Acting Office: ICAEW Technology Accreditation – The New Standard of Fully Integrated Practice Technology

Leadership teams know that operational efficiency is no longer a back-office concern — it is a strategic necessity. Technology should be the catalyst for this shift. Yet too often, firms are trapped operating legacy digital estates that are fragmented, difficult to manage, and are fundamentally incapable of supporting modern practice demands.

Acting Office has successfully achieved technology accreditation from the ICAEW. This signals a recognition of what the profession increasingly needs: A technological fresh start – a clean, enterprise-grade, fully integrated technology that can support your entire firm, (not just pockets of it) now, and decades into the future.

A Level of Scrutiny That Reflects the Risks and Realities Firms Now Manage

To achieve the technology accreditation, Acting Office underwent an extensive independent technical review conducted by RSM on behalf of ICAEW. This process assessed the platform across the areas that matter most to regulated practices: security, data integrity, resilience, functionality, and suitability for professional environments.

As a result, Acting Office is now accredited in two ICAEW software categories: Business Management Software and Financial Products Software.

This reflects two key points:

1. Breadth of capability — the platform doesn’t just plug gaps; it replaces entire categories of legacy systems including practice management, time & billing, accounts production, onboarding, and much more.
2. Architectural intent — Acting Office is engineered to unify processes that typically sit across multiple disconnected tools.

Fragmentation Is Not Scalable

Too many firms continue to operate a patchwork of legacy systems, standalone tools and manual workarounds. Collectively these disparate systems now create operational drag:

• Duplicated and inconsistent data
• Disconnected workflows creating inefficiencies clicking between products
• Limited visibility across the firm
• Elevated compliance and operational risk
• Higher long-term cost to maintain
• Reduced ability to innovate or scale

Progressive firms realise that fragmented systems and inconsistent data across various platforms inhibit the best possible client service.

An integrated solution is no longer a preference — it’s a prerequisite for growth.

Why the Single-Platform Model Matters

Acting Office was built to solve this fragmentation. It brings together the core operational components of an accounting firm — CRM, time & billing, workflow, client communication, compliance modules (accounts, tax etc), onboarding & AML, reporting & analytics, and much more - into one unified platform.

This approach enables firms to:

• Standardise processes across teams and service lines
• Reduce administrative burden and duplication
• Improve oversight of capacity, profitability and service levels
• Create a scalable structure without the disruption of bolted-on systems
• Strengthen compliance and data governance by design

The benefit is clear: a single operational environment that supports day-to-day efficiency and strategic decision-making.

Technology Designed with Firms & Not Just for Them

While Acting Office is comprehensive in scope, its purpose is not to add complexity. The platform has been shaped by ongoing collaboration with accounting practitioners and operational leaders who understand the realities of practice life.

The goal is simple: remove friction, improve accuracy and free teams to focus on higher-value work.

Time to act

If your firm is assessing how to simplify operations, strengthen performance and build a technology foundation fit for the next decade, we’d welcome a conversation. Even if this project is 18 months away, forward planning is key in any software migration or implementation.

Visit actingoffice.com or contact Mark@actingoffice.com to start the conversation.