Making accounting firms more productive, profitable and easier to run (Sponsored)

clockwork, a new software platform, is helping accounting firms access talent as and when they need it.

As with so many breakthroughs, the development of the clockwork freelance management platform arose from a problem experienced by its creator. “Back in 2018, we were a two-partner firm with 12 staff and we found it very difficult to recruit senior staff,” explains Greg Murphy, a partner with Corvidae, the accounting firm responsible for the development of clockwork.

The trigger for the development of the platform was the departure of a senior staff member, who decided to move to London to pursue his career. “We found it very difficult to replace him,” says Murphy. “The quality just wasn’t there and we found ourselves competing with the Big 4 for people, which made it too expensive. We tried outsourcing to India, but the quality wasn’t there either. We then decided to use local freelancers and found them very good. Quite frankly, we were amazed at the quality of people who were available to us. Accounting freelancers are highly skilled professionals looking for long-term, profitable relationships with quality accounting firms.”

That was quite a shift for an accounting firm. “Freelancers weren’t really used in the accounting sector up until then,” Murphy points out. “It is well established in the ICT industry and sectors like media and entertainment, but accounting firms hadn’t embraced it. We figured if we were having issues with recruiting talent, other firms must have them as well.”

What was needed was a platform that could help firms access freelance talent, manage their work, organise payment and so on. “Businesses all over the world use freelance platforms to hire temporary workers for job roles and projects that do not require permanent employment,” he says. “clockwork is the only freelance platform designed for accountants by accountants. clockwork allows accounting freelancers to create a profile, display their work portfolio, and chat with firms. Firms can search a directory of freelancers based on experience, skills, and related criteria. All freelancers on clockwork are vetted and taken through a verification process.”

clockwork addresses all the issues that can arise when using freelance talent. “If a firm has a project – year-end accounts, for example – they post it as a job on the platform,” says Murphy. “The platform is pre-populated with default data for different jobs to make it quick and easy to post. The firm specifies the work required and sets the price. No client names are divulged, nor are any other potentially sensitive details or information that could identify the client. The freelancer sees the post and the price, and if they are interested, they can apply for the work. At that point, the firm can view the freelancer’s CV and skills and qualifications before hiring them for the work.”

Once that process is complete, the firm can transfer documents and other materials to the freelancer through the clockwork platform. The freelancer goes through the various tasks set by the firm, and the platform keeps track of progress all the way through. Once the work is complete, payment is facilitated through the platform.

The benefits are clear, according to Murphy. “Firms can flex their workforce up and down as and when they need it. That reduces cost and improves profitability. There is also a natural cost advantage. Firms are paying for projects completed rather than time. It’s a fixed fee for tasks and projects, and it’s in everyone’s interest to get them done as quickly as possible and to the highest standard. It also means that firms can take on work they might otherwise have had to turn down.”

And then there are the productivity gains. “The other thing that has come up, and not just in our firm, is that freelancers can be a lot more efficient and productive than people working full-time in an office environment. We saw increases in productivity among remote workers in many sectors during the lockdown, and this is certainly the case with freelance accounting professionals.”

The benefits extend to the freelancers as well. “clockwork offers freelancers what they are looking for. They might want to work this week but not next week. It’s a lifestyle choice. They might be semi-retired people who are very highly qualified and experienced. There is also a younger cohort that might want to supplement their income. And then some people might have left the full-time workforce to care for families, who are also highly qualified but not available to go back to the workplace and do 60 or 70 hours a week. They are not interested in that sort of work. The clockwork platform allows them to engage with firms and work as and when they wish.”

In development since 2018, clockwork has been in service with Corvidae since 2020 and was launched on the market in April 2021. The timing could hardly have been better. “Using freelancers requires a bit of a mindset shift for accounting firms, but in many ways, it’s not as great a shift as the move to remote working during the COVID-19 lockdowns. People are now used to securely transferring data online and managing virtual teams. The remote work revolution is already over, and hybrid has won. The next major shift will see accounting firms move towards a more productive, profitable and agile model that uses a smaller core team of full-time employees supported by a team of on-demand freelancers and outsourced partner firms. That is the shift that clockwork is facilitating.”

The market response has been very positive. “It has been tremendous, and we have 20 firms signed up to the platform already,” says Murphy. “Close to 200 tasks per week are being processed. That’s extremely good in a very traditional industry. And interest is growing as firms see others benefiting from it. Our next target in the New Year is the UK market, and if all goes to plan, we will launch in Australia at the end of 2022. We are also looking at the potential for a funding round in the New Year as we gear up for international expansion.”