Preparing to Move to The Cloud – An Accountant’s Perspective

My fellow accounting colleagues, when we hear the word “cloud”, some of us are programmed to think of two words… ” what could go wrong = fears”…

Now when I put on my ” Strategic IT Advisory” hat… I begin to think about the word… “Benefits!!!!..

And therefore I begin to think about – how could I make this work… and what material I could use to convince my fellow colleagues….

A perspective from another accounting professional..(Kara Hass, CPA) 

Alleviate any fears. It is important to address concerns, not avoid them. If security is the biggest concern, determine if the issue is internal controls among users, external, or a combination of both. If the information provided on the vendor Web site does not satisfy their concerns, offer to explore some of the terminology further. Understand the size of your client and how quickly the client may outgrow the solution or if the solution is designed to keep pace with growth.

Promote the benefits. There are several benefits to online solutions that are likely important to your client.

• Together you can enjoy simultaneous access to data.
• You will be able to work with your client over the telephone or at an impromptu meeting without having to transport additional hardware or data.
• For small business clients, initial start up costs and limited capital make a monthly, no commitment solution attractive.
• Web-based solutions are hardware indiscriminate.
• Most Web-based solutions require an Internet connection and a browser. It does not matter if it is an older operating system, Windows, Mac OSX, or a mobile device.
• Small business owners can use their existing hardware.
• Both you and your client are always working in the most current version.

Click here to read Kara’s article (9 Steps to Prepare Your Clients for Cloud Services) in the accounting web

 

 

 

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