In this Deep Dive webinar, we’ll pull back the curtain on some powerful (and often taken for granted) features that make collaboration smoother and reviews faster.
Okay. So good morning, everyone, again, and welcome to the latest in our Silverfin in action webinar series. Today, we’re going to be focusing on review and communication. Earlier in the series, we have already covered working papers, accounts production, and corporation tax. So if you haven’t already, definitely go and check those out. Before we get started, some quick intros from me. I’m Alicia, and I head up the customer success team here at Silverfin. Our role at Silverfin is to support our customers throughout their digital journey in implementing the Silverfin platform, and we’ve got a great team of CSMs who do that. Before working at Silverfin, I worked at Xero in their partner consulting team looking after the large strategic partners implementing Xero, throughout their clients, and also instilling some really good change management processes along the way, and that’s something we feel really strongly about, here at Silverfin as well. Before working at Xero, was a qualified accountant in practice, a midsized firm in Kent, and managed quite a big digital tran a digital transformation in that. So, hopefully, it means that I’m gonna be a really good brain for you to pick as we go through. I’m also joined by my colleague, Hope, so I’ll give her a moment to introduce herself. Good morning, everyone. I’m a customer success manager here at Silverfin. I’ve worked in the accounting industry since I left school, and I have never looked back. I previously worked in a top thirty firm, straight up school, and then I worked for another software provider. So, again, hopefully, I’m fully equipped to help you with any questions you have today, or ongoing. Lovely. Thanks, Hope. So before we get going, a little bit of housekeeping. This webinar is being recorded, so no worries if you need to drop off at any point or if you’d like to share what you’ve seen with your colleagues. You will get sent a link to that recording at the end. The q and a panel is definitely open because I’ve seen some of you writing on there. So, hopefully, you can all hear me now, and we don’t have any more technical issues. But if you do have questions as we go through, please do pop it in that q and a chat. Hope and I will be keeping an eye on it as, we we go through the webinar, but also we’ll if we’ve got some time, we’ll do some q and a at the end as well. There will also be a short poll at the end, so please do stick around, and fill that out for us. Your feedback is really valuable and help us to help us ensure that we, continue to deliver value with these sessions. Now I’m gonna start with a couple of slides to hopefully share where we believe Silverfin sits in the accounting firm of the future and how we help to address some of the challenges that we know that accountants are facing. Now we don’t just believe that currently the accountant’s technology is outdated. We actually think that the technology you’re using may be holding you back and limiting your potential. And let me show you what I mean by that. So a modern accountant may feel that they’ve got some really great technology across their firm, and we’re we’re using that really well. But often, even with great technology, that is still disjointed. So we still have overlap. We still have duplication. We still have processes that maybe don’t quite speak to each other seamlessly. And that could be across cloud, servers, and actually maybe even some manual processes. So there’s a real mix. And what we can see on the screen is that what that means is even if the individual technology is great, it’s still quite a busy atmosphere, and there’s still loads of room, for us to get some efficiency gains. Now even as if we move to the cloud as an accounting firm and we look to move us our software over to the cloud, it’s actually still pretty disconnected. We can have a cloud practice management tool, but that may still not talk to our cloud esigning tool, which may not link to the accounts production and CT, etcetera. We could have general ledger in our bookkeeping system in the cloud, which is great, but, actually, that doesn’t directly link to our account production software. So we still see the need to repeat tasks to copy data from one platform to another. As well as not being super efficient, these areas of data transfer increase the risk of human error and something going wrong. So it’s great to be in the cloud, and it’s great to have all of this technology. However, we’re still not quite reaping all of the rewards yet of being there. And this is where Silverfin really comes in. Silverfin looks to group and interlink some of these key core processes and data within your practice. As well as the Silverfin platform itself, which I’m gonna touch on and show you in just a moment, we do have an a, an open API, sorry, put my teeth back in, to help support linking all of your other great tools, so your practice managers, your e signing, etcetera. And what that means is that using Silverfin at the center, we can really start to see a truly connected tech stack that’s built up from these best in breed solutions. So on the screen at the moment, you will see, a diagram of the Silverfin platform, and we’ll have a quick run through and explain to you exactly what it is that Silverfin does. Silverfin, at its heart, is a compliance platform, and we link with your bookkeeping data. We have some favorites, of course, being those cloud software syncs where we can pull that data live from the bookkeeping system. However, we aren’t limited to cloud software. We can also really easily upload your client data into