The modern age is evolving in every aspect of your business process. From planning to managing any activities, digitalization is the key to stay in the game. You can say the same thing for the accounting, cash flow, or financial statement of your business. Accounting software turning everything into a more unconventional yet advanced state.

To become an up to date and smart accounting manager, you need to have a clear idea about your industry, trends, and tricks. Thus the importance of potential data and statistics come forward. If you have a stronghold over the current situation of the industry, it will be easier for you to make better & tangible decisions.

Therefore, in this blog, we have gathered some of the most recent accounting statistics for you. Surely they will help you to understand the market trends, user behavior, and the future of the industry before choosing an accounting tool for your company.

Interesting statistics and facts of accounting

For many years, accounting has been a giant industry that provides for almost 2 million jobs around the world. Also, you should know that 75% of modern accounting tasks can be accomplished through automation.

Hence, many software needs simultaneous maintenance along with automation. Also, a lot of professionals are working behind a powerful accounting tool that makes a digital accounting manager’s job easier and simpler.

Now, let’s move forward with some of the most significant accounting statistics and facts that you should know this year.

1. General accounting statistics and facts

The days of traditional accounting are on the verge of their usefulness. Nowadays, industry experts suggest that accountants should get more used to the latest technologies and ERP accounting.

Let’s begin with some of the basic yet engrossing accounting statistics that would help you start from the top.

• Almost 90% of accountants believe that a cultural shift in the accounting industry is leading to technological changes. (Sage)
• 60% of companies aren’t happy with their current accounting and finance processes. (National)
• To satisfy client needs, more than 58% of accounting firms invest in accounting solutions. (Sage)
• The top four accounting firms—KPMG, PWC, EY, and Deloitte—earned a combined revenue of $56 billion from the U.S. market in 2018. (Statista)
• 69% of CFOs are using spreadsheets to generate financial reports. (FSN)

2. Accounting statistics and facts for small business

You may know that more than 90% of world businesses are small businesses. And most of them have become more interested in a strategic accounting process. But it is also true that not every company is adopting a digitalized accounting system rapidly.

Hence, the data we are going to include under SMBs, it shows you how most of the SMBs are tending towards a change. Let’s have a look at these accounting statistics to understand the real picture.

• 21% of small business owners think that they don’t have sufficient knowledge about their company’s accounting and finance. (Wasp Barcode)
• 30% of SMBs believe their accountants are their best advisors.
• More than 64% of SMBs are using accounting software. (Statista)
• 70% of small-business accountants see their advisory roles becoming more strategic. (PayPie)
• 58% of SMBs don’t expect to meet with their respective accountants face-to-face. (InFakt)
• 74% of C-level accounting executives are certain that the emergence of a cashless society will have the greatest long-term effect after 2025. (ACCA)
• More than 42% of SMBs expect their accountants to offer business advice. (Sage)
• Most of the small businesses outsource their tax preparation (71%), payroll (50%), auditing (48%), tax planning (30%), personal finances (16%), and bookkeeping (14%). (Wasp Barcode)

3. Statistics related to accounting payable

Managing accounts payable is a quite complex task. Therefore, it is crucial for every company to do this job dauntlessly. Whenever a third-party or payee company charges you for their service, they make the bill and sends it to your accounts section, so you need to keep track of a lot of things at a time.

Here comes the tricky part: traditional accounting payable demands more effort and time. On the other hand, if you have an accounting tool like WP ERP Accounting, you can track, manage, and complete all the actions with simple commands through this software.

So, here is a deeper glance at the stats below to help make up your mind.

• More than 70k people are working in the accounting payable industry in the UK alone. (AP Association)
• Best-in-class enterprises are processing a single invoice 71 percent faster than all others. (TradeShift)
• Only 14% of paper invoices are inputted on the same day they are received. (Tipalti)
• Accounts payable software can save up to 1 hour a day for your company. (MineralTree)
• Account payable automation can cost an average of $16 less per invoice. (Tipalti)
• It takes 6 to 18 months for accounting payable software to pay off. (AllStar)

4. Statistics and facts involving the latest cloud accounting

Cloud accounting is the future, as the current trend suggests. And with such technology, regardless of any device or time, you can gain access to your accounting information with this powerful platform.

