Deloitte goes online for Aussie SMBs

Peter Dinham
Sunday, 17 May 2009 15:30

IT Industry - Market

Professional services firm Deloitte has launched an online accounting service in Australia, designed for small to medium size businesses, in partnership with Irish software vendor, Visor.


CEO of Deloitte Digital, Peter Williams, says Visor’s online accounting platform, accountsIQ, has “revolutionised the way businesses manage their accounts in Europe”. And it will provide small to medium business with the ability to securely record transactions, monitor performance and prepare financial reports.

“We see this as a fundamental change in the way accountants work with clients and in the type of the work they will do.  It changes the nature of the client-accountant relationship from a ‘once a year’ contact to an ongoing conversation – from accountant to business advisor.

“Online accounting enables business owners to collaborate within their network of trusted advisors – such as accountants, bank managers, business mentors or franchisors – removing the need for file transfer or data manipulation tasks.  There will also be a seven day a week support desk service to respond to customer queries.”

According to Williams, the “innovative approach is designed to remove much of the complexity for businesses who may not have the time or expertise of bigger companies but still want access to the latest business support services.,” and, he added, he was confident that it will provide “access to huge efficiencies that were previously out of reach to Australia’s middle market companies.”

Williams said the service provided businesses with the ability to perform real-time collaboration of financial data, which, he maintained, was particularly beneficial for organisations with multiple reporting entities and in multiple locations.

“Online accounting is a solution that meets the needs of growing business and has no upfront IT costs or requirements for expensive infrastructure or support.  The security model and safeguards ensure systematic security monitoring and daily backups which are then forwarded to a remote facility. 

“Via the Deloitte Digital Portal, product enhancements and upgrades will occur seamlessly.  The portal also provides access to greater business insight through industry benchmarking data, key performance indicators, management reports and access to top-tier accounting services in a cost-effective manner.”