the Silverfin platform. So So whether that’s Excel records, whether that’s a full general ledger exported from a desktop system such as Sage, all of that data, however it starts, can come into Silverfin. And at the point it enters our Silverfin platform, we then standardize that using some really great AI tools. What that means is all of your clients, whichever bookkeeping software they’re on, at the point that we look to start prepare their working papers for either management accounts or year end, are on the same chart of accounts in the same way, and that’s that first place we really start to see those efficiencies. The real hub of Silverfin as a platform is its working papers. We have a really comprehensive digital working paper solution with loads of different templates, with AI threaded throughout to ensure that we’re getting the most out of that work and being as efficient as possible and standardizing that work across your client base, which is super important when we look at, how we can deliver time savings and start to, improve the services we’re offering to our clients. That working papers data, is then automatically flowing through into our accounts production and our corporation tax. And that’s probably the thing that people love the most about Silverfin is that when we’re working with data, we are only touching it once. So if we’re completing a fixed asset register within our working papers, at the same time, that is populating our fixed asset note in the accounts production software. That’s also populating our corporation tax calculations for its capital allowances, etcetera. So a true interlinking of that data right from the bookkeeping system all the way through to our APCT. And, of course, we then have the ability to file those externally with HMRC Companies House, deliver some great outputs for your clients in the form of financial statements and additional reporting. And we get the benefit right from the start to finish of having that one platform end to end. Now that Silverfin platform also, has an a also has AI threaded through it. I’ve mentioned the AI mapping where we map that data. But on top of that, we have an assistant tool that really guides you and supports your users throughout the preparation of their working papers and financial statements. We’ve got a great collaboration tool, and, also, we’ve built Silverfin with not just the preparer in mind, but also the managers and the partners because we understand that when we’re looking to save time and we’re trying to gain efficiencies, actually, the picking up and the putting down of those files at a review stage, is quite can be quite time consuming. And that’s where we really wanna see those efficiencies, and this is what Hope’s gonna show you a little bit more of, in just a few moments. So what does all of this mean when we talk about, allowing ourselves to be software agnostic but actually getting the benefits of standardization under that platform? And you can see some really great stats on the screen here, when we talk about return on objectives with our customers. There’s three up here. We’ve got many more. For example, BKL have said they typically see a fifty percent time saving across the twenty five hour job, which for an accounts accounts job is huge. Right? But it’s not just about time saving. Actually, getting those efficiencies and standardization allows us to have, further growth. So you can see Hurst two hundred k, growth in revenue when they’ve been using Silfen for three years. And then also being able to do more of that work, in an efficient manner. So PKF, a hundred and twenty percent increase in the number of reviews they were able to achieve within a month. Some really good stats to back up that platform. We’ve got some really great customers, and there’s just a few of them on the screen here. And I think what I really wanted to call out is that, historically, I think Silverfin has been seen as a software for big firms, and, certainly, we work with, a lot of the top one hundred, and that’s really great. But in no means is that the only place where Silverfin can benefit. We also work really well with those aspirational firms, firms such as Hurst, Larkengown, who are really wanting to grow. The technology really supports that. For firms looking to go through m and a and who are acquiring rapidly, and that standardization piece is so important as we look to, roll out software across multiple offices. That’s where Silverfin can really come into its own as well. And we’ve also got some great customers that are just starting their accounting journey. Maybe they’re smaller firms, looking to grow quickly, wanting to be, the pioneers of technology. So across the board, those efficiencies and pain points can actually be quite similar despite the size, and we love working with those customers of all sizes. Last one from me then is just a couple, of numbers to leave you with. As a software, we’ve been around a little while now. We’re certainly not a flash in the pan. Globally, we’re serving over a thousand accounting firms, including just over thirty percent of the top one hundred in the UK, which is great. Across those client firms, we’re managing over four hundred thousand client files, across seventeen countries. So although in the UK, we are still growing really quickly and we’ve got some great customers, actually, that presence, is global, and we’re really lucky to be backed by Fisma, enabling us to continue growing and delivering that service. Enough about Silverfin, though. Let’s hand over to Hope to show you what I’m sure you will come to see, and that is a deeper dive on how we review and communicate within the Silverfin platform. Make sure you can see my screen okay. So yes. So thank