The 2025 SMB Navigator Report reveals a striking shift in how businesses value their accountants as they grow. Small businesses, including sole traders, primarily seek stress relief in the form of compliance support, but larger enterprises demand strategic clarity and trustworthy partnerships. Understanding these differences in priorities could help accounting practices better serve their clients across organisation size.
The 2025 SMB Navigator Report is based on quantitative research conducted by Agile Market Intelligence that surveyed Australian businesses (n=506) and practising accountants (n=404), commissioned by Intuit QuickBooks.
Key stats you need to know
- The primary impact of accountants for half of small businesses (46%) and sole traders (54%) is reducing compliance stress, while for 40% of large businesses it’s financial and cashflow management support.
- Large business satisfaction with accountants jumped from 15% to 41% year-on-year, yet 16% are actively searching for new firms.
- Trust is cited by 54% of large businesses and 33% of medium sized businesses for reasons to switch accountants.
Stress relief dominates for smaller businesses, but medium and large businesses value business impact
- 54% of sole traders and 46% of small businesses (1 to 19 employees) cite “reduced stress or anxiety over compliance” as their accountant’s primary impact
- Improved clarity over decision-making clarity ranks highest for medium sized businesses (20 to 199 employees).
- 40% of large businesses (200+ employees) say the impact of their accountants is in having better financial and cashflow management.
The primary impact of accountants shifts dramatically as businesses grow. Compliance relief represents the biggest value for small businesses, where owners often juggle multiple roles and view accounting as more of a necessary burden rather than a strategic tool. However, as businesses scale, accountants become more valued for their strategic impact on business operations.
“The data shows a clear opportunity for accounting practices to evolve their service models as clients grow. Basic compliance is not enough for businesses looking for strategic partners.” said Michael Johnson, Director at Agile Market Intelligence.
Accountant satisfaction drops and switching intent climbs with business growth
- Sole traders show the highest satisfaction at 78%, declining to 65% for small businesses, 51% for medium businesses, and 41% for large businesses.
- 16% of large businesses are actively searching for a new accountant, while only 6% of small and medium businesses and 3% of sole traders are.
- Despite lower satisfaction, large business satisfaction improved dramatically from 15% in 2024 to 41% in 2025.
As businesses grow, the role of accountants shifts from dealing with compliance matters to a more strategic position. This suggests that larger businesses have higher expectations and greater willingness to change accounting firms when those expectations aren’t met. Apart from decision-making clarity and financial management, “business growth and profitability” is cited by 31% of larger businesses as the primary impact of accountants. This is a stark contrast to only 15-16% of small and medium businesses, and 3% of sole traders.
“Large businesses have more at stake, as well as more options. They’ll reward good service with loyalty, but measure their satisfaction based on how much their accountants impact their businesses.” said Michael Johnson.
Trust becomes critical at enterprise level, as accountants play more strategic roles in client businesses
- For large businesses looking to switch accounting firms, 54% cite “lack of trust” as the primary switching driver, compared to only 8% of sole traders.
- Cost concerns affect 30% of small businesses and is the primary reason for switching. Poor communication is the primary switching driver for sole traders (35%), while cost concern only came in second.
- Complexity of needs grows from 6% for sole traders to 28% for large businesses, reinforcing the observation of evolving expectations as businesses grow.
The reasons businesses consider switching accountants reveal another key difference by size. While sole traders primarily worry about cost and communication, large businesses overwhelmingly point to trust problems as business stakes increase.
“When running multi-million dollar businesses, trust in your financial adviser becomes paramount. Compliance is just the bare minimum, they’re seeking out assurance and confidence when they make financial decisions.” said Michael Johnson.
About the research
The SMB Navigator Report 2025 is based on quantitative research conducted by Agile Market Intelligence between December 2024 and January 2025 and was commissioned by Intuit QuickBooks. It includes responses from 506 Australian small businesses and 404 practising accountants. The business sample has been weighted to reflect the national distribution of business size and annual revenue, based on data from the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO).
You can download the report here: SMB Navigator Report 2025
