I think there's a few reasons:
- new accounting start ups lured in by the appeal of monthly fees (either by qualified accountants, or by random wannabe business people who see it as easy cash). Set up a snazzy website, get clients signed up, take their money for many months...then further down the line fail to deliver. Probably not many out and out scammers doing this to the extreme, but maybe some who underestimate the work involved.
- existing well respected practices who perhaps cut a few too many corners in an attempt to increase profit margins.
- I do think clients are more demanding than they used to be. People often hope for responses to queries within an hour or so, whereas a decade ago within a week would be acceptable, same day would be considered brilliant.
- the gap between where we are now in terms of systems/automation and where people perhaps think we are. Things are changing, but I think for the time being clients should be more keen on their firm having decent staff over snazzy systems. Both is of course ideal, but whilst clever systems can deal with a lot of the donkey work (ie the stuff that junior/cheap staff would have done), they're a long way from being able to answer your typical contractor's queries satisfactorily...so to give good service, firms definitely still need good (expensive) staff.
- complexities...perhaps, but I imagine everyone always thinks things were/are harder "in my day". One thing that doesn't change is the fact that tax rules keep changing.
- new accounting start ups lured in by the appeal of monthly fees (either by qualified accountants, or by random wannabe business people who see it as easy cash). Set up a snazzy website, get clients signed up, take their money for many months...then further down the line fail to deliver. Probably not many out and out scammers doing this to the extreme, but maybe some who underestimate the work involved.
- existing well respected practices who perhaps cut a few too many corners in an attempt to increase profit margins.
- I do think clients are more demanding than they used to be. People often hope for responses to queries within an hour or so, whereas a decade ago within a week would be acceptable, same day would be considered brilliant.
- the gap between where we are now in terms of systems/automation and where people perhaps think we are. Things are changing, but I think for the time being clients should be more keen on their firm having decent staff over snazzy systems. Both is of course ideal, but whilst clever systems can deal with a lot of the donkey work (ie the stuff that junior/cheap staff would have done), they're a long way from being able to answer your typical contractor's queries satisfactorily...so to give good service, firms definitely still need good (expensive) staff.
- complexities...perhaps, but I imagine everyone always thinks things were/are harder "in my day". One thing that doesn't change is the fact that tax rules keep changing.
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