you, Alicia. As an ex account myself, definitely find that one of the biggest challenges and time wasters that I would face would be keeping track of what’s been done and what still needs attention on a file and all whilst trying to communicate efficiently and effectively with my team and my clients. Now, normally, this may mean using an email chain, sticky notes, or even dreaded spreadsheets. But as many of us probably know, these methods can easily lead to a lot of duplicated effort and miscommunication. So today, I’m gonna be showing you Silverfin’s communication and review features. And, hopefully, this will resolve some of those issues, but also give you a much more efficient and structured way to collaborate and review directly within the platform. So our communications can be raised across any workflow by any individual. Therefore, whether you are preparing or reviewing a file, you’re able to flag something for review, ask a question, or point out an issue that needs resolving. So at the moment, I’m preparing my file ready for review, and I’m currently working on my fixed asset register. So in this example, I just wanna let the reviewer know, that I have already looked at this and seen that any of these assets are on a finance agreement. Now rather than going to speak to my manager or speaking to the reviewer about that, I can just simply raise a communication on the template. So I can do that in a couple of different ways. So first, where I can open up the communications panel on the right. Now I can add a message here, and I instantly get prompted with two options. So a note will tend to be the general information that I want to share, and the to do, it tends to be a task that needs to be completed. So I’m gonna just raise this as a note because I just wanna let my team know that I’ve already thought ahead, and they don’t need to chase me or the client for any unnecessary information. Now whilst writing my message, whether it’s a note or a to do, I have the ability to format my text as well as including a link or an attachment if necessary. You can also change the message visibility as well. So if I feel like I’m having to write the same note year on year, I don’t have to do that. I can just pin it so that the note is visible in all and upcoming periods. In Sylvan, we also have the ability to give access to external and internal users as well. So we can use this app function here to tag specifically anyone who has access to the file. So those external users may be clients, or external auditors, or I can tag someone who maybe I already know is reviewing the file. So I’m gonna tag Curtis because I know that Curtis is reviewing this later on. So I want him to know that I’ve already considered that the assets are under finance agreement. So then he knows that this note is specifically for him, and he’s also gonna be notified by this as well. So he’s gonna come into the platform and instantly see that this has already been considered, and he doesn’t need to chase me or chase up the client, on that either. To make this even more precise, you can also add tags at the bottom here. So, for example, on this, I can put a point for manager. And this way from the overview screen, which I’ll show you in a second, there you can easily distinguish between the messages raised. Now after saving the message, it will show up in the right hand side on the communication panel. Now you can see here that there’s already been a, a to do raised for Curtis asking him to speak to the client. And this was raised in context, and we know this because we can select the message that was attached to the input field. Now this will take us straight to where the message was raised. This avoids any confusion. As we can see, when Sylvia raised this message, it wasn’t exactly clear what asset, she wanted Curtis to have a look at. But by adding that in context, we’re able to see, okay. That’s the desk we want them to speak to. So in order to do that, all you gotta do is hover over any bit of text, and you can see the little communication bubble there, and you can add a message just how we just did. I find this really helpful because it really points out, exactly what asset I’m referring to. Now Sylvia raised this before the client phoned me this week. So now Curtis doesn’t need to do this task. So So I can reply to this task and update it, and that way Curtis will be notified with my response. Or I can put the client’s notes in there, and then that way it will save. And then Curtis will get a notification of that update as well. If necessary, I can also edit the tags on this. I can edit the note, or I can remove it, or mark it as read and or unread in this side panel too. Now as this was a task, I can also have the ability to mark it as complete. So if I don’t want there to be an audit log there, I can just mark it as done, and we can say that we have spoken to the client about that. Now if you want to see all of your communications raised across a file in one place, then you can go to the client overview within the communications tab. Now this gives you a single list of all of the notes and to dos raised across the file. So from here, you can quickly switch between all and unread, which is really handy for that end of day triage where you wanna clear anything that still needs your attention. Now you’ll notice down here that they’re also grouped, by each section of the file. So in this case, we’ve got our working papers, management accounts, and our year end. And that’s really helpful, especially when you’ve got different teams working on your file, and they wanna quickly go into that section to preview what, notes specifically for that team. Along the top, we have also have different options to filter. So