Accounting professionals are awash in paper and are increasingly seeking easy-to-manage digital solutions that will help them print less and reduce the storage space needed for retention of printed documents.
That’s according to research conducted by Lexmark to identify unique document workflow management requirements and trends associated with specific industry verticals in the small and medium business (SMB) segment.
For the accounting vertical, research in the U.S., U.K., France and Italy encompassed representatives of public accounting, corporate accounting, government accounting, tax preparation, internal audit, and accounting systems.
Among common themes was the paper-intensive nature of the accounting profession. According to the research, accountants are more focused on printing device features that help with high volumes than their counterparts in other small businesses.
Respondents said that the following features were "very important" (multiple responses were permitted):
• Handles large print jobs, 73 percent
• High-yield supplies, 67 percent
• Large paper capacity, 60 percent
Most printing is black and white with the use of color being infrequent. Tax preparation periods generate very high volumes of printed documents.
To avoid mixing client documents, accounting professionals frequently rely on desktop laser printers and laser all-in-ones rather than shared, networked devices, making size and noise considerations significant. Workgroup monochrome printers also support accounting professionals. Printer speed, robustness and ease of use were identified as the most significant required attributes for printing devices.
Major challenges for the accounting profession include organizing client documents that are used in accounting activities, and the retention and storage of records and documents, which consume a significant amount of limited office space. Because of unique binding practices, two-sided printing is not as common as it is in other industries.
“Storage space and hardcopy file maintenance are significant issues within accounting. The future may not be paperless, but among mid-size and larger offices, we saw an increasing number of initiatives intended to reduce paper use,” said Marty Canning, Lexmark vice president and president of its Printing Solutions and Services Division.
To succeed, Canning explained, accounting professionals need access to sophisticated scanning devices. In addition, they need advanced PDF (portable document format) capabilities, including creation, search and form compilation.
