Xero : 15/04/2021 - Accountants among key workers of economic survival according to South African small business owners

Accountants among key workers of economic survival according to South African small business owners

Two-fifhs of small business owners said their accountant helped them to save jobs during the pandemic

Cape Town - 15 April, 2021 - More than half (56%) of South African small businesses say their accountant has been crucial in helping them survive the impact of COVID-19. This has led a vast proportion of SMEs (86%) to call on the government to recognise accountants as 'essential workers' in economic recovery.

According to new research from global small business platform Xero, 37% of small firms said their accountant was more important than ever before. Almost half (46%) also admitted that they were more likely to turn to their accountant for advice than looking at government websites and resources (37%).

The data also revealed the positive impact accountants have had in supporting the wider economy. Forty percent of business owners said working with an adviser helped them to better manage finances and keep employees on the payroll. This is particularly significant given the South African economy lost 2.2 million jobs in the second quarter of 2020.

Colin Timmis, Country Manager at Xero South Africa and professional accountant, said: "Behind every resilient small business sits a hard-working accountant. This new research shows that they are the unsung heroes of the past year. They've helped our small business community remain open, retain employees and we'll see so much more from them in the months ahead as we enter the next phase of recovery."

The changing role of accountants

The research reflected the changing role of the sector from number-crunchers to business advisors. The top areas SMEs were supported by their accountant over the last 12 months were: planning for the future (49%), accessing relief funds (35%), accessing other sources of capital (34%) and advice on digitising processes (23%). Forty three percent said their accountant has been acting as more of a business consultant - advising them on how to develop their business.

Adam Young, owner of Cape Town-based leather bag company ROWDY said: "Our accountant is an irreplaceable part of our business." According to Adam, ROWDY has relied on their accounting firm for reporting, best practice advice, and guidance about international sales, especially though the

pandemic. "With the help of our accountant, we don't have to be bogged down by the numbers. We can just focus on the actual running of the business."

Milton Segal, Senior Executive at SAICA, said: "Today's accountants bring a wide-ranging skill set to small businesses. They will continue to support core compliance activities like tax, VAT and payroll, as well as bringing significant technical and strategic guidance too. Their guidance this year will play a critical role in helping businesses to remain afloat, but also to support with broader business strategy, digitalisation and long-term sustainability."

Accountants set to play critical role in recovery

The top three areas small businesses said they will need support as they emerge from the pandemic are all related to managing finances: cash flow forecasting (50%), general budgeting (44%), and financial management (41%). They are also looking for support in areas like cloud tech (18%) and digitalisation (19%). These are all areas accountants have the potential to make a big impact.

Timmis continues: "The government, industry bodies and the technology community all need to work together to support the transformative role that accountants can have on South Africa's small business industry. This means ensuring they have the right digital tools and skills to thrive. Creating a healthy accounting industry will help build a healthier economy in South Africa."

-ENDS-

Media contact Hannah Collett

Xero Communications [e-mail] [phone]

Research methodology

Research conducted by World Wide Worx in February 2021 amongst 400 small business owners.

About Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting sofware platform for small businesses with 2.45 million subscribers globally. Through Xero, small business owners and their advisors have access to real-time financial data any time, anywhere and on any device. Xero ofers an ecosystem of over 800 third-party apps and 200 plus connections to banks and other financial partners. In 2020 and 2021, Xero was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and in 2020, Xero was recognised by IDC MarketScapeas a leader in

its worldwide SaaS and cloud-enabled small business finance and accounting applications vendor assessment.