POOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS are seeing UK SMEs collectively losing billions, a survey of 450 small- and medium-sized companies has shown.

A fifth of SMEs admit to having forgotten to invoice for goods or services at least once. Of those, around 12% confess to not invoicing for a job worth between £5,000 and £10,000, while 6% admit to having forgotten to invoice for a job worth more than £10,000.

The implication for the UK’s 4.8 million SMEs – which account for 99.9% of all private sector businesses in the UK – is that they are collectively out of pocket by as much as £3.7bn.

The survey found that more than half – around 54% – of SME leaders trust their accountant more than anyone else, including their own business partners – some 38% – when it comes to broader business issues. That appears to be reciprocated by accountants, with 51% of those polled saying they feel they hold some influence over their SME clients’ broader business decision-making.

“SMEs are placing more and more faith in their accountants, not just to sort out their books but also in advising them over broader business decisions, and in a large proportion of cases that appears to be hampered by poor systems and processes,” said Mukesh Shah, head of outsourcing at accountancy firm HW Fisher & Company.