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Major bank finds accountants’ tech investment falling flat

Technology

One big four bank has discovered through a survey that majority of accounting firms are yet to see a high return on their investment in technology, but plan to invest more.

By Lara Bullock 8 minute read

Commonwealth Bank recently released its 2017 Accounting Market Pulse study based on responses from a cross section of the top 100 accounting and restructuring firms.

Part of the survey asked accounting firms about their investment in technology and return being seen.

Only 13 per cent reported a high return on investment. This was followed by 32 per cent reporting a moderate return, 23 per cent reporting low or no return, and the remaining 32 per cent indicating that it is too early to tell.

Speaking to Accountants Daily, Commonwealth Bank national manager – professional services Marc Totaro said that while the return may not be seen yet, accounting firms acknowledge the need to continue investing in more technology.

“I think the constant theme and the message I'm hearing is we need to keep investing to stay relevant, to make sure we're keeping pace with our competitors, but we don’t always maybe see a quick return,” Mr Totaro said.

“We know that longer term if we want to be in business we need to keep investing, becoming more efficient, enabling our staff with the right technology, but also making sure that we’re providing a better client experience and we’re seeing investment in technology and innovation continuously [prove] that it’s been critical to that journey.”

This was also reflected in the survey results, with 78 per cent of firms indicating that they will be investing more in technology.

When broken down in to sub-categories, the big firms were the most likely to invest more in technology with 100 per cent indicating plans to do so.

Meanwhile, 75 per cent of mid-sized firms, 50 per cent of restructuring firms and 80 per cent of other firms also indicated plans to invest more in technology.

Lara Bullock

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