Tuesday 30th September, 2014

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK gross domestic product (GDP) in volume terms was estimated to have increased by 0.9% in Q2 2014, revised up from 0.8% in the previously published estimate.

Rich Preece, Vice President and Country Manager at Intuit UK comments on the GDP growth and how UK SMEs with strong financial management will help the UK economy grow further.

Mr Preece, said: "It’s really positive to see continued economic growth in the UK. With over 99% of British businesses describing themselves as an SME, they are largely responsible for this uplift."

"In order to keep up the progress however, SMEs have to increase focus on managing their finances. Research we commissioned shows 44 per cent of SMEs either run out of cash or come very close within the first three years of trading.

This suggests better cash flow insight and control is needed, but improving financial management also includes making more informed decisions about where to borrow money. With recent figures from the Bank of England showing a £700m drop in net bank lending during the first quarter of 2014, SMEs may need to look to alternative schemes such as crowdfunding or business networks. It also might be as simple as working closer with an accountant, as we’ve recently seen that over two-thirds of SMEs now expect their accountants to provide strategic business advice, on top of standard book keeping services."

 "If we can improve the importance we place on strong financial management, I believe we can expect to see even more SMEs succeed."