{"id":67842,"date":"2017-11-27T07:08:47","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T05:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sageone.co.za\/?p=67842"},"modified":"2026-01-29T16:03:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T14:03:13","slug":"challenges-and-opportunities-for-sme-accountants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/challenges-and-opportunities-for-sme-accountants\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenges and opportunities for SME accountants"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/category\/trends-insights\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Trends &amp; Insights<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tChallenges and opportunities for SME accountants\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2017-11-27T07:08:47+02:00\">Nov 27, 2017<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Challenges and opportunities for SME accountants\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/challenges-and-opportunities-for-sme-accountants\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/author\/keirthomasbryant\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/04\/Keir-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Keir Thomas-Bryant\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/04\/Keir-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/04\/Keir.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Keir Thomas-Bryant<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>According to an SMP Small &amp; Medium Practices Survey, led by the International Federation of Accountants Global, certified public accountants (CPAs) all over the world experience the same opportunities and challenges. These include attracting new clients and staff, remaining up to date with the latest regulations and standards, increasing pressure to lower fees, and retaining current staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With technology growing rapidly, accountants are also under pressure to use the latest hardware and software and to move to the cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are the four most common challenges facing SME accountants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Talent \u2013 <\/strong>The hunt for talent is fiercer than ever, complicated by the fact that workforces in general feel overwhelmed and unengaged at work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technology \u2013 <\/strong>Despite the many benefits technology gives SME accountants \u2013 like increased productivity, process transformation, and automation \u2013 many accountants report feeling pressure to keep up with technology found both inside and outside their customers\u2019 businesses. The fact that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/sage-business-cloud\/accounting\/\">cloud accounting<\/a> is necessary to move to the next level makes it a daunting change of pace.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Time \u2013 <\/strong>As in many industries, time poverty is the most common challenge experienced by accountants. There is simply more that needs to be done than there is time to do it. This prevents CPAs from being proactive and involved with their clients; rather, they\u2019re sinking deeper into the daily grind.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transformation \u2013 <\/strong>There is the possibility of tremendous growth thanks to new technology and new skills available to CPAs, which can be seen in the prevalence of consulting and advisory services. This can also feel daunting, but the key is to embrace the change rather than fight it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-pack-nbsp\"><strong>How to stay ahead of the pack<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><mark class=\"highlight-and-share\">Thanks to the growth of technology and globalisation, it\u2019s best to embrace the drastic changes that are already underway, and to lean into the ones we know are coming.<\/mark> Here\u2019s how to become an \u2018anticipatory accountant\u2019 and stay ahead of the pack:<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t wait to change. <\/strong>Rather, spearhead transformation before you have no other option. This is the mark of an exceptional leader.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Get with the times. <\/strong>Technology is the biggest driver of transformation. To be as efficient and effective as possible, harness the new.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Upskill yourself and your team. <\/strong>While most of us know that technical skills need to be developed, often other necessary upskilling opportunities are overlooked. Emphasis should be put on training your team to become future-focused. Anticipation is a skill, even though it\u2019s not often regarded as one.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Guard your values.<\/strong> Fast-moving change can be unsettling. Make sure your team feels secure by highlighting which elements of the business won\u2019t change.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Make the most of this wild ride.<\/strong> After all, wouldn\u2019t you rather be the disruptor than the disrupted?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice enewsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get a roundup of our best business advice in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-84fe79b5-668d-41f8-a0cc-6229018c4ac9\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1181404518-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1181404518-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to an SMP Small &amp; Medium Practices Survey, led by the International Federation of Accountants Global, certified public accountants (CPAs) all over the world experience the same opportunities and challenges. These include attracting new clients and staff, remaining up to date with the latest regulations and standards, increasing pressure to lower fees, and retaining [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":280,"featured_media":495,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[338,209],"business_type":[2,5],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[6,15],"imagine_tag":[51,85],"coauthors":[405],"class_list":["post-67842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trends-insights","tag-opinion-columns","tag-staying-competitive","business_type-small-business","business_type-accountants"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-za","author_name":"Keir Thomas-Bryant","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/04\/GettyImages-619403886.jpg","imagine_tags":{"51":"Accountants","85":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice South Africa","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/280"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67842"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=67842"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=67842"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=67842"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=67842"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=67842"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=67842"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=67842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}