A recent survey of 500 Canadian accountants has shed light on their concerns about financial threats to small-to-midsize enterprises (SMEs) and the adoption of financial technology.
Conducted on behalf of Plooto, a payment automation solution, the survey provides a view of the current state of Canada’s accounting industry, revealing insights into the challenges faced by accountants and their clients.
More than half of the accountants (54.5%) identified inflation as the biggest financial threat to Canadian SMEs, followed by interest rates making borrowing more expensive (46.1%) and staff turnover (41.2%).
Other concerns included competition from larger corporations, cooling consumer spending due to interest rates, and foreign competition.
In terms of provincial support, 24.5% of accountants believe Ontario is doing the least to help SMEs succeed, with Quebec following at 15%.
Conversely, Nova Scotia was seen as the most supportive province, receiving the lowest vote of 4% for lack of support.
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By GlobalDataThe survey also highlighted financial mistakes commonly made by Canadian SMEs.
Not implementing the proper technology was cited by 21% of accountants, followed by neglecting cash flow (19%) and investing in elaborate workplaces (12.2%).
Other mistakes included hiring too quickly and overpaying for top-tier executives.
When considering investment sectors, accountants expressed reluctance to invest in arts, entertainment, and recreation, educational services, and travel and hospitality.
Concerns over profitability in these sectors is said to have influenced their hesitancy.
Accountants also shared factors causing them concern, with 48.8% worried about current interest rates and 46.7% fearing a recession.
Additional concerns included the potential failure of SME clients and political changes, both domestically and in the US.
Regarding client interactions, 64.7% of accountants found not receiving required information most irritating, followed by clients not reading financial reports (50.2%) and not making time to discuss them (48.4%).
Less than a third of clients have all necessary technology in place, but those who do benefit from faster reconciliation (65.1%) and payment processing (56%).
