A new study examining the financial management habits of US small
businesses has revealed that more than 40 percent consider themselves
financially illiterate.
The research, conducted by Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:
INTU) in partnership with Decipher Market Research, was designed to
uncover common challenges that US small businesses face as they start
and grow. Other key findings include:
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81% handle their business’ finances themselves.
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69% have never taken a loan for their small business.
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66% wish they knew more about their finances.
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39% do not follow financial news.
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Only 38% think their employees understand their business’ finances.
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28% of small businesses are in debt.
“Small business owners and entrepreneurs are the engine of growth and
the backbone of the economy. But most of them don’t choose to become
their own boss because they love balancing the books. They go to work
every day because they have an idea, seize the potential, and use an
uncompromising drive to get the job done,” said Terry Hicks, Vice
President & General Manager, QuickBooks Online at Intuit Inc. “At Intuit
we’re committed to developing creative solutions and easy-to-use tools
that make it easier for small businesses to understand their finances so
that they can focus on what’s really important to them and thrive over
the long term.”
New Financial Literacy Tool from Intuit QuickBooks
In order to arm small business owners with financial knowledge and
understanding, Intuit unveiled a new interactive tool designed to
encourage new and emerging small business owners to test and improve
their financial literacy. The Financial Literacy tool points out core
aspects of business accounting and prompts users to explore what they
know—and what they don’t—with engaging questions, straightforward
explanations and topic-specific resources that can help them learn more
about how to create and use financial statements to improve their
business.
Benefits for Small Businesses
The tool collects non-identifiable response data from each user to
provide context for how subsequent users’ financial literacy compares
with other people like them. Each of the three sections contain multiple
choice questions about a specific topic related to financial statements
– Level 1: Accounting Terms; Level 2: Data Quality; Level 3: Analyzing
and Applying Data. As users complete each level, they can:
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See financial literacy score.
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Compare how their score compares with others.
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Get easy-to-follow explanations about each quiz question.
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Access relevant resources on the Small
Business Resource Center to learn more about the topic featured in
each question.
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Share their results on social channels.
To view Intuit’s Financial Literacy Tool, individuals can visit here.
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. creates business and
financial management solutions that simplify the business of life for
small businesses, consumers and accounting professionals.
Its flagship products and services include QuickBooks®, Quicken®
and TurboTax®, which make
it easier to manage small
businesses and payroll
processing, personal
finance, and tax
preparation and filing. Mint.com
provides a fresh, easy and intelligent way for people to manage their
money, while Demandforce®
offers marketing and communication tools for small businesses. ProSeries®
and Lacerte® are Intuit's
leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants.
Founded in 1983, Intuit had revenue of $4.5 billion in its fiscal year
2014. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices
in the United States, Canada,
the United Kingdom, India and
other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2014