Accountancy firm Murrison& Wilson is today announcing a 40 per cent growth of its client-base just three years on from implementing a ‘digital-first’ strategy.

 When Simon Murrison and Bruce Wilson first set up their own accountancy firm with 100 initial clients they quickly realised servicing this many clients was a much larger task than first anticipated.

 The partners decided the most efficient move was to go ‘digital-first’ by embracing the cloud. This would be their first step towards continued growth, with the firm’s client-base increasing by 40 per cent in three years, compared to the average accountancy firm growth of 15 per cent year on year.

 Simon Murrison, Director at Murrison& Wilson Accountants, says, “We set up the firm a little over three years ago and within the first week we’d realised changes needed to be made. The early days were stressful and even after we’d streamlined certain elements of the business to free up our time; the sheer amount of physical paperwork was a huge burden on us.

 “On a bad day we could spend the first hour just opening the post, while gaining client signatures on official documents relied on both the client’s availability and the postal service. Too many elements of the chain were out of our control, so we decided it was time to go paperless.

 “We started using IRIS OpenSpace to share and approve documents digitally ahead of our first tax return season and quickly started reaping the rewards. Previously, working remotely wasn’t an option – we didn’t have a platform which allowed us to, and we couldn’t risk missing any sensitive documents sent to us by clients in the post. Now, we can work from any location with an internet connection as we know all notifications will come to us via the online portal. We’re adding value to existing clients while on the road heading to new business meetings; it’s the epitome of efficiency.”

 Murrison& Wilson is not alone, as nearly 3,000 UK accountancy practices now use IRIS OpenSpace to collaborate with their clients online, with over 70,000 documents electronically approved in January 2016 alone.

 Steve Cox, product director at IRIS Software, says, “It’s great to see an accountancy firm reaping the rewards of going ‘digital-first’ and removing the burden of paper from both their and their client’s daily processes. Clearly, there is an environmental benefit to such a move as well as the business efficiency gains.

“Our research found 60 per cent of accountancy firms aren’t planning on going paperless by 2020. But with this example from Murrison& Wilson, and over one million documents having been shared on IRIS OpenSpace, this is a sign accountants and their clients are beginning to realise the increased productivity benefits of a digital-first approach.”