Cloud-based accounting software has automated much of the admin that used to define the accountant’s job, freeing them to become something more valuable: a genuine business advisor. Lauren du Plooy, director at Rae & Associates, has watched this shift play out directly with her own clients.
From backward-looking to forward-planning
Traditionally, bookkeepers and accountants spent most of their time catching clients up on historical filing, always compiling last month’s numbers rather than helping plan the month ahead. Automation has freed up that time, letting accountants consult rather than simply keep the books.
More than number crunchers
With more time available, accountants can now forecast the year ahead, help build budgets, and flag overspending before it becomes a real problem, moving from a purely administrative function into genuine business consulting.
A source of cross-industry knowledge
Accountants working across a range of client industries pick up real market intelligence they can pass on. An accountant with a property-industry client, for example, can share current financing conditions with another client considering a similar investment, a form of informal networking most business owners never think to ask for.
No longer a grudge purchase
The relationship between accountants and their clients has shifted from a purely transactional, historically resented cost, to something closer to a genuine partnership, with clients actively seeking their accountant’s perspective on decisions well beyond the numbers.
How to actually use this shift
Ask your accountant or bookkeeper to genuinely partner with you, and make clear you want them involved as decisions are being made, not consulted after the fact. The real value of this shift is in forward-looking reporting: an accountant who can help forecast the year ahead, rather than only report on the one behind, gives a small business owner a meaningfully better basis for decisions.
Frequently asked questions
Has automation made accountants less necessary for small businesses?
The opposite. Automation has freed accountants from routine admin, letting them spend more time on advisory work that adds far more value to a small business than manual bookkeeping ever did.
Should a small business expect its accountant to help with more than just tax and compliance?
Increasingly, yes. Many accountants now take on a genuine advisory role covering budgeting, forecasting and even broader business decisions, provided the client makes clear they want that level of involvement.
How can a small business get more advisory value out of its existing accountant relationship?
Ask directly to be included in decision-making conversations, not just year-end reporting, and be clear that you want forward-looking forecasts, not only historical numbers.
Your accountant can be a genuine business partner
The businesses getting the most value from this shift are the ones that actively ask their accountant to plan ahead with them, not just report on what already happened.
Further reading: 10 Questions to Ask Before Choosing an Accountant | Department of Trade, Industry and Competition for official small business support information
Originally published in April 2019. Updated September 2026 to tighten this guidance from Rae & Associates’ Lauren du Plooy on the accountant’s evolving advisory role. The underlying shift remains as relevant now.
