In an exclusive interview with Chris Cairns, partner at Alliotts LLP, Chris reveals what it's like to work with T-Tech as their MSP, how they collaborate across the business, their reaction to Covid-19, and what the future of technology looks like at the practice.

Q: Tell us about your practice?

A: Alliotts has been around now for 152 years, with one office in Central London just off Drury Lane, and one in Guildford. The team is made up of 100 professional staff & 13 partners. We are a full-service practice, with a heavy focus on international, overseas in and outbound clients.

Q: What was IT like before T-Tech got involved?

A: The set up wasn’t cutting edge; it did the job, but it wasn’t great. If there had been a pandemic at that point, we would have been in trouble. We would not have been able to fully operate remotely or to deliver on work for clients. We would not have had the resilience to manage the change.

Q: How has IT modernisation and setting up “good foundations” changed life for the practice?

A: Before the pandemic, IT fundamentally changed how we worked. It created a much more modern and seamless working IT environment. In terms of the basic matters such as internet and WIFI speeds, Outlook, the MS Office environment, and software versions we were on and how they worked together. For example, there was a fire underneath the street in our London office (nothing to do with us), which meant it had to be evacuated for four days. But the firm still went on. From an operational environment it continued. With the old IT environment, it wouldn’t have quite worked so seamlessly. It was not just about being modern and up to date, with new and shiny IT. It was about being able to cope with curveballs being thrown at you.

Q: How did the team cope when Covid hit?

A: We were lucky, as we were already set up for remote working. The thing we weren’t set up for was everybody moving to remote working at the same time. So, luckily thanks to T-Tech we had a premonition, and doubled the number of Azure servers we had two weeks before the first lockdown. Then everyone could work remotely at the same time. When it hit, there was momentary panic but then everyone realised it all worked and over the course of two to three months a lot of people realised that they much preferred it.

Q: How does the practice collaborate?

A: Primarily on Teams - pretty much everything is on teams! With clients we also use Zoom, WeChat, and WhatsApp. But where we can, we use MS Teams.

Q: What does the future use of technology look like for the practice?

A: It doesn’t matter where people are living for work anymore. This gives rise to opportunities in efficiencies from a commercial viewpoint. So, if you have a fully qualified accountant based in another country, who are qualified in the UK – does that matter? There will also be an increasing use of AI - because nobody should pay an accountant to turn the handle, it's a waste of an arm, and client’s money. Accountants should be paid to add the value. There is a worry that there are some things that you can miss out on without face-to-face meetings such as reading body language and building rapport, which is the flip side technology takes away. If you are helping a client sell their business, that is a very emotive, personal thing, and it is hard to do over a video call. Negotiating on the other side of a screen is not as effective. If you want to build a relationship with potential clients, it sometimes is just better done in person. People need to take the best bits from the changes resulting from the pandemic and continue to expand and develop those further. It is not a panacea in itself; they need to balance it.

Q: How long have you been working with T-Tech?

A: 3 years.

Q: What would be your advice to anyone considering working with a Managed Service Provider for their accountancy firm?

A: Unless your job in the firm is IT then you cannot physically do it. It is so complicated, so fast moving, and quick changing that you can’t keep up. You then have no choice but to use a Managed Service Provider. Within that context, if you are considering an MSP, with any business decision, yes cost is a part of it, but you get what you pay for. If you go out and buy the world’s cheapest pen, it won’t be as good if you bought a better pen, it won’t last as long. Ultimately, it might cost you more. An MSP needs to be people you respect, who you get on with, as it is a personal relationship. It needs to be with people who understand your business and your business needs - there is no other firm like yours. If you’re a lawyer, and they serve lawyers, it doesn’t mean they understand you. If you’re an accountant and they serve accountants, it doesn’t mean they understand you. Your business is different and this needs to be factored in by your MSP. Also, do you believe in your MSP? It is a bit like if you were hiring a new Managing Director for your business, what would you want? Loads of CVs would come through the door, but can you look the candidate in the eye and believe in them, are they your kind of person?

Q: What value does analytics play within the practice?

