'New model of collaboration' touted to Aussie SMEs

Accountants have long been hearing warnings about the onset of automation and consequential “death” of compliance-based services.

Recently, Xero Australia’s managing director Trent Innes told AccountantsDaily he believes a “100 per cent digital accounting practice” is no longer a futuristic concept.

“Any business unwilling to be a part of its connected world will likely find themselves isolated from insight and stuck in the past,” he said.

Saxo Capital Markets Australia’s chief executive Ben Smoker has joined the push for Australian firms to reconsider how they are “delivering value” to their clients.

“The greatest success for both financial services companies and the end customers is when businesses with different capabilities combine efforts to deliver more value,” Mr Smoker said.

“Companies in finance are free to choose isolation over collaboration, but the fast-paced environment we’re witnessing in the industry today is sending a clear signal to opt for the latter.

“In this highly competitive sector, collaborating with a fast execution will be a defining factor for businesses to increase or even maintain market share.

“A clear advantage for forward-thinking companies who chose to accelerate their growth by collaborating with other firms is the reduction of costs and time that would take building technological infrastructure on their own.”