1. Creative ways to use AI in your practice
AI was a hot topic at Accountex—it’s no surprise it was a buzzword. However, what actionable insight did we learn?
One of the key pieces of information that stood out was using AI beyond the purpose of data analysis, predictions, and insights. Instead, elevate your practice using AI for these purposes:
Marketing:
- AI can analyse client data to create highly personalised marketing campaigns. By understanding client behaviour, preferences, and needs, AI can tailor messages that resonate.
- Generative AI can produce drafts, suggest topics, and refine your writing style to better suit your audience.
- AI-driven platforms can curate relevant content from around the web to share with your clients, ensuring they receive timely and valuable information.
Advertising:
- AI can help identify and target specific audience segments more precisely. For example, Google Ads and Facebook Ads use AI to optimise ad placements and budgets, ensuring your ads reach the right people at the right time.
- AI tools can analyse the performance of your advertising campaigns in real-time, providing insights into what’s working and what isn’t. This allows for quick adjustments to improve ROI, such as automated A/B testing.
Chatbots:
- AI chatbots provide instant support to clients, answering frequently asked questions, scheduling appointments, and providing information about your services 24/7. This enhances client satisfaction and reduces your workload.
- Chatbots can collect valuable data from client interactions, which can be analysed to gain insights into client needs, preferences, and pain points.
- Integrating chatbots with CRM systems ensures that all client interactions are logged and can be used for personalised follow-ups.
2. Choose an MTD strategy that’s right for you
Making Tax Digital (MTD) remained an ever-popular topic this year, with the changes set to be rolled out by HMRC in 2026. Although it's still in the early stages, there are some key takeaways we picked up to help you prepare for the changes.
Should you enrol in beta testing?
Ask yourself whether your practice suits beta testing, or if you’d rather wait for MTD to become mandatory. This question is personal to your practice, and how ready you are to go digital—as well as whether your software providers are compatible.
Is your software compatible?
Linking to the previous point, there’s a list of software providers who are HMRC approved for MTD, so ensuring you’re using the correct software is key for your transition to MTD. Check software providers here, including Wolters Kluwer. Be aware HMRC is constantly evaluating and updating this list.
Talk to clients
As your clients are arguably the most important part of your business, keeping open communications with them is key for your MTD move. Hear what they have to say about it, and speak openly about what they want from you, and how you can improve. Doing this in the initial stages will save you hassle as you enact your strategy.
3. How to implement change in your tech stack
Making changes to your tech stack is never easy, as you need leadership buy in to create this culture of change. However, if you fail to enact change and keep up with technological advances, you’ll be left behind.
Here are our top tips for enacting change smoothly:
- Having a change-based culture makes it easier to enact change. For example, provide continuous training to employees and hold workshops to bring together ideas for change. This helps create an open and nurturing environment that will bring about positive change and tech developments.
- Look for consolidations and integrations wherever you can. There’s no point having multiple different solutions that overlap functionality. Where you can, look to consolidate your software, and choose solutions that integrate with what you already have. And it goes without saying, cut software that you no longer need.
- Make it easy for employees to keep up to date on software updates and changes. This could include internal comms, or newsletters from your software providers.
- Provide clarity on your tech stack and reasoning. Ensuring everyone is aligned on the purpose of your tech stack and what it’s being used for increases efficiencies and reduces technological redundancies.
4. Focus on generational strengths in practice
Within your practice you’ll likely have employees across a variety of ages. Evaluating the unique strengths of each seniority level helps build a strong team and ensure the longevity of your practice by investing in the future.
- Senior employees: With the most industry knowledge, these are the employees you want to keep in practice for as long as possible so they can pass their insights on. Consider offering part-time hours or being flexible if employees are looking at retirement.
- Mid-level employees: Mid-level employees encompass a large part of the work force, and includes decision makers who are most useful for implementing new software and keeping up with change. Their efforts are best used towards finetuning your tech stack, managing processes, and championing change.
- Junior employees: Junior employees will eventually become your senior employees if you look after them, so regular feedback, training opportunities, and in-person learning through asking questions and meetings is key. While the remote or hybrid working model is more popular now, ensure you still make time for some face-to-face training. Junior employees should be doing a lot of the work and learning, with tech-literacy being their main strength.
5. Use AI to identify client opportunities
Beyond data analysis, advertising, and marketing, AI can also improve practice management by identifying opportunities for you and your clients. Examples may include:
- Improving feedback: AI can analyse client feedback and sentiment from emails, surveys, and social media, to identify areas for improvement.
- Automate processes: Use AI for tax automation, freeing up time to spend focusing on and working with clients.
- Identifying market opportunities: AI can gather and analyse data on market trends and competitors, helping accountants identify new market opportunities for their clients.
- Improving advisory services: Provide data-driven investment advice by analysing market trends and client financial data.
We hope you found Accountex 2024 as insightful as we did, and we look forward to seeing you again next year.
