Xero, the global small business platform, has teamed up with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Singapore to support their mission to empower accountants. Through this partnership, accountants will learn how to leverage technology to grow their practices and that of their small business clients through a series of targeted CPD-credited workshops.
The partnership is part of the wider ACCA AccXelerator Programme that aims to help small and medium-sized practices (SMPs) capture opportunities in new markets and adopt scalable technology to grow rapidly and innovatively. The programme will leverage ACCA’s global network of offices and members, available government programmes and research and professional insights, including the recent report, “Growing Globally: How SMPs can unlock international ambitions”. The latter recognises the importance for SMPs to adopt cloud technologies to enable them to scale rapidly. To that end, the partnership with Xero aims to educate SMPs on topics such as cloud accounting, security and payments for cross-border business transactions.
Xero’s Accounting Industry Report 2019 found that accounting firms in Singapore are slower to adopt technology into their practice compared to practices in Hong Kong, where technology adoption plays a key role in accountancy business growth and productivity. While a little over one quarter of accounting firms in Singapore (25.8 percent) have adopted data automation apps to improve operational efficiency, three fifths of firms in Hong Kong (59.5 percent) have already done so. Likewise, approximately one third of pacesetting firms in Singapore (34.5 percent) versus 81 percent in Hong Kong have embraced data automation.
Kevin Fitzgerald, Regional Director, Asia for Xero said, “We believe that the future of accountancy will be defined by technology hence we are always looking for opportunities to grow the Xero ecosystem. Our recent Singapore Accounting Industry Report revealed that pacesetting firms are making on average 99.5 percent more revenue, growing nearly three times faster than the industry average and are saving around 215 hours serving each client every year. This depicts a significant shift into technology-driven practices backed by data insights.”
Reuter Chua, national office head, ACCA Singapore said, “The rise of technology such as machine learning and automation is revolutionising the accountancy sector. The industry needs strategic forward-thinkers who can anticipate and accommodate emerging demands in the business world. ACCA has partnered with Xero to support the development of advanced digital skills and adoption of next generation technology to enable accounting professionals to create new value-add services that will contribute to the growth of SMPs domestically, regionally and globally.”