**Main motivation:** In 2023, Mighty Accounting (MA) - an expert financial services digital technology team - collaborated with a group of one-person Limited companies (freelancers) to investigate the potential of creating a first-of-its-kind automated accounting tool (called MIGHTY) tailored to their needs. These freelancers, (such as business-consultants, designers, videographers, lawyers and private doctors), primarily charge based on time or project rates. Consequently, their accounts are simple and standardised, but their annual accounting process is time consuming, stressful and costly. This issue is common across freelance sectors, and is known to contribute to late or incorrect tax returns to HMRC.
The feasibility work that underpins this project - which was informed by freelancers, accountancy and digital banking experts - identified that there are many bookkeeping products on the market, but no accountancy tools. Bookkeeping and accounting, though often used interchangeably, serve distinct functions within the financial landscape:
* _Bookkeeping_ primarily concerns itself with the recording of financial transactions, encompassing areas such as general transactions, invoicing, payroll, and VAT.
* _Accounting_ outputs are more comprehensive and includes the yearly submission of Annual Accounts and Corporation Tax filings to HMRC & Companies House. The process of accounting is rules-based, formulaic, and of a higher level of complexity than bookkeeping.
**Technological Challenges:** MIGHTY requires sophisticated algorithms for precise calculation of Annual Accounts and Corporation Tax. Key needs include cloud infrastructure, device compatibility, automated backups, intuitive reporting, tax strategies, user-friendliness, and error prevention.
**Wider Impacts**: By reducing cost, time and complexity of accounting, freelancers can redirect their efforts towards business expansion, thereby stimulating higher growth. Furthermore, automation of accountancy can enhance compliance by minimising human errors and ensuring the prompt submission of necessary filings. This not only aids in circumventing potential fines and penalties but also alleviates the stress associated with accounting, granting peace of mind to countless small business owners. 2019 FSB studies indicate that financial barriers/stresses play a pivotal role in hampering the growth of businesses.
MIGHTY aims to support freelancers to replace more expensive human accountants. Given the vast freelance community (there are 4.1m one-person limited companies in the UK), this could lead to a successive decrease in the accountancy workforce annually. However, the current accountancy sector grapples with the capacity to meet demand. During the project's feasibility study, discussions with three leading accountancy firms from the 'Top 100' revealed their interest in white-labelling MIGHTY to better serve their clientele and enhance operational efficiency.