The challenges
As a firm, Larking Gowen were facing a number of challenges. With 6 different offices, there were many different ways of working, which led to inefficiency. As did the fact that staff spent too much time rekeying data – firstly into the accounts production package and then again into their tax system for example. And the best of breed software packages they were using for accounts and tax production were, as well as being unconnected, overkill for the majority of their typical SME client’s needs.
The Solution
Larking Gowen turned to Silverfin to streamline their compliance, using our accounts production package combined with our digital working papers. They’re also trialling Corporation Tax and Silverfin Assistant, the AI-powered tool for data quality checking.
Where have they seen benefits?
Faster accounts submission process: Despite initial concerns from the team that Silverfin was another new tool for them to use, they’ve quickly seen the benefits. Reducing the time it takes to submit a set of accounts from 15-30 mins, with their previous package, to 5 to 10 minutes at most.
Standardisation across offices: Now that everyone follows the same best practice workflow, they can ensure there is one Larking Gowen way of preparing a set of accounts, resulting in higher quality service delivery.
Simplified communication: Thanks to the integrated messaging within the Silverfin platform, staff are able to collaborate in real-time, making sure files can be reviewed more quickly and accurately.
Proactive client management: With Silverfin’s Insights module, the team is able to automate the querying of their client data holistically. This means portfolio holders get proactive notifications of points of interest within a file, so they can reach out to clients with valuable advice or preempt any issues.