Intuit Study Shows Small Business Owners Grow Increasingly Concerned, Turn to Accountants in Larger Numbers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif – Mar. 18, 2009 – Small business owners are increasingly looking to their accountants to provide broader business consulting services and personal financial advice in this economic downturn. This is just one of many findings in a comparison study released by Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) that queried 250 accountants and 250 small business owners nationwide about challenges they face in growing their businesses, maintaining the accountant/client relationships and remaining competitive in the marketplace. In order to provide a more complete context around how the economy has changed the way small business owners operate and view their business goals over the past six months, Intuit reissued a portion of the survey originally conducted in July 2008 to small business owners and accountants in mid-January 2009.

The recent study's key findings include:

Nearly 80 percent of small business owners surveyed said they would feel more confident having an accountant as a close business advisor during this time.
Interest in business consulting and financial advice has nearly doubled in six months. 41 percent of small business owners surveyed noted that they would like to receive personal financial advice, and 40 percent expressed an interest in getting business advice and consulting from their accounting professional – both statistics nearly doubling from the interest levels just six months beforehand.
Small business owners' biggest concerns have changed. They are no longer worried about "finding time to develop and run my business." This previously was the second largest concern in the summer 2008 survey; it has dropped more than 50 percent in the January 2009 survey, landing right before "keeping up with the competition" (6 percent).
The number one thing that keeps small business owners up at night is paying their bills, as detailed by 41 percent, nearly a 10 percent increase in the past six months.
The number of small business owners that are "not at all" optimistic about the continued growth/success of their business has nearly tripled in six months, from 7 to 17 percent.
73 percent of accountants surveyed are proactively advising their clients on how to conduct business during the economic downturn.
In order to help small business owners weather the economic storm, 66 percent of accountants surveyed have increased services they offer, including:
Business consulting.
Payroll services.
Tax services.
Bookkeeping.
Online accounting.
More than 90 percent of accountants and small business owners surveyed are taking almost identical steps to help maintain the success/growth of their firms, including:
Increased networking.
Adding new services or products.
Training and education.
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax® software, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation software suites for professional accountants. The company's financial institutions division, anchored by Digital Insight, provides on-demand banking services to help banks and credit unions serve businesses and consumers with innovative solutions.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.1 billion in its fiscal year 2008. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.