Sharesight unveils fintech tool to aid tax accountants

Sharesight has announced a new fintech tracking tool designed to significantly reduce the time tax accountants spend managing intricate client investment portfolios.

New research conducted by the global platform headquartered in Australia and New Zealand reveals the inefficiency of accountants relying heavily on manual processes when preparing tax returns for clients with complex investment portfolios. The study highlights that various data inputs, such as CSV spreadsheets, app screenshots, and PDF statements, consume valuable hours for accounting firms.

Doug Morris, CEO of Sharesight, remarked, "Investor behaviour has evolved, with investors now dabbling in everything from ETFs to crypto. At tax time, clients are handing their accountants increasingly complex and global investment portfolios, often in the messiest formats imaginable."

Data from Sharesight indicates that two-thirds of its premium users trade with two or more brokers, while the average user possesses 34 individual assets spread over three portfolios. Despite this, 75% of accounting processes are still being conducted manually, presenting significant challenges.

Morris explained, "Trying to cope with complexity manually is very difficult at scale when you're chasing dozens of dividend statements and contract notes for trades, and that's just for one client." The findings propose that technology can provide a more efficient approach, saving time, reducing error rates, and offering a seamless, digital, and cyber-secure experience for clients.

Morris shared an example from the research: "One firm reported saving over 300 hours annually after switching to automated investment tracking via Sharesight. That's a significant cost saving. Moreover, it's error-free and live in real-time, so it eliminates lost hours from rework."

He also highlighted a case where an FCA-qualified practitioner achieved a 90% time saving by completing three hours of Excel work in just 20 minutes with Sharesight. Morris stated, "The advantages for accountants of using financial technology at tax time go further than time savings because the profession's role is expected to become significantly more analytical and advisory in the future."

The research promotes the adoption of secure, cloud-based portfolio tools that provide instantaneous data updates for real-time visibility, automatic taxable income reporting, and streamlined integrations with other platforms like Xero.

Sharesight aims to combat "shoebox syndrome" by offering features that include automatic retrieval of dividend and trade data from major brokers, assessment of foreign currency impacts on investment performance, and simple, secure connections for data sharing with clients.

Morris concluded, "Investment technology elevates the quality of service provided to the client in a way that spreadsheets can't." Sharesight's report, "Simplifying tax complexity for investors," is available for download on the company's website.

Sharesight's "Business" version of its app caters to accountants, financial advisors, and family offices by simplifying portfolio management for tax purposes. It automatically monitors listed and unlisted investments, including dividends, corporate actions, and client portfolio capital gains.

The app has over 400,000 users across more than 150 countries. The company, with headquarters in Wellington and Sydney, values the diversity of its team as key to creating products for investors and their serving professionals.