Survey Finds Accountants Need Urgent Help with Automatic Enrolment Queries
Just 2% of accountancy and payroll bureaus feel fully capable of answering clients’ automatic enrolment questions themselves. This was among the key outtakes of a new survey conducted by IRIS Software Group, polling the opinions of 186 accountancy firms and payroll bureaus.
Highlighting how important it is for them to be prepared, the survey also found that 42% of respondents said their clients would be relying on them for help and advice with achieving automatic enrolment compliance. When asked to describe their level of involvement with regards to automatic enrolment, 37% said that they would be carrying out the required duties on behalf of their clients, with a further 21% saying they would be providing technical advice on the reforms.
Mark Paraskeva, CEO of IRIS SME Division said: “Automatic enrolment is clearly presenting accountancy firms and payroll bureaus with a major opportunity, but education, preparation and using the right solutions will all be key in capitalising on this.
Accountants and payroll bureaus need to understand the changes being brought in, as 41% said that their clients had already enquired about automatic enrolment, meaning that 59% may not have thought about it yet.
“Automatic enrolment is the biggest reform to the pensions industry in decades and achieving compliance is not a small task,” added Paraskeva. “With potential fines from The Pensions Regulator of up to £10,000 per day for non-compliance, ensuring your business or your clients are prepared is not something to be taken lightly.”
The introduction of automatic enrolment has presented accountants and bureaus with a great opportunity to add value to the services they currently offer their clients, provided they are fully prepared. To be effective automatic enrolment has to be done in payroll, as payroll has access to employees’ PAYE information, and the payroll calculations must be completed before assessment can take place.
“If you already provide a payroll service for your clients, ensuring you have educated yourself and your team on automatic enrolment and the processes involved will allow you to provide additional services to existing clients, as well as bring in new business,” Paraskeva continued.
IRIS has developed a complete solution to help businesses prepare for their automatic enrolment duties. This includes compliant payroll software, the IRIS Automatic Enrolment Module to handle employee assessment, IRIS OpenEnrol to handle your communications, pension output files, training courses and more.
To find out more about the complete range of IRIS Automatic Enrolment Solutions visit www.iris.co.uk/autoenrolment
