KPMG launches enterprise offering for UK’s army of SMEs
KPMG in the UK has announced the launch of KPMG Enterprise, a new strategic investment totalling £40m which will see the firm expand its service offerings to the growing network of 4.9 million privately-owned businesses across the UK.
Included within 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 preparation, 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.
Simon Collins, UK chairman of KPMG, said: “We want to be the clear choice for all privately-owned businesses – from formation through every stage of their development and growth.
“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 70% of SMEs across Britain 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 71% of SMEs have not utilised any such resources. Instead, small businesses’ top three preferences would be to see reduced red tape (36%), cuts to business rates (31%) and greater tax reliefs and incentives (28%) form the backbone of any Government plans to help spur business growth in 2015.
Iain Moffatt, head of Enterprise for KPMG, said: “With 38% of SMEs 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 Small Business Accounting offering will help to take some of that pain away, enabling entrepreneurs and owner managers to really focus on driving growth across their business.”
Iain concluded: “With more than 1,500 start-ups being created in the UK each and every day, 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.”
