Accounting changed the world forever both when it was “invented” in Mesopotamia & when it became a double-entry system 500 years ago. Today, the profession of accountant & the practice itself are again undergoing major revolutions - revolutions that startups are initiating ⏱️
Looking at what is currently happening in the accounting world, we may automatically think that the profession of “accountant” is dying: The number of accountants has decreased by 25% in just the last 15 years.
This “threat” is enabled by new technologies that are shifting everything within the space. Cloud, AI, blockchain & data are changing the game. But total automation is still very far away. And obviously, in such an ancient & symbolic sector, the opportunities are infinite. And we have a few examples of startups who are ready to seize them!
21. Accounting
Financial statements, VAT
returns, tax returns
Annual general meetings &
payslips
Accounting and financial
management for
freelancers
Automated processing of
the accounting flows
Live KPIs : VAT, corporate tax &
social contributions
Notifications & a dedicated
coach : automated and tailored
advice
Acasi : What we do
29
Automation Chartered accountants Real-time dashboards
A single pricing
Regardless of your corporate form, turnover or volume of documents
22. Freelancers and self-employed individuals face 3 main concerns in
their day-to-day activity :
Time
Managing and developing their
business
Filing their tax returns
Gather and communicate
accounting items
Knowledge
Lack of knowledge
Growing legal
complexity
Wrong financial, tax or
legal decision making
30
Accounting management as a freelancer in France
2 850 000
Money
High consulting fees
Too costly having an
outsourced CFO
23. How chartered accountants address this market
31
Not in the CAs’ best interest to manage
freelancers (low profitability)
Generalist
positioning
Focusing on SMEs (Small and
Medium-sized Enterprises)
Client
management
Annual meeting (financial
statements)
Additional billing for consulting
time
Impossible to advise in real-time
Internal
structure
Chartered accountants
Associates
/ 0 clients per chartered
accountant
24. How to automate accounting for freelancers ?
32
1 2 3
Automated integration
API
PSD
PurchasesSales
Cash accounting Accrual accounting
Proprietary plug-in
csv Import
API
Banks
Electronic invoices
Data retrieval via banking APIs
(e.g. Qonto)
OCR software for automated
processing
25. 33
1 2 3
Vertical business
expertise
Proprietary
algorithm
Data reprocessing
Beyond accounting, how can we automate consulting ?
Quality data provided by the
software makes comparability
possible
Freelancers and self-employed
persons only (no SMEs)
Integration of sectoral
specificities
Customized back-office
highlights potential
improvements in real-time