When you think about an analogy of effective accounting management and practices, I imagine soccer (or as most countries refer to it, football) is not what immediately comes to mind. But what if I told you that there are actually some very interesting similarities between the two?
Allow me to explain.
Understanding the rules of the game
Of course, accountants need to possess a deep understanding of all relevant laws, standards, regulations and best practices. But just knowing the rules is not enough.
To use a soccer analogy, an accountant is like the referee. It’s their job to understand every law of the game and apply them correctly and consistently. But a good referee also doesn’t want to disrupt the flow of the game.
No one wants to play in or watch a match if the referee is interrupting play every 30 seconds. The ref’s actions actually go a long way toward making a match more joyful for players and fans.
Similarly, an accountant needs to work alongside their business-owner clients to make certain the client is fully compliant—but without disrupting their business. For example, by using state-of-the-art, cloud-based software that includes up-to-date rules and rates, an accountant can track a client’s critical data (e.g., income tax payable, withholding tax payable, sales tax data) in real time so they can file tax returns and comply with all applicable laws without having to chase a client for information when they need it.
It’s fun to compare these accounting concepts to how much people actually know about the rules of soccer. An Official FIFA Women’s Football Partner, Xero conducted a survey of consumers’ understanding of the sport. We found that only 28% know what it means for a player to be offside. And only 22% correctly answered that handballs are called for any avoidable contact between a player’s arm and the ball.
Fortunately, the vast majority of accountants understand the rules of accounting far better than most Americans understand the rules of soccer. And they cannot be given enough credit for that.
Playing as a team
There’s a reason they call soccer “the beautiful game.” When all players are flowing together - passing, moving and shooting as one - soccer can resemble ballet with a ball more than a traditional contact sport.
It is just this kind of seamless coordination that top accountants strive for, both with their clients and with their colleagues. In a traditional paper-based world, this kind of coordination was very challenging. Software-based spreadsheets make collaboration a bit easier, but still present problems with issues such as version control and overwhelming users with information they don’t really need.
Fortunately, today’s best cloud-based accounting software solutions provide powerful tools that enable accountants to effectively work with each other and with their clients. For example, leading solutions offer a friendly dashboard to enable an accountant (who likely doesn’t have serious IT expertise) to quickly set up user accounts and allow the right people to have the right level of real-time access to documents and data.
And just like the winningest soccer teams share the ball to create more opportunities to score, the most effective accountants use technology to share data and insights to help their clients succeed. One trend to watch, for instance, is the many recent business tax changes spurred by the pandemic, such as employee retention tax credits, paid leave tax credits and R&D tax credits.
By leveraging cloud accounting software to gain a full view of a client’s financial ecosystem (e.g., payroll, employee attendance, capital expenditures, etc.), a savvy accountant can analyze the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a client’s business, then recommend strategies that help lower their tax liability.
Now that’s a win for everyone involved.
Ben Richmond is a chartered accountant and country manager for the U.S. at Xero. He started his career in a large regional accounting practice before joining New Zealand's largest telecommunications company working on SEC compliance and investor reporting, while also serving a two-year term on the board of one of New Zealand's largest charitable foundations.
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