Media Releases - 2006 - Accountants are Key to Small Business Success
SurePayroll Survey Finds Accountants are Key to Small Business Success
Accountants are owners' most trusted advisor, but many small businesses still make due without an accountant.
CHICAGO — September 14, 2006 — To whom do small business owners turn when they need some helpful advice? In a face-off between bankers, lawyers and accountants, the accountants win hands down, according to a new survey by online payroll service SurePayroll. Nearly 82% of the small business owners surveyed turn to their accountant for business advice, rather than calling on a lawyer or banker. Lawyers nudged out bankers for second place, with 14% seeking primary counsel from lawyers and only 4% tapping their banker for advice. The survey, conducted in August, also asked small business owners which of the three advisors was most crucial to their business success. Again, accountants outranked bankers and lawyers, with 75% citing accountants as the key contributor to success, 13% choosing bankers and the remaining 12% selecting lawyers. "The research confirms our belief that most small business owners view their accountants as trusted business advisor who can help them to grow their business," notes SurePayroll president Michael Alter. "With SureChoice, our new payroll service product for accountants, we've made it easier for accountants to stay in touch with their clients, which will increase the strong bond between small business owners and their accountants." SurePayroll offers a simple online payroll service for small businesses. SureChoice enables accounting professionals to refer their clients to SurePayroll or resell SurePayroll's solution to clients under their own brand. Accountants gain access to all client data with a single login and can offer a service bureau-style payroll with no cash investment. "Our SureChoice offering for accountants is an excellent vehicle for accountants to improve their relationships with their clients," notes Alter. "It's a streamlined way to send payroll information back and forth, and it allows the CPA to have frequent insights into how their clients' businesses are faring. Our feedback from accountants is that SureChoice plays a large role in helping them to keep their clients happy and attract new clients as well." The survey also found that one out of 20 small business owners are dissatisfied with their accountants and will look to make a change if their accountants do not improve. When asked what accountants could do to improve their service to small business owners, most respondents suggested that accountants should offer more business advice and communicate with their clients more frequently. Despite the value that accountants appear to bring to the table, it's not viewed as a necessity by all business owners. Surprisingly, the SurePayroll survey results suggest that many small business owners operate their businesses without any counsel from an accountant. Indeed, 17% of the 550 business owners who participated in the survey indicate that they do not have an accountant. About SurePayroll's Commentary: SurePayroll regularly augments its data indices with surveys on a variety of topics of interest to small business owners. The August survey was conducted between August 3 and August 12 via email survey with a 90 percent confidence interval and a 5 percent error margin. About SurePayroll: In addition to providing payroll services directly to small business, SurePayroll also provides a private-label payroll service that allows SurePayroll's numerous partners to offer payroll processing to their small business clients. Business partners include ABN AMRO, Pitney Bowes, and MasterCard. SurePayroll will process nearly $3 billion in employee and contractor payroll payments in 2006. For Media Inquiries Contact:
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