How Long Before a Business Owner Does Not Need an Accountant at All?

Rob Nixon, in his latest book ‘The Perfect Firm’, asks this question ‘How long before a business owner does not need an accountant at all’? I know many accountants will be screaming, ‘never’ or ‘it’s impossible’, but is that true?

The reality is it’s already happening, and the numbers are growing daily. Ten percent of business clients manage without employing an accountant. How do they do it:

• Use Xero or another cloud based accounting package and prepare their own financials.
• Lodge their own BAS through the ATO Business Portal.
• Lodge their own tax return through MyTax.
• Research tax issues on Google or through the ATO website or just call the ATO.

This trend is accelerating as the result of:

• Small business software becoming easier to use. Two million small businesses worldwide use Xero software to prepare their financials.
• The imense, and growing, free small business resources on the internet.
• Small business owners becoming better educated. This means they can now take over many of the compliance tasks previously delegated to their accountants.
• Many low profit business owners are constantly looking to reduce their overheads.