A survey involving more than 400 practices across Australia shows that accounting firms are embracing cloud technology for themselves and clients.

According to The Cloud Readiness Survey from Digital First, 43 per cent of accounting practices are anticipating a shift to cloud software in the next 12 months.

The survey revealed that accounting firms understood how cloud technologies had the capability to improve productivity and were therefore willing to spend more on software. One of the key findings highlighted that accountants were able to free up the transactional side of the business with cloud technologies to offer a more strategic level of service to clients.

Alan Osrin, Managing Director, Sage Australia said “it is clear from the research the migration to the cloud is happening. It is critical for us as trusted providers to offer guidance on the journey to the cloud, and to support this with the best technology available for our accountant partners, the clients they work with and businesses as a whole.”

With cash flow management, expense management, tax and superannuation obligations being some of the biggest concerns for clients, cloud migration presents a great opportunity for accounting practices to use online solutions to become more trusted advisors and forecasters.

While the uptake of cloud accounting software is growing, only 13 per cent of respondents currently have more than 50 per cent of clients using cloud software.