MYOB Envisions Cloud Accounting’s Future With New Products

Online accounting Software-as-a-Service firm MYOB has a vision for the future of the industry, and the company shared that vision at its MYOB INCITE event that kicked off this week.

Reports on Monday (Feb. 15) said MYOB’s game plan is all about the Connected Practice, an initiative that CEO Tim Reed first announced earlier this month. At the event, reports said, Reed divulged what exactly that strategy will mean for the business and the industry as a whole.

“What we have developed is a groundbreaking platform for efficiency to enable our partners and their clients to take advantage of best-in-market bank feeds, government connections, connected services and add-ons,” he stated.

The Connected Practice initiative connects MYOB clients and accountants to link and communicate with their own customers, leading to more effective collaboration, Reed added.

“The adoption of online and mobile technology is having big impacts on the accounting profession,” the executive stated.

There are three areas in particular that MYOB sees as having significant potential to be impacted by this technology: transaction processing, compliance and advisory.

Only days ago, MYOB announced that it would be merging these three units of its business as part of the Connected Practice initiative.

“These three accounting workflows are now more closely intertwined than ever before, creating innovative new possibilities for practices and their clients,” Reed continued. “The Connected Practice is how we see the profession taking shape, and it is the guiding light to MYOB’s continuing investment in cloud accounting.”

The Connected Practice venture means business partners can meet on a single Web portal and gain insight into all of their clients’ accounting processes streamlined through the MYOB BankLink.

Reed added that MYOB plans to introduce a number of new features to its business this year, including the Essentials Connected Ledger and the Essentials Accounting Starter.

The ledger is in beta phase with some accountants using MYOB Practice Solutions. According to the company, the ledger helps accountants streamline their services for non-MYOB ledgers. The Essentials Connected Ledger will reportedly see a launch in the second quarter of this year and is geared towards businesses without the need of accrual accounting. Finally, the Essentials Accounting Starter, also planned for a Q2 launch, will aim to service micro-enterprises in need of an online accounting solution for an affordable cost.