To ensure your accountancy practice is fit for the future, you need to prepare for the generation who are populating today’s playgrounds, says Steve Cox, chief evangelist at IRIS Software Group.
There’s a new generation in town, and it’s not generation Z. Born since 2010 with the oldest now nine years old, generation alpha will be hitting the workforce, and more importantly, your client base, in as little as seven years.
But how do you plan for future colleagues and clients when some of them haven’t even been born yet? David Jones, chartered accountant and director of innovation at Lewis Brownlee is preparing his practice for the newest kids on the block.
Brave new workplace
“Generation alpha are born into a world of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, machine learning and big data. You might think it’s madness to be worrying about people who are still in primary school, but the fact is, the oldest gen alpha could be entering the workforce in as little as seven years. Some could hit your client base even sooner!”
“This group of people is going to disrupt the marketplace and our practices.”
Accountancy firms are still adapting to the demands of a millennial client base, so keeping up with future entrepreneurs who take tech for granted could prove a challenge. A recent report on generation alpha by Beano Studios showed over half the children surveyed (55%) are already regularly creating video content, 43% enjoy robotics and 36% partake in computer coding in their spare time.
These future clients won’t want to wait while their accountant spends two days clearing their paperwork.
Greater expectations
Instead, this generation will expect instant response and interaction in all areas of life, and that includes their accountancy services.
David explains. “Forget sending out engagement letters and requesting passports as proof of identity. Gen alphas are going to expect checks and approvals to happen in seconds, not hours, days or even weeks, as is currently the case for most firms” says David.
“They are the ‘voice’ generation – the majority live with a virtual assistant who is on hand 24/7 to provide instant answers to their questions. So, if onboarding isn’t a slick process, this could send your gen alpha client off to the competition quicker than you can say ‘Alexa, where did my client go?’”
You will need to tailor your services more carefully too, for a generation which understands personalisation. They are used to being offered content they might like based on the videos they watch and the games they play.
David’s practice already allows clients to choose how they engage with their accountant, either by text, WhatsApp or more traditional channels, and they offer advisory services tailored to their clients’ personal needs.
“To sustain loyalty and trust, it will be imperative to provide a service tailored to your clients,” says David.
While older generations fear artificial intelligence (AI), concerned about robots taking their jobs, gen alpha will welcome robots with open arms. They will expect to delegate mundane tasks to their digital co-workers so they can dedicate themselves to the more rewarding elements of their role.
Generation alpha may be spending more time in the classroom than the boardroom for a few years yet, but very soon one of these rising stars will be your next talented employee or client. It’s time to start automating routine tasks and embracing digital communications to future-proof your firm.
For more information on preparing your practice for the future visit https://www.iris.co.uk/sector/accountancy-software/