A: We are looking at things around evaluation processes, account reporting packages and how to use IT to make them more user friendly to clients. We use it to be a bit more pictorially in places, as not everyone is an accountant. We also have packages for producing and demonstrating forecasts, as well as business plans. It is a case of looking at different ways of presenting it too - again to make it more user-friendly, which is driven by analytics. We see the value of analytics as very high, but the important part is to interpret them in a way that the client understands and values because they are not accountants themselves.

Q: What are your growth plans for 2021?

A: In terms of financial performance of the firm, the plans are to exceed the market and to continue to do so.

You can read the original article in the Digital Accountancy Magazine

OTHER NEWS

Be Ready for the Automation Revolution

Its clear automation has the power to revolutionise the UK accountancy sector, empowering accounting firms to unlock their full potential. At the recent ICAEW Annual Conference AI was a hot topic and speakers spoke of practical applications of its...
READ MORE

Microsoft Copilot: what is it, why does it matter and what you need to know

You may have heard the words Microsoft Copilotbeing used when looking at recent trends in AIWell, the new AI offering from Microsoft is being released next year. Microsoft are betting big on Copilot, having invested 13 billion dollars over the...

READ MORE

Explore Microsoft's Copilot

Are you ready to revolutionize the way you do accounting? Imagine streamlining your accountancy practice, boosting productivity, and delivering exceptional results for your clients, all with the power of artificial intelligence. Microsoft's Copilot...

READ MORE

Streamline Success: 4 Lessons from the Intapp Webinar

Staying ahead in the accountancy industry is not just about crunching numbers; it's about embracing innovative solutions. More than just a recap, this blog will show the key takeaways of using a document management system from Intapp, which can shed...

READ MORE

Microsoft 365 Copilot is coming but is your organisation ready?

Technology is rapidly evolving and many industries like the accountancy industry are embracing the advantages it has to offer. Microsoft has finally introduced their ground-breaking AI tool namely Microsoft 365 CoPilot, designed to transform...

READ MORE

T-Tech Ranked on Channel Futures 2023 prestigious MSP 501 list

T-Tech has been named as one of the world’s premier managed service providers in the prestigious 2023 Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings.

READ MORE

10 questions accountants should ask their IT provider

As businesses increasingly rely on technology to operate efficiently, it's important for accountancy firms to have a reliable IT provider to help manage their systems. However, finding the right IT services for accountants and the right IT provider...

READ MORE

Why Antivirus and 2FA Alone Won't Suffice for an IT Security Strategy

Antivirus and two-factor authentication (2FA) are two commonly used security measures in the world of cyber security. While these measures can be effective when used properly, they should not be relied upon as the sole security strategy for several...

READ MORE

The Power of AI in Accounting: A Game-Changer

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been transforming various industries for several years now, and the accounting industry is no exception. AI has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of accounting tasks, and it's time...

READ MORE

Practice Gateway: T-Tech’s answer to moving beyond the MTD conundrum

“For 30 years we’ve had the self-assessment tax return ‘season’ – a complete slog for tax teams to endure and navigate. That time is about to end, in dramatic change.”

READ MORE

Time to close the books on traditional accounting and upskill with automation

The accountancy market is going through unprecedented times. There is significant client demand, pressure on fees, and the market for recruitment means salaries are going up, and people have less loyalty toward their employers. Recruitment for the...

READ MORE

T-Tech 2022 Wrapped is here. Here are our most memorable moments.

To say this year has been busy would be an understatement. We have had a jampacked year full of highs and lows (but mostly highs!), so let’s take a look back at some of the highlights.

READ MORE

Over half of UK accountancy firms are making technology solutions a priority, report finds

More than half of UK accountancy firms are making technology solutions a priority over the next 12 months, but 88% feel overwhelmed about the options available.

READ MORE

Daniel Teacher named One To Watch in The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders programme

Daniel Teacher, Managing Director of T-Tech, has been named as a One To Watch in The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders programme for 2022.

READ MORE

MTD for ITSA: get ahead of the curve and prepare your clients

Making Tax Digital is evolving. We saw MTD-compatible technology take the industry by storm in 2019, and now it’s advancing even further with MTD for ITSA being introduced in April 2024.

READ MORE

The latest and greatest in Microsoft Teams

What more can Teams do for us that it isn’t doing already? From the shift to remote working, and now to hybrid, it feels as though we’ve got all the tools we need within Teams. But there’s always room for improvement, and we are lucky that Microsoft...

READ MORE