Client retention top priority for Singapore’s accounting practices

Singapore — 1 December, 2022 —Xero, the global small business platform, today released the fourth edition of its annual industry report revealing that strengthening client relationships, along with increasing operational efficiency and revenues are the top priorities for Singapore’s accounting practices in 2023.

The Xero Singapore Accounting Industry report provides insight into the current state of the accounting and bookkeeping industry in Singapore. Surveying more than 300 accounting and bookkeeping practices, the report looks at how they have performed over the past year, along with industry trends, priorities and outlook for the coming year.

The majority of participating practices reported stable earnings, with 44 percent having increased their year-on-year revenue in the last 12 months, and a quarter (26%) reporting decreases. Results from the survey highlight the ongoing opportunities for accountants and bookkeepers as they progressively take on advisory roles, with advisory services yielding greater revenues (contributing $75,681 on average) compared to compliance services (contributing $63,842 on average).

The report also looks at cloud adoption amongst practices, revealing that practices that adopt cloud accounting are more likely to perform better overall.

Some key findings:

• Cloud Adopters were twice as likely to report an increase in revenue over the previous 12-month period compared to Cloud Delayers (51% vs. 25%)
• Cloud Adopters also reported higher earnings per client as a whole. On average, practices reported earning $7,389 per client. Cloud Adopters earned $7,852 per client, and Cloud Delayers earned $6,039.
• Accountants have substantial influence over cloud technology adoption, with seven in ten (71%) saying that clients always or almost always adopt the accounting software they recommend.

Koren Wines, Managing Director Asia at Xero, said: “Accountants and bookkeepers are the pillars of the small business community. They play a critical role in helping business owners run their businesses more efficiently and profitably, and providing them with the strategic guidance they need to thrive. Xero commissions this report annually to support our accounting and bookkeeping partners with their own growth, sharing the priorities and trends shaping the industry and enabling them to benchmark their practices and better their services to clients.

“It is encouraging to see the data reaffirm how cloud technology empowers practices - increasing revenues and strengthening the value and relationship they have with their clients. We are confident that accountants will continue to play an ever growing and critical role in Singapore’s digital transformation journey.”

Commenting on the importance of small businesses harnessing digital technology, Daniel Leung FCCA, Country Manager, ACCA Singapore, added: “Digital innovation and analysis skills are becoming increasingly important to organisations of all sizes. There’s a growing need for real-time data and integrated, Cloud-based applications can make this more accessible, supporting the vital role professional accountants play in navigating businesses towards their strategic goals."

This year, the report also looked at workforce trends within the accounting industry, offering insight on HR priorities and employee benefits and progression. Over half (53%) of practices now offer flexible working arrangements, and the top three HR priorities for the upcoming year are maintaining staff performance (46%), retaining staff (46%) and developing and promoting staff (34%).

Click here to read Xero Singapore’s State of the Industry report.

ENDS

About Xero

Xero is a global small business platform with 3.5 million subscribers which includes a core accounting solution, payroll, workforce management, expenses and projects. Xero also has an extensive ecosystem of connected apps and connections to banks and other financial institutions helping small businesses access a range of solutions from within Xero’s open platform to help them run their business and manage their finances. For three consecutive years (2020-2022) Xero was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. In 2021, Xero was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), powered by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment. Xero is a FIFA Women’s Football partner under FIFA’s new commercial structure.

About Xero’s State of the Industry report

The report was commissioned by Xero Asia and undertaken by Insights Exchange. This report is based on aggregate responses from an online survey conducted with 337 independent accountants and bookkeepers across Singapore, recruited from online market panels.