
From inflation to technology, a recent survey of 500 Canadian accountants shed light on their concerns about small-to-midsize businesses.
The survey was done by Plooto, diving into accountants’ opinions about provincial support, SMB financial pitfalls, and the tech tools clients are — or aren’t — using to succeed.
The top of their list for threats, it was inflation. More than half (54.5 per cent) cited inflation as the top financial threat, driving up operational costs. Other concerns include rising interest rates (46.1 per cent), though those have receded recently, high staff turnover (41.2 per cent), competition from larger corporations offering lower prices (39 per cent), and decreased consumer spending (34.1 per cent).
When asked which province does the least to support SMBs, a quarter (24.5 per cent) of accountants pointed to Ontario, far ahead of Quebec (15 per cent) and Alberta (13.3 per cent). Nova Scotia, by contrast, earned the distinction of being the most supportive, with only 4 per cent of respondents singling it out.
The biggest mistake small businesses make, according to most (21 per cent) accountants, is failing to implement proper technology. Other frequent missteps include neglecting cash flow management (19 per cent), overspending on elaborate workplaces (12.2 per cent), and hiring either too quickly (10.6 per cent) or too slowly (9.2 per cent).
Clients can test their practitioners’ patience by failing to send required information (65 per cent). Other common gripes include clients not reading or discussing financial reports (50.2 per cent and 48.4 per cent, respectively) and submitting calculations riddled with errors (44.5 per cent).
Despite fintech’s clear advantages — faster reconciliation (65.1 per cent) and improved payment processing (56 per cent) — only 31.4 per cent of accountants say their clients have the necessary technology in place.
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