Big events that shook public practice

The article is relevant to members in Australia and New Zealand and was current at the time of publication.

1980s–1990s: Computers, then electronic lodgement

When Keith Clissold FCPA started in accounting in 1973, everything was typed or handwritten and backed up by carbon copies. 

“When computers arrived in the 1980s, we had to lodge returns on a floppy disc but still provide paper copy,” recalls Clissold, Director of Metropolitan Taxation Services.

Electronic lodgement was not widely adopted until the 1990s, but once embedded, it fundamentally changed the profession. Instant financial reports, real-time profit and loss statements and live cash flow tracking became possible.

Neale Blackwood CPA, Principal at A4 Accounting, says digitisation had unintended consequences. 

“Personal computers made white collar crime easier because they gave individuals tools to manipulate large volumes of data easily and quickly with less oversight than paper-based systems.”

1985: The birth of Excel

In 1985, Microsoft released Excel initially for Apple Macintosh, followed in 1987, by the first Windows version. 

Excel democratised data, says Blackwood, who trains accountants and businesses on how to better use the program.

“Until then, big data was difficult to work with. It took Excel to display it in rows and columns – a layout accountants are comfortable with. Excel was like the middleman; it could take data from anywhere and allow an accountant to produce a report.”

Blackwood adds that now, Excel works well with AI.

“You can ask AI to give you insights into Excel data, such as what product sold the most or to look for any outliers it can spot well. The latter is especially useful for auditing.”

1991: MYOB lands

MYOB marked a significant shift for small and mid-sized practices. The software reduced administrative time and improved compliance accuracy. With the addition of cloud modules, accountants and clients can now access and update financial data in real time.

2000: GST (1986 New Zealand)

New Zealand was first out of the gate with a value-added tax, introducing a GST in 1986. Nearly 15 years later, on 1 July 2000, Australia followed. GST may have replaced wholesale sales tax and several state-based taxes but compliance work doubled, maintains Peter Mogg FCPA, of Moggs Accounting + Advisory. 

“Instead of preparing one annual tax return, accountants were assisting with quarterly BAS statements. It put enormous strain on resourcing.”

For clients, the change often meant higher accounting costs without obvious commercial benefit. 

Clissold benefited from a client dealing with New Zealand GST. “It proved good grounding. With Australian GST, there is still confusion with clients about what is claimable as an input tax credit and what is not. But the introduction of the Simpler BAS by the ATO has taken some pressure off reporting.”

Early 2000s: Enter the cloud

Cloud accounting began gaining traction in the early 2000s, but the market accelerated with the arrival of Software-as-a-Service platforms, such as New Zealand’s Xero.

The benefits extend beyond efficiency. Accountants can access data 24/7 from any location, collaborate simultaneously on files and rely on secure offsite backups. Paper archives have largely disappeared.

1987 and 2008: Economic downturns

Recessions and market shocks have repeatedly tested public practice, reinforcing the profession’s role as both compliance adviser and business counsellor. The 1987 stock market crash, known as Black Monday, globally, but Black Tuesday in Australia and New Zealand, had a profound and particularly lasting effect. 

“Many clients lost money in shares and super,” Clissold says, “but a lot of businesses fought through. The ATO was understanding, allowing payment plans and extensions.”

The Global Financial Crisis in 2008 and 2009 caused a rise in unemployment and severe market stress. 

However, Australia and New Zealand were remarkably resilient in terms of overall economic impact, recessionary depth and market recovery time.

2020: COVID-19 

When lockdown began, many accountants became de facto psychologists overnight, notes Michelle Frey CPA, owner of Tak Advice. “I had clients crying on the phone. Their businesses had stopped and they had no money to pay their mortgages.

“Then, once the government introduced the JobKeeper payment, we became the administrators, taking that on as well as our other work.

“We weren’t allowed to go into our offices and, as we were working with paper, it was hard to review work by the team, so we had to quickly adapt our way of working.”

Frey says dealing with the administrative burden of governments grants took its toll. 

“At the end of the pandemic, I was burnt out. It took me another year to recover and two years to get back to speed on our normal work.”

However, the COVID crisis forced further efficiency into accountancy practices, spawning flexibility at the same time. 

“Post-COVID and new means of communication, such as Teams or Google Meet, have continued to thrive, while working from home has, in some instances, increased productivity,” Mogg concludes.

Now: Generative  AI

Big data spawned modern AI, which represents the latest technological shift in accountancy. 

Ryan Richardson CPA, of TMN Consulting  notes: “Now AI is affecting every part of the profession. There will be a transition period. Now is the time to learn and adapt.”

Frey sees AI as a positive that will help practitioners more strategically. “The issue is going to be that a lot of younger accountants coming up might rely on AI but don’t have the experience to know if the answers they get are correct or not.”