According to FinanceOnline, by the end of 2023, the worldwide cloud market is expecting to reach 4.25 billion. Hence, let’s find out some of the other latest statistics in relation to Cloud Accounting.

• Companies that are using cloud-based accounting can generate 15% more revenue. (Untapped)
• However, 67% of companies today want to shift their accounting process to the cloud. (Sage)
• Therefore, 58% of big organizations are already using cloud accounting software. (Accounting Today)
• More than 90% of accountants said that using cloud-based accounting software makes a big difference in their business processes. (Journal of Accountancy)
• 67% of accounting professionals love to apply cloud accounting software to their businesses. (Sage)
• Well, more than 21% of businesses want cloud-based accounting software, while almost 20% of companies like to go for an on-premise tool. (Finance Online)

5. Surprising data statistics of accounting automation and AI

If you are a younger accountant coming into the profession you need to understand what’s going on and what’s available to help you work alongside artificial intelligence.

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Well, Automation and AI are already the big change-maker in the accounting industry. And, it will be more powerful in the years to come. Experts believe those who can make themselves capable of maintaining the technologies must prevail.

However, let’s have a look at these fascinating accounting stats that show how automation is impacting the world-wide accounting process.

• You may be amazed to hear this. 50% of the accounting executives believe that automation will have a great impact on the accounting business over the next 30 years. (ACCA)
• 80% of professionals believe that AI in accountancy gets them to advantage while maintaining their cash flow, payroll, and tax management. (JA)
• Accounting processes like tax preparation, payroll management, and auditing will be all automated by 2022. (FORBES)
• However, a survey revealed 21% of small and midsized businesses in the US have applied accounting system with payments and invoicing products. (ViewPost)
• Furthermore, 55% of accountants plan to apply artificial intelligence in the next 3 years. (Sage)
• Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can save several months to few weeks of audit and contractual processing times. (Forbes)

Bonus: A handful of More Accounting Statistics

The traditional accounting management system has one less challenging thing. You put your money on the shoulders of an expert accountant. Then the person runs along with his methods.

On the other hand, digital transformation brings speed, ease, and affordability to the sector. But you also have to face some other challenges, like newer investments, successful installation of the software, and a remarkable payoff.

So, here you should follow some challenging stats that one needs to overcome. The good news is that they are not that hard to overcome if you are careful enough.

• The most intriguing accounting challenges of SMBs are accounts receivable and collections (51%), cash flow (44%), paperwork (33%), closing the books monthly (28%), and payroll. (Wasp Barcode)
• The global number of auditors will grow from 1.2 million to a vast number of 1.44 million by the end of 2020. (InFakt)
• It takes almost 10 hours for 26% of US companies to handle tax-related issues. On the other hand, 40% of businesses claim that they can add up to 40 hours every year. (NSBA)
• 52% of businesses feel they are paying too much in taxes.
• In the next 8 years, the total value of the global accounting software industry will reach a magnificent $11.8 billion. (Accounting Today)

Final Thoughts

Learning technologies are the top additional skill accountants need to have right now.

AccountancyAge

Well, besides the sector-wise accounting stats, facts, and data that we’ve mentioned in this blog today, you should also know that the world is full of information today.

But let’s not forget what famous science fiction author Isaac Asimov once said:

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.

It means you can have all these data at once. Though, using them wisely is crucial. Therefore you should learn which information you need to pick to make a certain point in your accounting process.

So you need to ask yourself: do you need an ERP accounting system to automate your company’s accounting management process? Then you may want to get WPERP accounting for complete automation.

Do you have any fun facts or interesting accounting related stats to share with us? Feel free to share them with us in the comments below.