Struggling SMEs turn to accountants for auto-enrolment help
A quarter of small businesses look set to miss their preparations, research finds
ACCOUNTANTS have an opportunity to benefit from small businesses struggling to prepare for auto-enrolment, a survey has found.
According to research from Creative Auto Enrolment, almost a quarter of small companies look set to miss their preparations, while 12% of small business owners staging between 2015 and 2018 plan to ignore auto enrolment completely.
The survey of more than 500 businesses with 1-57 employees found that 28% feel there is a lack of support for tackling auto-enrolment legislation. Of those, 70% admitted they don’t know who to turn to and 29% don’t believe their advisers know enough about the subject
Accountants are taking proactive measures to bridge this gap, with 18% of respondents saying that their adviser or accountant has already approached them.
David White, managing director of Creative Auto Enrolment, said: “There are over 1.2 million small companies in the UK with at least one employee that will need to prepare for auto enrolment.
“A vast number of those are expecting their accountant or payroll bureau to come to the rescue when it comes to the legislation. However we know that auto enrolment preparations are not just an administrative nightmare for small businesses, it’s a huge task for accountants too.”