we can filter by note types, so we can filter by whether they are to dos or notes. And we can also filter by tags. So, for example, if we would select questions for client, we can then instantly get our agenda of open client queries. And as a manager, I could also review by points for manager. So I can choose that tag and I know exactly what’s directed at me, so there’s no need to hunt for the templates to find these when I’m about to review the file. Along the top here, we can also review by author to see what was raised. And I also really like using the search bar here. So if I was to type in r and d, then we can see a nut there’s a nudge there to review the r and d claim and its status immediately. So if it’s already done, I don’t need to reopen it. And if not, I can pick it up. I think this is really great because it means I don’t need to go hunting for an email chain. I can easily see that this has been followed up already by my team, and I don’t need to do any more unnecessary work. It’s also really easy to manage messages directly from here too, so we can reply to messages if necessary. And we also have the functionality to edit the tags from within here, edit the message, remove it, mark it as read or unread, and also we can open these in context. If I just clear the filters I’ve applied, that, fixed asset register note I raised earlier, you can see I can quickly go to the fixed asset register template, or I can open it in context from here. Now by doing this, this makes sure that it’ll take me straight to back to where the template was, where the message was raised. And that way, I can just quickly see what, the team was referring to. So that means there’s no time wasted for me as a reviewer having to hunt through the file to see exactly what was raised on each template. Now once a file is prepared, managers or partners tend to want to go in and review that file and the comms. And at Silverstone, we do understand that, obviously, you need this process to be as slick and efficient as possible. Obviously, not only to save time on those high charge out rates, but to ensure that nothing is missed at this important stage. So in SilverStone, we can easily navigate to the review panel at the top here. And then this presents, the review screen in a much easy to review format. So as a manager, it’s really easy to navigate through because it follows the same structure that the workflow is set out in going from balance sheet to profit and loss templates. Now every manager reviews differently, and they may not want to follow the same structure. So you can also navigate through the file using the tree menu on the left. Now if you’re using the left hand panel to work through, you can see exactly what’s been reviewed by yourself by seeing a green tick that has appeared. The self in also allows for multi file reviews. So when a partner reviews a template after me, an additional different colored tick will also appear to represent their review. Now as we work our way through, we can see what is and isn’t reconciled because we have our, red triangles, which show that action is needed, and our green circles show that there is no further action needed. So we can easily see that this is fully reconciled, and we can quickly go down to the bottom and mark it as reviewed. Now if anything did look odd, then I could also open up the messages on the right, and I can add a message. And I can quickly add a tag that is a question for the client or is a point of a manager, or I can simply just add a message like I showed you earlier. I I really like also you can also open up the audit log as well. So from here, I can see where, the most recent edits were done and who raised what in here. So if I’m looking reviewing this and I’m thinking, okay. This looks a bit odd. Who do I need to speak to? I don’t need to chase around the team to find out who last worked on this. I can easily see that Sylvia last worked on this, and I can instantly raise communication directly for for Sylvia to take a little look later on. Now I find it even even easier to, review from this screen using the show button at the top. Now by doing this, I can check any that still have to dos or any checks and also can see what, hasn’t been yet reviewed by me. Now this ensures I’m not wasting time looking at things I’ve already reviewed, and it’s really helpful, especially I’m always in and out of things throughout the day. So I can easily pop in, change my filter, and just quickly go through and mark things as reviewed by myself. Now you can also open the period comparison on the top, and I can then compare to a previous period as well. Now a great part about the review functionality in Silverfin is that if any figures do change since you last reviewed a template, Silverfin will flag up the changes that have been made since your last visit and remark the template as unreviewed. So this means you’re getting full transparency across the file. Now I really hope I’ve shown you that Sylvan’s communication review features give you a lot more than just a way to log comments. They create a real structured transparent process where preparers and reviewers can collaborate in real time, and it just stops that tracing of tasks across inboxes and spreadsheets, and everything sits inside the client file visible and and accountable, and it all links back to the data itself. So all in all, that means fewer missed points, faster reviews, and a smoother sign off process. And most importantly, it frees up your time as an accountant to focus on those insights and, client conversations rather than doing the admin that we all don’t like doing. But if you do have any questions, is there any questions in the q and a that anyone has on anything I’ve showed?