Underpinning KPMG Enterprise is KPMG’s new Small Business Accounting service, which combines cutting-edge digital technology with KPMG’s wealth of expertise to provide select online accounting and tax services – including accounts, bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and corporate tax returns – to small and start up enterprises via the cloud. The service will also offer access to one-to-one advice from KPMG experts, with fees starting from as little as £150 per month.
Karl Edge, Senior Partner for KPMG in Watford said: ““Locally we have an impressive market share in the work that we do with of privately owned businesses from the large and mid market space, but we know this region is home to some great early stage and small businesses who previously may have believed that the services and expertise of a ‘Big 4’ firm were out of their reach.
“KPMG Enterprise makes our knowledge and expertise accessible to smaller businesses. The SME sector is the growth engine of the UK economy and we want to support early stage and smaller businesses that previously may have believed our services were out of their reach.
“By using new technology in combination with our deep experience, we can give hundreds of thousands of small businesses access to KPMG know-how at affordable rates, revolutionising the market for accounting across the UK.”
The launch of KPMG Enterprise comes as research undertaken on behalf of the firm by YouGov reveals that 67 per cent of SMEs in the South East think the Government could do more to support small businesses.
Furthermore, the KPMG/YouGov survey suggests that the current focus of Government support could be improved. While awareness amongst SMEs of the plethora of Government-led initiatives such as the Funding for Lending scheme, Business Growth Fund and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is high, a surprising 74 per cent of SMEs in the South East have not utilised any such resources. Instead, a third of smaller businesses across the region would prefer to see reduced red tape, more tax reliefs on offer for SMEs and lowering business rates form the backbone of any Government plans to help spur business growth in 2015.
KPMG Director Dave Simpson who will be leading the Enterprise programme said: “With around a third of our local SME community telling us that they spend at least one day a week on basic administrative tasks, the message to Government as we head into an election year is loud and clear: business owners need support to free up their time, and allow them to get on with running and growing their businesses.
“Innovations in technology are enabling more and more people to realise their dreams of starting their own business but the daily reality of regulation, red tape and form filling can turn that dream into a bit of a nightmare. We hope that our Enterprise offering will help to take some of that pain away, enabling entrepreneurs and owner managers to really focus on driving growth across their business.”
Mr Simpson concluded: “There is almost universal agreement that future economic growth in the UK will be driven by those businesses who can scale up successfully, making that all-important transition from ‘S’ to ‘M’ and beyond. Anything that can ease the burden and make this journey easier will ultimately drive economic growth, spur job creation and increase the competitiveness of the UK.”
