Given the importance placed upon keeping up-to-date financial records and filing tax returns accurately and on time, it’s unsurprising that the UK accountancy industry has gone from strength to strength in recent years. But just how many accountants are there in the UK?
More than 300,000
Oxford Economics recently reported that combined membership of Britain’s top five Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) amounted to over 311,900 full-time professionals in the UK and Ireland, with almost half a million members worldwide.
Cumulatively, those individuals contributed a massive £52 billion towards the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP), alongside £9.9 billion in tax revenues supported by the accounting industry.
That last fact means that for £56 that the government earns, £1 comes from British accountants. As such, the accountancy sector is clearly an integral part of the UK economy and its future is one which should be viewed with interest.
Cloud accounting the way of the future
What’s also interesting is how those members are changing the way they operate.
Traditional methods of accounting have involved reams upon reams of financial records, stored inside beaten-up filing cabinets or on unsophisticated computer hard drives. In the last few years, however, more and more accountants have been migrating to the cloud to take advantage of its scalability, access, security and affordability.
Indeed, a survey conducted earlier this year found that more than two-thirds (67%) of accountancy firms interviewed stated that they already prefer the cloud to the old way of doing things. Noticeably, the big four accountancy companies (Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and Ernst & Young) all migrated to the cloud years ago, while small businesses are expected to follow suit in the near future.
In fact, as soon as next year, it’s projected that 78% of small enterprises will rely solely on the cloud for their accountancy software. Clearly, the future’s bright for accountancy – especially when it’s located in the cloud.
How can we help?
Green Cloud Hosting provides tailored hosted desktop solutions for accountants. With our help, you can reap the rewards of the cloud – such as speed, flexibility and scalability – and stay at the forefront of accounting. Get in touch with our team on 0161 979 0691 or info@greencloudhosting.co.uk to find out more.
