Going Dutch: the shared benefits of Cloud accounting
Cloud-based services are very much in vogue – transforming business operations across all
industries. The growth of the Cloud is in no small part due to the multiplicity of operational benefits
it can provide – bringing speed, efficiency and agility to organisations, as well as instant access to
real-time information and integrated connectivity. But whilst Cloud is very much a modern
phenomena, some companies have been using it for a number of years. In fact, the Dutch
accountancy firm, Ten Kate Huizinga, has been on the journey to the Cloud since 2005 – and, as an
early adopter, has found that Cloud accounting has helped its business – and its clients – become
much more proactive, and aligned for growth.
The business
Ten Kate Huizinga is a Netherlands-based professional services company specialising in accountancy
and tax consultancy. The firm, founded in 1947, boasts more than 200 employees across nine offices
and provides accountancy services for mid-market companies, small businesses and self-employed
individuals.
Despite its long-standing presence in the Dutch market, the organisation has a strong focus on
innovation and has adapted its services in line with changing market needs. A good example of this
came in 2005 when Ten Kate Huizinga became the first Dutch accountancy firm to make the move to
an online accounting model – the start of a long-term partnership with Twinfield, Wolters Kluwer’s
online accounting solution. Nine years later, the company continues to optimise technology to
support its growing customer-base, and has extended its infrastructure to provide Cloud-based
accounting services. The move to the Cloud has strengthened the company’s reputation as one of
the most forward-thinking accountancy firms in Holland, and allowed Ten Kate Huizinga to deliver
proactive client services in line with its brand ethos: working ahead, looking forward.
Transforming the model
“The accounting model in Holland has changed dramatically in the past few years,” says René
Scholten, Director and Co-Owner, Ten Kate Huizinga. “Customers want ready access to financial
information, so that they can base critical business decisions on real-time data. Cloud-based
accounting provides them with that opportunity; it helps them become more proactive. Our
partnership with Twinfield began in 2005 with our first step into online accounting. It’s evolved into
very successful relationship, built around the delivery of cloud-based services, that is enabling us to
help empower our clients with valuable live and dynamic information.”
Prior to 2005, Ten Kate Huizinga had delivered a very traditional accounting service; predominantly
producing annual management accounts for clients, based on a retrospective analysis of their
previous year’s financials. “We were largely reliant on using individual clients’ own accounting
software – offline – and would commonly gain access to their numbers only once a year,” says René.
“But since moving to the Cloud, we’ve been able to offer a more proactive, advisory service – rather
than simply providing standard administrative accounting. The Cloud has transformed what we can
offer our clients.”
Shared benefits
The benefits of the Cloud, says René, are numerous – for both Ten Kate Huizinga and its clients.
“Primarily, the Cloud provides genuine cost-efficiencies. From our point of view, the main costs are
incurred at set-up – but once the system is in place, the incremental costs of introducing new clients
to it are low. This means that we are able to price our services very competitively, whilst still
guaranteeing the highest quality to our customers. So there are real economies of scale.
“From a client perspective, Cloud gives customers the opportunity to access their actual numbers ‘in
build’. They can see how they performed yesterday, today. This real-time reporting is hugely
advantageous because it allows clients to evaluate their current position, so that they can focus on
their business priorities with clear and accurate information.”
The advent of real-time reporting has allowed Ten Kate Huizinga to extend its capabilities beyond
traditional accountancy – and instead offer value-added services to clients. “In the past, customers
had simply handed their bookkeeping over to us for checking and auditing. In the process, clients
were not optimising the skill sets we had as a business – they were just getting basic accounting.
With the Cloud, we are now better-placed to offer proactive advice in real time – this is helping them
to grow their businesses, and allowing us to deliver true value. It’s also driven a further costefficiency in that we don’t have to bill clients for work they can do themselves – we simply charge
for a premium service in areas where we have strong expertise.”
Strategic objectives
The partnership with Twinfield, and in particular the evolution to cloud-based accounting, has
helped Ten Kate Huizinga develop an infrastructure that provides holistic business intelligence for its
clients. “By putting their primary processes online, customers can have a much better overview of
business performance,” says René. “But more than that, because the Twinfield solution offers
interoperability with other software, customers have the opportunity to see exactly what is
happening throughout their organisation, in real time, all in once place. This dashboard approach
can help them contain costs, manage operations and drive productivity – and it can also help
generate live information to support strategic decisions such as divestiture, M&A, expansion and, of
course, growth. It really does bring added value.”
René says the growth of Cloud accounting in Holland has not only been driven by the obvious
productivity and efficiency gains it can provide companies, but also by the fact that it is simple and
intuitive to use. Moreover, advances in technology now mean that data security is no longer a
market fear, and customers trust the online model.
Collaborative relationships
Cloud accounting has helped Ten Kate Huizinga develop stronger partnerships with its clients,
transforming the traditional relationship into one where engagement is much more frequent. “We
really do work together with our customers to help them interpret their numbers, and understand
what they mean strategically. And this intelligence also helps our own employees, who are again
empowered by these insights. From a professional development perspective, Cloud is helping our
employees develop new skills and tackle emerging challenges as the marketplace evolves.”
Ten Kate Huizinga’s relationship with Twinfield is equally collaborative. “It’s a true partnership. What
we get from Twinfield goes well beyond technology – it’s a service,” says René. “We share the same
vision in that we both want to help support our clients in the best possible way, and to implement
tools that can help them grow their businesses. We trust each other to do that – and we certainly
trust the Twinfield solution to bring success for our clients.”
Barbara Kroll, Managing Director, Twinfield UK, comments, “The journey Ten Kate Huizinga has been
on is one which many UK accountancy firms are just starting out on. The lessons both Ten Kate
Huizinga and Twinfield have learned along the way are very much underpinning the service we
provide our UK clients, who are consequently embracing the vision and are now starting to reap the
benefits of Cloud accounting at a rapid rate.”
The journey to the Cloud – which began nine years ago – is helping Ten Kate Huizinga differentiate
its business offering. “It’s given us real competitive advantage and helped make our brand stand out
from the crowd. Our customers really want to look forward – and our brand ethos reflects that
market need. The Cloud is a key component within that brand – and it’s embedded in everything we
do.”
ENDS
About Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer had 2013 annual revenues of €3.6 billion, employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide,
and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext
Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored
Level 1 American Depositary Receipt programme. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the
US (WTKWY).
Follow @wolters_kluwer and @wolterskluwerUK
About Twinfield
Twinfield is the European market leader in the area of online accounting and part of the Wolters Kluwer Tax &
Accounting division, the global leading provider of tax, accounting and audit information, software and
services. Online accounting via Twinfield means flexible accounting, with a range of subscriptions to suit small
and large organisations. Twinfield also ensures efficient, secure, real-time data exchange between clients and
administration or accountancy firms. Because Twinfield works as a web application, users can access and
exchange financial reports online anywhere and anytime via a secure internet connection. For more
information about Twinfield in the UK go to www.twinfield.co.uk.
Follow @TwinfieldUK or search for ‘Twinfield UK’ on Facebook.
Media:
David Wells
Head of Communications
Wolters Kluwer UK
Direct +44 (0)20 8247 1169
Mobile +44 (0)7717 304322
[email protected]
Josephine Timmins / Lucy Robinson
Director / Senior Account Manager
Neo PR
t. +44 (0)1296 733867
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[email protected] / [email protected]