New report finds that in-person meetings and online document exchange are very important for clients
Canopy, the leading cloud-based practice management platform for accounting professionals, today shared results from its survey on what clients appreciate and would like their accountant to change. The study found that 85 percent of those surveyed would recommend their accountant. However, 53 percent are not positive their accountant fully minimizes their tax payment and 46 percent were disappointed by the size of their tax refund last year.
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According to the survey respondents, top features taxpayers value most about the relationship they have with their tax accountant are:
- In-person communications
- The ability to send and receive documents online
- Guidance and knowledge on taxes
The top three things taxpayers would change about working with their accountant are:
- More in-person meetings
- More timely response
- Better technology to streamline interactions
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“The accounting industry is rapidly changing but above all, client expectations are centered around technology-enabled support and services as millennials and generation Z start engaging accounting and tax services,” said Larry Furr, Chief Product Officer at Canopy. “While in-person meetings remain indispensable for most clients, we are in a position where this isn’t very likely and being able to access their accountant and documents online is clearly a critical prerequisite right now.”
Even though offering the ability to exchange documents online with their accountants is extremely important for taxpayers, only 2 percent of respondents said their accountant offers an online portal. Currently, the most common ways clients exchange documents with their accountant are during in-person meetings, through hard printouts and via email.
