Accounting job trends in 2022

As we enter 2022, you can expect some changes for the accounting industry. You’ll want to be aware ahead of these shifts to best serve your clients. This guide will explore some of the things you need to look out for to ensure you have all the information you need.

 Some of the critical accounting job trends for 2022 include:

• Blockchain
• Agile working
• Sustainability
• Social media marketing 
• Accounting AI
• Software solutions

A blockchain is a digital database. It is most known for holding information on cryptocurrencies. Blockchains record the transactions of these digital currencies. The purpose of the blockchain is to store digital information securely.

This digital innovation has increased in popularity and will continue to rise in the next few years. In fact, the global spending on blockchain solutions was $6.6 billion (£4.9 billion) in 2021. It will reach $19 billion (£14.1 billion) by 2024.

For accounting, blockchain is a valuable technology. It allows the digital record of the transfer of assets and maintains a ledger of financial information. More clients may even start choosing to invest in cryptocurrency, so it is useful to understand how it works.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that does not rely on centralised banks. Instead, it is maintained by blockchain solutions, storing the transaction data. It can be volatile, but it is more affected by the demand for the specific currency rather than being tied to any country’s economy. In addition, it provides anonymity, which is also why it is often used for digital crimes.

Agile working means bringing all of the processes and people of the business together to find the best ways of reaching a task. The past two years have seen business disruption because of COVID-19. As a result, many industries have given employees the choice to work from home.

Accounting is one of the industries that has had a shift to flexible and remote working. These changes are likely to continue, and they may play a role in how your business operates. Some advantages include being able to take on clients from anywhere, as they will not need to travel to the office. These changes may also improve your job satisfaction. In addition, the lack of time commitment means spending more time with family and friends.

There are possible disadvantages to the agile method. For one, there may be a difficulty in ensuring communication. Home Wi-Fi is not always the most reliable, and it could interrupt meetings or even disrupt work. Another disadvantage could be that you may find it more difficult to concentrate at home.

As every industry starts to take a more proactive view of its environmental impact, accounting has begun to consider sustainability for its clients. As a result, accountants have formed to add sustainability reporting to their services in recent years. This shift is only likely to become more prevalent going forward.

Sustainability reporting is a way for businesses to be transparent about their impact on the planet. These annual reports disclosed publicly can include:

• Use of green technology
• Energy savings
• Water consumption
• Protection of local habitats

Many businesses need to make their customers and the wider public aware of any initiatives. So as an account, starting to consider this type of reporting can benefit you in the future.

Social media is another trend that is likely to change how your accounting business operates. More and more companies use social media platforms, and to target them, this is where you will need to be. You can reach many potential clients relatively cheaply by marketing your services through social media.

A big part of how you may decide to market your services revolves around the type of clients you seek. These will form your target audience, and all of your content to reach them will be tailored to those people. 

For more information on marketing using social media, see: how to successfully market your business on social media.

Another trend to consider is AI (artificial intelligence), a simulation of human intelligence processes that can carry out tasks. These tasks can include processing language, speech and machine learning.

Within the accounting industry, this can help you quickly analyse large volumes of data. It can also generate more accurate data at a reduced cost. As a result, many firms have started to adopt this technology into their processing, which is likely to continue.

The role of AI also follows a trend of data analytics, analysing data to find critical insights that can help the business improve. Across industries using data has become more popular, and it has become easier because of accounting software like Countingup.

Accounting software is where the most significant shift has happened in the industry. These software solutions have become a perfect option for remote working. They enable all information to be easily managed and provide those valuable insights only data analytics can provide.

As technology becomes more powerful and accessible, your clients will want to benefit from the level of convenience that software provides. For example, you can make your clients accounts clear and accessible while they are on the go. In that case, it will make the process for both parties easier.

You can make changes quicker, organise the data more accessible and categorise the accounts in any way you choose. As a result, you will be able to save time for your business, which will inevitably save you money. Adopting these software solutions is possibly one of the most critical trends many accountancy firms will make over the next few years.

Give yourself time to adopt some of the latest trends, by saving your practice time on manual admin and helping your clients keep organised records with Countingup’s free accounting software. It’s built specifically to help you manage your self-employed and sole trader clients.

The app automates time-consuming bookkeeping admin for your clients so they can focus on running their business—and send you accurate, structured data to work from. 

Countingup’s accounting software is MTD-compatible and full of features for you to efficiently review and manage client accounts with direct access to their real-time organised data. Find out more here.