KPMG targets SMEs with £40m Enterprise scheme

BIG Four accountancy firm KPMG has launched a bold new client acquisition strategy to target start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses.

Called KPMG Enterprise, the UK firm is investing £40m in the project.

The firm hopes it can be with businesses from the cradle to maturity. Since the recession there has been strong private sector growth, not only in economic performance, but in the number of new businesses being launched and there are now more than 4.9 million privately-owned companies.

Chris Hearld, Northern chairman and office senior partner at KPMG in Leeds, said: “At its heart, KPMG Enterprise sees us extend our longstanding heritage and the deep knowledge gained from working with medium and large businesses across the UK 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 lifecycle.

“Make no mistake, we see this as an area of enormous opportunity for KPMG. There are more than 4.9 million privately-owned businesses in the UK, of which 99.9% are SMEs – many of which are 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.”

Included in KPMG Enterprise is the firm’s new Small Business Accounting service, which combines digital technology with its 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.

“By harnessing cutting-edge technology and combining it with the talent and in-depth knowledge we have across the firm, we can give hundreds of thousands of small businesses access to KPMG’s know-how at affordable rates, revolutionising the market for small business accounting across the UK,” says Hearld.

The launch of KPMG Enterprise comes as research undertaken on behalf of the firm by YouGov reveals that 74% of SMEs in Yorkshire and the Humber 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 the region’s 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, 70% of SMEs in Yorkshire and the Humber have not used any such resources.

Instead, small businesses in the region would prefer to see reduced red tape (40%), cuts to business rates (37%) and lowering employer ‘national insurance’ contributions (31%) form the backbone of any Government plans to help spur business growth in 2015.

Ian Beaumont, enterprise lead for KPMG in Yorkshire and Humber, said: “With 42% 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.”

He added: “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.”