- £40m investment includes extension of KPMG’s successful mid market services to small and start-up businesses via new technology platform
- Launch comes as research suggests 61% of SMEs in the East of England think the Government could do more to support small businesses
- More than half of local SMEs spend at least one day a week doing basic administrative tasks
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 at a much reduced rate.
Steve Muncey, Senior Partner for KPMG in Cambridge said: “Locally we have an impressive market share working with privately owned businesses from the large and mid market space, but we know that Cambridge has a global reputation as being home to some innovative 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.
“At its heart, KPMG Enterprise sees us extend our long-standing heritage and the deep knowledge gained from working with medium and large businesses to the small business sector. From start-ups in their infancy to more established middle market companies, our ambition is to work with privately-owned businesses from inception, through every stage of their life cycle.
“By harnessing cutting-edge technology and combining it with the talent and in-depth knowledge we have, we can give our local small businesses access to KPMG’s know-how at affordable rates, revolutionising the market for small business accounting across the UK. In doing so, we aim to generate £100m in revenues per annum over the next three years.”
The launch of KPMG Enterprise comes as research undertaken on behalf of the firm by YouGov reveals that 61% of SMEs in the East of England 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 80% of SMEs in the East of England have not utilised any such resources. Instead, a third of smaller businesses in East Anglia would prefer to see reduced red tape (29%), cuts to business rates (29%) and lowering personal taxes (28%) form the backbone of any Government plans to help spur business growth in 2015.
KPMG Director Mark Prince, who will be leading the Enterprise programme in East Anglia, said: “With more than half (52%) 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 Prince 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.”
About the survey
KPMG partnered with YouGov to capture the views of 1,122 senior decision-makers in small and medium-sized enterprises across Britain. The research was carried out between 15th – 22nd September 2014 and the data was weighted by number of employees to reflect the make-up of the UK SME sector, according to data from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
For a copy of the KPMG ‘Agenda for Growth’ research report, please click here: www.kpmgenterprise.co.uk
About KPMG
KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, operates from 22 offices across the UK with approximately 11,500 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.8 billion in the year ended September 2013. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. It operates in 155 countries and has 155,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.
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For further information please contact:
Katy Broomhead
KPMG Corporate Communications
Tel: 0161 246 4623 / 07824 537963
Email: [email protected]
Emma Murray
KPMG Corporate Communications
Tel: 020 7694 6506 / 07956 629361
Email: [email protected]
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