It’s interesting to see the same conversations played out across the accountancy sector when it comes to investment in technology within the UK top 50+50 ranking survey. Accountancy Age takes a look at IT spend among the largest accountants, finding that investment in technology has increased over the past year, with a correlation between investment and growth. But with investment ranging from 0.93% to 1.37% of fee revenue, the largest law firms are investing more by that metric. According to PWC’s law survey report law firms are investing over 2% of their revenue in technology – whether those firms be ‘global’ or ‘UK’.
Here are the key Accountancy Age findings:
Investment in technology increased year-on-year, rising from 0.93% of annual fee revenue to 1.37%.
Across the full 50+50 ranking, firms invested between 0.5% to 1% of their UK fee income in new technologies.
Across the top 25 firms, the percentage of tech investment is marginally higher, with investment ranging from 0.73% to 4.43% of annual fee income.
There is a correlation between investment in new technologies and an increase in growth – on average, the greater the investment equalled greater growth.
Firms who spent over 1% of fee revenue grew by an average of 9.73% while those who spent less grew on average by 4.2%.
Average investment in technology by the 50+50 passed £150k for the first time
Only half (52%) of firms offer advice on accounting software investments
Some law firms are investing as much as 6% – see our profile of Clyde & Co’s IT team and strategy below.
You can read the Accountancy Age article in full here:
Top 50+50: Are firms investing more in technology? – Accountancy Age
The fact that technology is disrupting the accountancy sector is a much-repeated line across the pages of Accountancy Age. Leaps in technological advancements such as Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Accounting and Data Science are dramatically reshaping the accountancy industry, and the adoption of such technologies can prove very advantageous for consumers and businesses alike.
