Press Releases New Products and Conferences

CPA2Biz Announces Small-Business Survey Results

Upcoming Small Business Conference To Discuss Key Topics

CPA2Biz Inc., the marketing and technology services subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, surveyed 500 small businesses and CPAs in October for a small business survey. Most respondents have less than 15 employees and $2 million in annual revenues and the survey results will be a key topic at the upcoming conference, "Key Strategies for Driving Business Success." The conference will be held in Providence, R.I., on Nov. 13 – 14, and will gather together CPAs and small business owners to discuss strategic planning, HR management, employee hiring, access to capital, succession planning, operations management and more.

The No. 1 issue facing small business is “ensuring adequate cash flow from operations,” according to 83% of survey respondents. “I wasn’t surprised to see cash flow management at the top of the list,” said Bill Reeb, CPA, and chair of the Small Business Conference Program. “But I was surprised by how few small business owners are leveraging tools to get a better handle on it.”

Based on the survey results, it appears to CPA2Biz that most small businesses are not leveraging business metrics to make better management decisions. For example, 51% of those surveyed say they don’t use budgets or forecasts to help manage their business and 32% say they don't have specific metrics in place to monitor performance on a daily or weekly basis. Only 17% agreed that daily or weekly metrics are as important to them as their financial statements.

Another key survey finding had only 21% of participants measuring their return on investment of advertising and promotional dollars; and only 11% stated that they regularly monitor non-financial indicators, like customer support calls and visits to the company Web site, to further evaluate business performance.

“Clearly, based on the survey, these small business owners are not taking advantage of simple tools that would help them better manage their profitability and performance,” said Reeb. “This will be one of the key areas we focus on at the conference.”

The survey results will be reviewed in full at the small business conference being held at The Westin Providence. View the conference brochure and register online at www.cpa2biz.com/conferences or call (888) 777-7077.

CPA2Biz is a subsidiary of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and provides marketing and technology services to the AICPA for its wide array of products and services, such as continuing education, conferences and professional literature. CPA2Biz also develops and manages client-focused business solutions programs (e.g. payroll, banking) that enable CPAs to build stronger relationships with their business clients or employers. For more information, visit www.cpa2biz.com.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (www.aicpa.org) is the national, professional association of CPAs, with approximately 350,000 members, including CPAs in business and industry, public practice, government, and education; student affiliates; and international associates. It sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private companies; federal, state and local governments; and non-profit organizations. It also develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to future events or financial performance.  These statements reflect only management's current expectations. Many factors, risks or uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. If one or more of these factors, risks or uncertainties materialize, or if any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this press release.

Press Contact Information:

For CPA2Biz, Inc.:
Pamela Johnston
Public Relations Representative
PJ Inc.
212-629-8445
Pamela@pjinc.net