The new financial year may have begun but for most of us the end of financial year processes are continuing in full swing. As we prepare the details that will allow us to report on the fruits of the previous twelve months hard work an opportunity is presented to take stock of what we could have done to be more prepared for tax time? This is particularly true when reflecting on the ICT systems that allow us to record, manage and store our critical business data.
Groupsupport have identified three linked key areas for consideration and review with respect to your business/organisations ability to deliver timely, efficient and accurate tax related reporting.
Physical Data Records:
Physical records may seem like a thing of the past but for many of us they are still a reality of day-to-day business.
Whether they are legacy records yet to be digitised or physical records forming part of a business process it is important to consider how these are currently being handled and what can be done to prevent issues arising from lost or damaged records.
- Do you have a process in place for digitizing physical legacy records?
- Do you have the appropriate software and hardware to assist in making this process efficient?
- If the records are contemporary or part of a work flow, have you considered software or application solutions to remove physical records where possible and reduce risk of lost data?
Physical records often represent an additional time expenditure when it comes to preparation for tax time.
If you would like to discuss ICT solutions to the above posed questions or any other physical record to digital solution Groupsupport would love to assist.
Backups and Data Redundancy:
Your financial data is crucial to your business and even more so at end of financial year. The last thing any of us want to discover is that some of our crucial data is missing or not where we expected it to be when we need it.
EOFY is the perfect time to review your data redundancy in the form of assessing whether your current backup configuration meets the needs of your business.
Data loss can occur a myriad of ways including accidental deletion or loss, hardware failure, software failure, disaster such as fire or flood, malicious intent or network penetration/ransom.
- Do you have a backup process in place for your business/organisations data?
- Is your backup process robust enough to provide disaster recovery if something was to happen to your office or ICT equipment?
- Do you backup any data stored on cloud applications/software? Many people are not aware that backups are not a standard inclusion of many cloud applications.
- Do your backups contain all of your business data or only part?
Ensuring data redundancy and preparedness for disaster recovery cannot be overstated as a key factor for reducing risk to your business. The last thing any business wants is to discover the importance of backups having just lost crucial data.
If you would like to discuss your backup or data redundancy requirements Groupsupport would love to assist.
Software, Hardware & Networks:
Anyone involved in preparation for end of financial year will know how important their financial reporting software is to the process. Having the correct software can significantly reduce the amount of labour required to prepare for tax time and the associated stress.
If your staff are tearing their hair out at tax time trying to soldier on with software or applications that simply aren’t fit for purpose it is probably time to review the financial software your business is using.
Software and applications are one side of the equation however, as they need to be paired with a functional network and supported by appropriate hardware. The last thing your business can afford at tax time is connection issues or hardware failures.
- Does your business/organisation experience difficulty in getting your accounting software to fit your needs?
- Is your software or application outdated and lacking in more modern features that could help to streamline the end of financial year process?
- Is your network letting you and your staff down with drop outs and connection issues?
- Would your network and hardware cope if your organisation needed to work from home at tax time due to a disaster or unforeseen event?
- Is your hardware showing its age and slowing down your end of financial year preparation?
End of financial year for most businesses also means budget time which is the perfect time to consider your ICT needs and make financial provisions for improvements.
If you would like to discuss your financial/accounting software needs, your networks or hardware or just discuss ICT budgeting moving forward Groupsupport would love to assist.
