UK firms failing to take advantage of new innovation trends

According to research by the CBI and Leeds University, UK firms are falling short of the Government’s commitment to raising UK investment in R&D. The Government set out to raise R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027 and 3% in the long term.

However the report also identifies a “clear shift in R&D spend towards software and services, highlighting a critical demand for businesses to make better use of their data and exploit opportunities to access new data.”

We are in the process of mapping out our current use of data and how to better mine the wealth of information to identify opportunities for our clients.

“Today’s clients are much more tech savvy”, said Alan Nesbitt, BD Partner. “We are seeing a big shift in our clients’ expectations in terms of the service that they require. Gone are the days of the traditional accountant that you only see once a year. Businesses today want regular access to data driven information about their business performance so they can be agile to respond to market demands. We need to be able to assist businesses in identifying that information and how it can help them.” continued Alan.

We are swamped with data these days but determining what information is important and which has an impact on your business that you can act on is the key. Modern accountants are helping businesses to set up the visibility of their data and reporting structures to allow them to make critical business decisions in a timely manner.

There are a lot of firms out there however, that just do not have the systems in place to be able to provide them with reliable or useful data interrogation systems.

Funding the technological future

Many people do not realise that there are pots of funding available, not only to assist in R&D but also to assist in implementing the tech to enable businesses to make data-driven decisions in terms of R&D.

If you are considering R&D or looking to improve your data driven business processes, then speak to us to see what tax benefits are available. Read the CBI report for further information here.