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| Intuit Announces 2003 “Voices of Small Business and Accountants” Study; Results Show Accountants Investing in Growth and Increasing Services for Clients |
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| Second Annual Study Shows Small Businesses Are Optimistic Despite Economic Conditions and Continue to Put Trust In Their Accountants |
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San Diego, Calif. -
July
22,
2003 -
Intuit Professional Accounting Solutions, the business unit of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), focused on serving the needs of accountants and their small business clients, today announced the results of its second annual nationwide "Voices of Small Businesses and Accountants" study, conducted in conjunction with Decipher Inc., an independent market research firm.
According to the 2003 "Voices of Small Businesses and Accountants" study, accountants continue to make great strides in strengthening their relationships with clients, and are investing more in their own practices in order to succeed and improve client service. The study found that the majority of accountants surveyed (76 percent) have made changes within their practice in order to maintain their success, with 19 percent adding new services to their list of client offerings, as well as 17 percent investing in new technology. In addition, 20 percent of accountants are investing more in their own continuing education and industry knowledge. Key sources for training and information are professional accounting and industry associations - 63 percent of accountants belong to an industry association, which they feel has been beneficial in helping them keep up with industry trends, industry regulations and learn best practices.
In addition to this positive outlook, the study also reveals interesting findings on areas where accountants can continue to improve their client service, including better client communication and marketing efforts.
"The 2003 Voices of Small Businesses and Accountants study offers great insight into the trusted relationship that America's small business owners and the accounting professionals who serve them continue to enjoy," said Dan Manack, Senior Vice President, Intuit Professional Accounting Solutions. "This study reinforces that accountants continue to play an integral role in the growth and success of their small business clients and remain trusted advisors for these businesses.
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Client Satisfaction and Optimism on the Rise
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Coinciding with accountants' focus on maintaining success and growth, America's small business owners are continuing to express their satisfaction with the quality of service they receive from their accountants, even more so this year than in 2002. The study found that 80 percent of the small business owners polled this year are "very satisfied" with their accountant's service, as compared to 68 percent last year. At the same time, accountants themselves also feel that their clients are very satisfied with the services they are receiving - 94 percent of accountants feel their clients are very satisfied. While accountants are doing an extremely good job in the eyes of their clients, this inflated assessment illustrates a need for regular and clear "performance evaluation-like" communication between accountants and clients, in order to generate feedback on how accountants can continue to improve their service.
Additional positive findings from the study show that accountants and small business owners both see an improving future ahead for their industries and individual businesses, despite declining economic conditions and the effects of war on the Nation. Two-thirds of both groups say they remain "very optimistic" or "optimistic" about their prospects for future growth and success.
In addition, 32 percent of small business owners express that their accountant has helped them significantly during the economic downturn. However, the study also reveals that an equal number of small businesses (34 percent) feel that their accountant has not helped them enough during this time, illustrating an opportunity for client service and growth, as small businesses continue to turn to their accountants for an increasing advisory role in their business.
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Accountants Offering More Services
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In the area of services, small business owners express that they generally turn to their accountants for help with taxes (77 percent) and basic bookkeeping (56 percent). Accountants have also expressed that they are expanding their services, beyond basic tax and bookkeeping, into areas such as payroll (70 percent), financial statements (81 percent) financial planning and investment (56 percent), business consulting (67 percent), human resources (16 percent) and industry-specific consulting (44 percent). Despite the spectrum of these offerings, more than one out of three small business owners are not aware that their accountant performs expanded services. Similar to findings from last year's study, this lack of awareness by small business owners illustrates a continued need for accountants to better market their new service offerings to their clients.
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Accountants Serve as Trusted Advisors
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One of the major findings of the "Voices of Small Businesses and Accountants" study shows that while almost half (49 percent) of small business owners do not recognize any big opportunities for improvement in running their business, a much larger percentage of accountants (97 percent) do feel that their clients have the opportunity to address certain areas. Accounting firms mainly see small business owners having an opportunity to strengthen their financial decisions (32 percent), as well as improve their understanding and investing in technology (10 percent). This insight into how small business owners are running their businesses demonstrates that accountants have the opportunity to play a much larger role as business advisors to their clients, working closely with them to help them grow their businesses.
"Despite the confidence in one another that both groups share, the Voices of Small Businesses and Accountants study helps to identify the continued opportunities for growth that exist between the two groups," added Brad Smith, Vice President and General Manager, Accountant Relations, Intuit Professional Accounting Solutions.
"Through this type of research into the issues facing the accounting community and their clients, Intuit Professional Accounting Solutions can continue develop new and improve existing services for accountants, to help them grow their own practices, with the confidence that they are providing their clients with the right services so they can focus on running their own small business," said Smith.
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Shared Challenges
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The "Voices of Small Businesses and Accountants" study also addressed the day-to-day challenges facing small business owners and accountants running their own practices. Not surprisingly, both groups named many of the same challenges, including generating new clients and revenue streams, managing employees and worrying about their individual practice or business. In addition, 20 percent of accountants and 13 percent of small business owners expressed that they find it a challenge to keep up with technology trends. One thing both groups would like is more free time; 48 percent of accountants and 35 percent of business owners would enjoy some time off. Personal matters, including finances, family life and health, are equally pressing to both groups.
Small business owners are also concerned with International events, war and the overall health of the Nation's economy. Fourteen percent of small business owners worry about the economy, while one business owner in five (21 percent) says the war has had an impact on their industry.
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Additional Findings
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- 70% of accountants feel that dealing with clients if their most time consuming job, while 35% of small business owners feel the same way about dealing with customers.
- 10 percent of small business owners feel that accounting and managing finances is their most time consuming job.
- Over half of accounting firms (57 percent) have high speed broadband Internet connections, compared to (41 percent) of small businesses.
- 56 percent of accountants and 24 percent of small business owners identify accounting software as the one technology that they can't live without.
- Almost half of both groups are members of trade associations for their own industries - 63 percent of accountants and 42 percent of small business owners; both groups benefit from by keeping up with industry trends and learning about industry regulations.
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Background and Methodology
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This report presents the findings of a telephone survey conducted May 13-June 3, 2003 among
a national sample of 250 small business owners and 250 accounting firms. This survey was conducted for Intuit Professional Accounting Solutions by Decipher, Inc., a full-service market research firm located in Fresno, California. Telephone interviewers accessed the survey via Decipher's online CATI system.
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About Intuit
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Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small businesses, consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax® software, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation software suites for professional accountants.
Founded in 1983, Intuit has annual revenue of more than $1 billion. The company has nearly 7,000 employees with major offices in 13 states across the U.S. and offices in Canada and the United Kingdom. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.
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Intuit, the Intuit logo, Quicken, QuickBooks, QuickBooks Pro, TurboTax, Quicken Loans and ProSeries, among others, are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit Inc. in the United States and other countries. Quicken.com, among others, are trademarks and/or service marks of Intuit Inc., or one of its subsidiaries, in the United States and other countries. Other parties' trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners and should be treated as such.
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