According to Accountants Daily, a significant portion of Accounting jobs within Australia now have the option to work from home. 1 in 4 job advertisements for accountants in 2024 offered some form of remote or hybrid working arrangements. A study from Seek found that across the board, 9.5% of all job advertisements within Australia offer remote working options, only 1.5 points down from the Covid era. The studies speak for themselves - remote and hybrid work is here to stay.
If you already have a fully or partially remote workplace, or are looking to offer remote or hybrid models - the options will need to be weighed to see if it suits your accounting firm and your clients. The flexibility of your workplace can mean the difference between retaining high-quality staff in an accountant shortage across the country, or it could allow you to expand your client base by engaging with remote clientele. It’s safe to say that remote working could be an exciting element to consider when establishing how your firm can grow.
The benefits
- Increased flexibility: remote working allows your staff to be able to feel in charge of their workload, reducing micro-management and improving responsibility. At the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Accounting and Audit Conference 2025, two trailblazing accounting firm founders of Bramble and Briar, Sarah Pilling and Vita Lo Presti credited flexibility and remote work as the foundation of their successful business. Their emphasis on allowing their staff to manage their own workload and take responsibility for their flexibility ensured that their employees worked hard and within allocated timeframes. They cited that treating their staff as ‘adults’ proved to create success within the firm and success in balancing their employee’s work/life balance.
- Expanding opportunities: If you’ve been struggling to find hard-working and talented recruits, remote working can expand your reach. You’ll be able to offer positions to accountants across the country and even engage in services throughout the globe, including outsourcing your work to specialists who are trained to learn your vision.
- Lower overheads: Without the need for an in-person office, petrol, public transport, or incidentals - naturally your overheads will reduce and your potential for financial growth will scale. This can lead to offers of higher salaries for loyal staff and improve retention and recruitment.
The challenges and how to overcome them
- Communication and collaboration: Communication has been cited as one of the biggest challenges when implementing a remote workspace. The need for clear and concise communication alongside staff collaboration cannot be understated. If you have staff that aren’t readily available when a query needs to be addressed, you won’t be able to walk a few steps to find them. Communication should be one of the most important steps when preparing your workplace to move to remote and hybrid settings.
Many firms use communication and compliance software to ensure the work is being completed and communication is functioning efficiently. Asana, Monday.com, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom - the list goes on. Utilise the many technological tools at your disposal that have been proven to improve links within both staff and clients and create person to person connection.
- Data security: How can you be sure yours and your clients data is safe when your workplace is remote? Sensitive financial information moving across multiple desktops and locations can be a daunting task to manage.
Making sure your staff are trained in cybersecurity risks and how to mitigate those is essential. Alongside this, employing 2-factor-authentication, maintaining sensitive data, being aware of phishing and malware, and compliance with privacy regulations are effective ways to overcome this challenge.
- Morale and connection: Connection and morale are crucial elements of any successful workplace. As many employees will be working from home alone, the opportunity to connect with their colleagues should be a priority. Establishing a healthy morale can be an issue but one easily fixed.
Online games nights and social catch-ups, opportunities to network with clients virtually, online courses and training are some of the great ways to maintain connection and improve morale. Check in with your staff to see how they would like to remain part of the culture of your workplace and encourage in-person meet ups so your staff can feel part of the team.
