By Sustainability, Digital Economy and Reporting Team
In 2023, the Malaysian Institute of Accountants introduced the inaugural Digital Technology Adoption Awards (DTAA) to celebrate excellence in technology adoption within the accountancy profession (Read more on the DTAA here).
To inspire ongoing digital transformation across the accountancy profession, MIA has launched an exciting new interview series titled ‘DTAA Winners in Action’. This series highlights the journeys of the fourteen exceptional winners who were honoured during the prestigious DTAA Presentation Dinner in May 2024. Each article in the series will explore their unique stories, showcasing the challenges they overcame, the innovative strategies they employed and the best practices they adopted in embracing digital technology. Through their narratives, the series seeks to motivate others to embark on their own digitalisation journeys and harness the power of technology to drive their own successes.
In this debut article, we feature Neutral Consulting Group (NC Accounting Services Sdn Bhd), the proud recipient of the ‘Top Excellence Award’ in Accounting Process for the Public Practice (less than 10 employees) category. Below, Ng Wing shares how the firm embraced digital transformation to elevate their services and stand out in the DTAA. Discover their innovative strategies, forward-thinking approaches and unwavering commitment to excellence in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Let their story inspire you to innovate and excel in your own digital transformation journey!
1. Why did you adopt technology?
Before embracing digital technology, our primary challenge was the inability to fulfill our goal of empowering SME clients to obtain near real-time data insights. While we could still serve our SME clients according to normal practices, lack of technology usage resulted in slow and cumbersome processes. This led to delays in delivering financial reports to our clients. Such delays hindered their ability to make timely decisions, ultimately limiting the value they derived from our services.
2. What technologies have you adopted?
To tackle these challenges, we adopted both internal and client-facing digital technologies. We utilise several digital tools, including Xero for accounting, Slack for communication, Trello for project management, and cloud storage solutions like OneDrive and Google Drive. These technologies were carefully selected to enhance collaboration, streamline our processes, and facilitate remote work. As a result, we have created a more efficient and flexible working environment, allowing us to provide our clients with quicker access to vital financial insights.
Additionally, I took the initiative to learn skills in website development, Google Ads, and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This has enabled us to automate our sales processes, significantly reducing marketing costs while accurately targeting specific clients. By gaining a deeper understanding of our business, we can now reach our target audience more effectively. Importantly, the savings from our marketing costs have been redirected towards enhancing staff benefits, training, and salary packages, further investing in our team’s development and morale.
3. Describe your digital technology implementation journey.
Our implementation journey began with a thorough evaluation and testing of each tool to ensure compatibility with our existing processes. We initiated a pilot programme with a small team, gathering feedback and making necessary adjustments. Once the tools proved effective, we rolled them out organisation-wide, phasing out outdated systems. Key milestones included staff training sessions and the establishment of new workflows, integrating these technologies into our daily operations for a seamless transition.
We also emphasised open and direct feedback, encouraging input from all levels within the organisation. This approach allowed us to fully understand the pain points and considerations at each level of our accounting operations before moving forward with implementation.
4. What is the impact of your technology adoption?
By adopting this technology, our organisation has fully embraced a 100% remote working model, enabling our team to work seamlessly from home. Additionally, our SME clients now benefit from significantly faster access to financial insights, improving their decision-making process. This technology has also positively impacted staff motivation, as every step we took and improvement we made focuses on enhancing work efficiency and aligning with our long-term strategic direction.
5. What is your future digital technology plan?
Moving forward, we plan to enhance our reporting processes and client engagement strategies with a continuing focus on digital transformation. With the implementation of e-invoicing, we anticipate significant opportunities to further digitise and streamline our processes. This will enable our SME clients to access live, accurate financial insights more rapidly, allowing for more informed decision-making and greater efficiency in their operations.
Additionally, we will be restructuring our internal operational workflows and tools to ensure alignment with the processes that we have implemented for our SME clients. This synchronisation will enhance efficiency, providing a cohesive experience that benefits both our team and our clients.
6. Do you have any tips to share with the readers?
Based on our experience, I would recommend the following best practices:
7. Why did you participate in the DTAA?
We chose to participate in the DTAA to showcase our commitment to innovation and to inspire others in the accounting field to embrace digital transformation. The processes highlighted the importance of documenting our journey, which helped us reflect on our achievements and identify areas for future growth.
8. What is your advice to aspiring participants of the DTAA in the future?
For aspiring participants, I recommend approaching the application with honesty and details—share your unique story, the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them, as this will resonate with the judges and your peers.
