The group of experienced, tech-savvy ICB members met for the first time last month in an informal session to share ideas, frustrations, and aspirations for the future of bookkeeping technology.
Introducing the initiative, Sobi Hariharan, ICB’s Head of Strategic Partnerships, emphasised the importance of involving those at the frontline of bookkeeping in product development:
"This is a new venture aimed at collaborating with companies to make sure they truly understand the bookkeeping market. We want to bring tech-savvy bookkeepers together to help improve the tools available to the profession."
The board’s role is to offer insight and feedback directly to software providers and to highlight where support, training and functionality could better reflect the way bookkeepers actually work.
In the meeting, Chair Lara Manton C.MICB highlighted that while software can be powerful, it often lacks the training and support bookkeepers need to unlock its full potential:
"Software companies need to offer more one-to-one support. Bookkeepers are typically using all the features - and often more intensively than accountants - so we’re the ones who can really help improve these tools."
Arianna Helm MICB PM.Dip added that the wider business and accountancy communities still underestimate the value of bookkeepers and their expertise:
"Too often, software is marketed as easy to use, which leads to mistakes when business owners try to do it all themselves. The reality is that bookkeepers play a critical role, and better support from providers would help raise standards across the board."
ICB Head of Marketing Elizabeth Carter said the board was about creating space for bookkeepers to influence change as a collective:
"We're bringing together the community to offer a collective bookkeeper view. Each member has different experiences of software, and we want to encourage a really healthy and competitive software community."
"As the only governing body for bookkeepers, we see this as a really important stream of our work. Your contribution helps us create a strong, supportive ecosystem for software and for the profession as a whole."
The members of the new ICB Technology Advisory Board are:
