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New research has shed light on the vital role accountants and bookkeepers have played throughout COVID-19, with one in five SME owners saying their business would not have survived the pandemic if not for their support.
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1 in 5 SMEs flag accountants and bookkeepers as key to business survival
19 November 2021
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9 minute read
Findings from Intuit Quickbooks Back to Business research have been released this week, indicating that 81 per cent of those surveyed are confident they will return to pre-pandemic levels within this time frame.
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According to the research, accountants and bookkeepers have played a major role in these confidence levels, with key findings from the research including 70 per cent saying their accountant or bookkeeper helped them through the pandemic.
Further, one in five small businesses said their business would not have survived the pandemic if it wasn’t for their accountant or bookkeeper.
Looking ahead, 84 per cent of small businesses believe the support of their accountant or bookkeeper will be crucial in getting back to pre-pandemic levels.
Lars Leber, vice-president and country manager at Intuit QuickBooks Australia said the findings further demonstrate just how critical the accountant and bookkeeper roles are.
“With conditions starting to improve as we approach the end of the year, now is the perfect time to seek out the financial guidance small businesses need to ensure a bright future,” he added.
Digital take-up
In addition to providing insight on SME perceptions about confidence levels, vaccination mandates and adviser support, the research by Intuit Quickbooks also touched on digital adoption trends.
Throughout the pandemic, more than one in three small businesses pivoted their business to explore new revenue streams (37 per cent), with most (85 per cent) saying these streams will continue to be an essential part of their business, the research found.
“Among those who have implemented new technologies or plan to do so, the most common focuses are financial processes (43 per cent), e-commerce/marketing (41 per cent), inventory management (21 per cent), contract management (17 per cent) and human resources (15 per cent),” it said.
“Female-led small businesses are more likely to have implemented or plan to implement new technology to improve business processes than male-led counterparts (49 per cent vs 39 per cent). They are also more likely to have completed training related to their business during the course of the pandemic, or plan to in the next six months (43 per cent vs 31 per cent).”
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