets
 
These changes , and others, will have an impact on financial statements,  and could well impact reported profit and retained profit. So its important that business owners, managers and shareholders are aware of the changes well in advance!
 
I am already working with the rest of the IRIS team on delivering the required software updates to ensure your transition to FRS 101 and 102 is smooth. I also realise that IRIS should be doing as much as possible to support accountants in successfully managing the forthcoming changes.
 
That’s why I am so pleased that Steve Collings (https://www.stevecollings.co.uk/)  is delivering a webinar on FRS102 this Tuesday.  This webinar is free for all accountants, whether you are an IRIS customer or not, as we believe its important to offer support to all.
 

Why not join us

to find out more? *sign up here*

Cloud computing is seeing a major increase in acceptance as a way to increase efficiency and client engagement, with 90% of accountancy practices either using cloud applications or considering them in the near future.

At the recent IRIS World 2013 conference series we surveyed 300 accountancy practices to find out how they feel about the cloud and cloud solutions.

31% of the practices surveyed said they had already moved some of their workload to the cloud and were planning to move more, while a further 48% said they were looking at adopting cloud solutions soon.

Only one in ten practices we spoke to said that they were not currently using any cloud solutions and had no plans to introduce them any time soon.

What these figures show us is that cloud adoption is seeing rapid growth in the accountancy sector and this growth looks set to continue and increase further in the coming months. But why exactly is this?

Cost continues to be a concern for many practices, with 41% of respondents listing ‘keeping costs down’ as the top driver for introducing cloud based accountancy software. 39% said that the “rigorous security” of cloud solutions and “the ability to be continuously updated” were what appealed to them.

Following these were “streamlining operational efficiencies” with 38% and finally “driving enhanced productivity” with 27%.

These are just a handful of the many benefits accountants are seeing when implementing cloud solutions in their practices.

IRIS is the leading provider of cloud solutions to the UK accountancy sector with a comprehensive set of applications already available to help you run your practice.

Why not take a look at our cloud solutions today and see how much time and money your practice could save?

IRIS cloud solutions