18th September, 2025
Switching to the cloud has been a hot topic for accounting practices for the last decade. Now, with talent shortages in the sector, rising client expectations, and AI entering the picture, considering a move to cloud-based accounting and compliance software is even more relevant.
When time and clients are scarce, cloud platforms help boost efficiency, deliver smoother services to customers, and give you more flexibility in terms of remote access and tech integration. They make life simpler for your employees, so it’s more likely they’ll stay with your practice long term.
But despite the positives, some accounting practices are still wary of moving to the cloud. Leaders worry about the disruption of a major migration process or the risk of losing client data. Some don’t quite trust their internet access and think that their work platforms will be less reliable or less secure. They like the desktop systems they’ve been using for years and don’t think the benefits of the cloud will be worth a move.
This feeling may be understandable, but accounting practices that don’t shift to the cloud miss the key benefits of flexibility, access and efficiency. In our uber-competitive current market, when other practices are already taking advantage of cloud services, that’s a significant risk.
More than just a tech update, shifting to the cloud is a strategic move that can help you stay competitive in a challenging market. Modern cloud platforms are built for smooth, streamlined compliance work, helping set you up for scalable growth.
They can handle tax compliance tasks from start to finish, often with less manual work than desktop systems. With built-in security features and secure storage, they keep client and practice data safe without impacting access.
It’s about keeping up with the wider accounting sector, as our recent MYOB Accounting Industry Monitor Report found. The majority of accounting practices are actively looking for cloud software solutions, with successful, growing practices even more likely to invest in cloud tech.
Cloud tax compliance can help your practice:
Worried that a cloud platform won’t be able to do everything your desktop software can? These days, that’s not the case. Modern tax compliance platforms can create all types of tax return forms, lodge returns with the ATO, create workpapers and financial statements, connect to client ledgers, and even send documentation to clients for approval.
In other words, end-to-end tax compliance can be managed in the cloud, with no need to switch between platforms or pull up information from your desktop software.
Cloud technology makes it easier to connect and automate tasks. For example, an automated approvals workflow can make sure the right documents get to the right people. Working in the cloud means documents are updated in real-time, so you and your team are always working from the same playbook.
This real-time access has another significant upside: It’s ideal for remote and flexible work schedules. Working in the cloud means that your team can work from anywhere with an internet connection. In an environment where talent is scarce and flexible work arrangements are now standard, this is a must.
Two more positives are updates and AI functionality. Cloud software tends to be updated frequently, tweaking existing functions and adding new features. It’s continually updated to match new rules and regulations, so you don’t get stuck using an old form or tax rule. New cloud software is increasingly AI-powered, with features like AI profiling and AI assistants embedded into the tech. For practices that want to try AI without risking a new, untested tech, this is the ideal way in.
The benefits of cloud migration are clear. but how does the transition work? Moving your tax workflows from one system to another can involve scoping out new software, cleaning and organising data, migrating client data, and configuring your new platform with specific settings and details.
From there, you’ll need to train your team in the new system and ensure that it’s working properly. Even automations and AI tools need human oversight.
Of course, the complexity depends on the specific software involved. For example, if you’re an MYOB desktop user moving to MYOB’s cloud platform, there’s no large-scale data migration required. You can trial a single return in the cloud before you commit, and your client data automatically syncs across cloud and desktop systems.
A ‘change champion’ can be a boon here. This is a person on your team who takes responsibility for the migration process, coordinates with external providers and support teams, and helps train other employees in new systems and processes. If you don’t appoint a dedicated change champion, it’s easy for the migration project to lose momentum.
MYOB Practice Compliance was purpose-built to be a bridge between desktop and the cloud for MYOB AE/AO users. It’s meant to help desktop users take advantage of the cloud at their own pace, without an arduous migration process or complex implementation.
The platform is free for current AE and AO users. With Tax, Client Accounting and Client Workspace modules, it covers all the accounting bases and sets you up for end-to-end compliance in the cloud.
Like all MYOB products, it’s designed to fit the needs of Australian and New Zealand accounting practices, with preset returns for all major tax types, including individuals, companies, trusts and partnerships, and more workpapers rolling out all the time.
The best part? You don’t have to make a big decision about switching to the cloud. Instead, you can start with a single return and see how you go. Hover over a return in your AE or AO software and select ‘Open in Practice Compliance.’
From there, your data will carry over to the cloud, where you’ll be able to complete and lodge the return. You can keep shifting returns and other documents over to the cloud at a pace that works for you and your team, and continue working in both platforms as needed, with no set timeline for migration.
The main takeaway: Shifting to the cloud is much simpler when you don’t have to find a new provider or migrate a vast trove of data to a new system. Whether you choose to move client-by-client or create a staged cloud migration plan. It’s more about getting the benefits of digital transformation with minimal risk or disruption to your practice.
Ready to make the move to Tax in Practice Compliance? Here’s what you need to know.
Information provided in this article is of a general nature and does not consider your personal situation. It does not constitute legal, financial, or other professional advice and should not be relied upon as a statement of law, policy or advice. You should consider whether this information is appropriate to your needs and, if necessary, seek independent advice. This information is only accurate at the time of publication. Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained on this webpage, MYOB disclaims, to the extent permitted by law, all liability for the information contained on this webpage or any loss or damage suffered by any person directly or indirectly through relying on this information.