Toronto, ON, April 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The accounting field faces a serious brain drain. As the bookkeeping workforce retires, few new hires are set to take their place – but one entrepreneur has established a business that can solve this problem, providing a simple remote income for moms, immigrants, workers without degrees, and more.
Fix My Books is the creation of Arielle Smith, and it helps small businesses throughout Canada with their bookkeeping and tax filing needs. Beyond the direct help that the company provides to clients with this all-important but often overlooked work, it also offers free tax advice via its YouTube channel, which boasts thousands of subscribers.
Smith launched her enterprise during the coronavirus pandemic, needing a sustainable income source she could do remotely. Armed with community college training, Smith learned to navigate Canadian tax law and bookkeeping. “I started with a $3,000 certificate,” she says, “and I built a six-figure business in 2 years.” But success didn’t come immediately – she only earned her first client after 217 proposals. However, this client remains a loyal customer to this day, and their rave review was the key Smith needed to grow the business at a rapid pace.
Now, she’s calling out to anyone interested in a new income stream to get in touch with her company to learn how they can fill the staffing shortage, and how businesses in all sectors can benefit from working with a bookkeeping firm.
Some of those advantages include assistance with tax preparation and filing, catering to businesses with complex financial data needs, ensuring financial records are accurate and consistent – and providing all this support around the clock from remote locations.
It’s an ideal time for the services that Fix My Books offers because news reports show an urgent crisis facing the accounting industry as many of its long-serving professionals prepare to retire. “The average age of a bookkeeper is between 50 to 60 years old,” says Smith. “I attended an accounting conference, and there were probably only five people there who were under 40 years old,” she adds.
Smith is warning the accounting sector about this looming challenge and hoping the younger generation – specifically, mothers, those without degrees, and those who want to work from home – will rise to meet it.
Smith adds that bookkeeping, in particular, could be a great match for military wives, who often relocate with their servicemember husbands and struggle to find work, as one news story highlights. “I understand the challenges these spouses face,” admits Smith. “When I moved often for my husband’s job, people told me all I did with my life was follow my husband around.” Smith sympathizes with spouses who want a career, not just a job for two or three years.
Entry into the world of bookkeeping is also affordable and straightforward, Smith adds. “You don’t need a degree, only Accounting 101, 102, and Managerial Accounting. You’d probably be better skilled than 80 percent of people in the bookkeeping industry with those three classes alone. You can do this job from any location, and you don’t need to be a math genius to be successful.” Smith emphasizes that learning the skills is what is important and not where you went to college.
“Bookkeeping is a great way to dip your toe into the accounting industry,” says Smith. “We like to say we are a purple cow in a blue ocean because there’s not much competition, and being young makes you a standout. You can do this from home. You’re not tied to a 9 to 5 schedule. You can work whenever and wherever you can.”
