What Does Single Touch Payroll Mean For Accountants Entering The Workforce?
The single touch payroll system is now mandatory for all businesses in Australia. While this should not be a surprise to most, the changes and modifications brought on by the new reporting requirements are shaking up things in businesses throughout the country. In particular, the role of the business accountant is changing as a result of single touch payroll.
These changes are not something to be feared but welcomed. There is no need to worry if you are an accountant who is just entering the workforce, likewise if you have many decades of experience. With that said, however, there are some things you should know in order to be prepared and aware of the changes to the accounting profession.
Let’s look at what the single touch payroll changes mean for accountants now entering the workforce in Australia.
Help Your Clients Reap The Benefits
As a professional accountant, you should already have a solid understanding of the requirements of the single touch payroll system. If you want to provide excellent value for your customers and clients, then be sure to share this information with them. While some small business owners and managers will likely have some idea as to the importance and benefits of the single touch payroll scheme, it is important that you take the lead in bringing those businesses under your care into the digital age with diligence.
Since all businesses are now required to be in compliance with single touch payroll, there will be many opportunities for accounting professionals to provide expertise on this topic. Making sure to get ahead of the questions by rounding out your knowledge of the legislation and reporting requirements is a good idea.
If your clients are uncertain about what the single touch payroll system is all about, and why the changes were made in the first place, then be sure to be prepared to address these concerns and questions. Make sure to highlight the importance of accurate data collection by the Australian Taxation Office and the increasing move towards digitalisation across governmental sectors. When it comes to benefits for businesses, make sure to remind your clients that, once you get going, the reporting process will be much easier than in the past, with no payment summaries or end of year reporting to the ATO required.
Do Not Worry About Your Job
If you are fearing the single touch payroll changes as a threat to your value in a company or to your clients, then you can relax. Despite the advantages that single touch payroll software can provide to businesses, in terms of freeing up your accounting tasks and automating some of them, accountants still have an important function within the context of business, and that will not change any time soon.
Instead, see the introduction of single touch payroll as an opportunity to expand your higher-level accounting skills, such as performing analytical tasks and developing insights. Through the amount of time that you will now have freed up thanks to the simplicity and efficiency of single touch payroll software, you will be able to devote more of your working days to providing value in more creative ways. Your new role may begin to be more akin to that of a business advisor rather than merely a bookkeeper.
The Brave New World Of STP
Single touch payroll looks like it is here to stay in Australia, so make sure to accept the changes that it is bringing and adjust to the new realities of its reporting requirements. Accountants do not need to fear these changes; instead, you can use them as an opportunity to provide better value for your clients and develop your own professional skills further.
