Managers spending too much time on financial management

Poor financial management processes may be costing the UK’s small businesses far too much in time and money, a new report claims.
Research by software and services provider Myob found that the average small business owner spends 26 days a year on financial management – compared to taking just 14 days annual leave – with a third of firms still using an excel spreadsheet to manage their accounts. Another 19 per cent of firms were found to still be using a paper-based ledger for their financial management.

MYOB estimates that British small businesses may be losing as much as £4.8 billion each year due to spending too long on company accounts.
‘With compliance and tax issues growing in volume and complexity year on year, small businesses must implement more rigorous financial management systems and techniques to release the valuable time they spend on admin tasks and invest it in more profitable activities,’ says Wayne Schmidt, general manager of MYOB.
The problem was found to be worse among Welsh small firms, with 54 per cent of small business owners in the country admitting the problems of financial management had risen in the last year and 71 per cent citing it as a major contributor to stress levels.

source : www.smallbusiness.co.uk