Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
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April 2016 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 25 THE PROADVISOR SPOTLIGHT SPONSORED CONTENT "Fueling small business success is a personal mission of mine because I live it every day. It's also Intuit's and in the 13 years that I have been with the company, their small business journey has mirrored my own. I get to walk frsthand in the challenges and shoes of the small business owner and use Intuit's products in my daily life, but I also get to be a trusted advisor for small business owners and accountants. A nd it's my own experiences that allow me to understand what my clients deal with," said Peacock. Peacock 's passion for small busi- ness success is only matched by her passion to help women grow and develop as small business owners and as leaders. Again, it is her personal experiences – as a woman, leader and someone operating in the small business arena – that give her frsthand insight to the unique challenges that women leaders and business owners face and the inter- sectionality between being a small business owner and being a woman. "Tere's an intersection between small business owners and women. W hat's needed to drive the success for both groups are all things that we focus on in Quick Books Online. W hen we look at how we help small business owners, what we're talking about is helping eliminate distrac- tions and take things of their plates – issues that also afect women. So when we are able to connect business owners to the right accountants that provide the right insights, give them access to capital and improve their ability to get paid, we are also help- ing women succeed," said Peacock, who is also the Executive Sponsor for the Intuit Women Network. Intuit as a company is also com- mited to driving the success of small business women. Te company has pledged that half of the fnancing prov ided t hrough Qu ick Book s Financing, which helps small busi- nesses get access to capital, will go to women business ow ners. Te company understands that cash is the backbone of any small business, and without it, small businesses will struggle to be successful. Currently, two-thirds of small businesses that apply for a loan get denied. Intuit is looking to reverse that with Quick- Books Financing. Te innovative program makes it easier for small businesses to get approved by using the data (with their permission) that's already available about the business. With Quick Books Financing, two-thirds of small business owners are geting approved for loans w ithout the hassle of long questionnaires and decisions are made in a mater of a few clicks. Small business fnancing pres- ents an additional oppor tunit y for accountants to help their small business clients as a trusted advisor. Research shows that just under half of all small business owners are actu- ally comfortable with their knowl- edge of lending options. Taking the time to explain the diferent options available to business owners not only adds value to the services accounting professionals prov ide, but it also helps small business owners make beter informed choices about the types of fnancing they pursue. In her role as Small Business Segment Leader, Peacock is focused on helping Intuit continuously deliver benefts to small business owners. W hile Quick Books Online continues to see steady growth with 100,000 new subscribers, they rep- resent only a small fraction of small business owners who actually use the tools and advisors available to help them succeed. "One of the biggest challenges that Intuit faces is that fnancial management tools have small pen- etration rates among small business owners. However, this creates a great opportunity for us to close that gap, both in the U.S. and on a global scale, with Quick Books Online and its ecosystem," said Peacock. T he t y pica l business ow ner may use an average of 18 diferent apps to manage their business, and many times, these apps don't work seamlessly together, creating double entr y and data track ing. Seamless integration would save small business owners lots of time, while helping them get paid faster. Recognizing the amount of time spent on backend tasks, Intuit wants to open up the Quick Books Online ecosystem, the largest available, with the goal of having ever y app small businesses use integrate with Quick Books Online. "We believe we can do more, and we're commited to doing more, to help our developer partners, accoun- tants and small business owners all succeed," said Peacock. Doing more is nothing new to Intuit, who has a history of contin- ued transformation. Te company has always adapted to meet the needs of its customers, while staying ahead of industr y trends. Peacock recalls when she was working on the desktop version of Quick Books, and Intuit faced a sizeable threat from a competitor. It was Intuit's standing relationship with their customers that gave the company the ability to succeed and move forward. " We spoke w ith accountants and small businesses to fnd out how they were actually conducting business and what was lack ing in our program. We realized there was a beter way for our users to access the information they need. So, we crafed our program to mirror the way our clients work. A nd we con- tinue to do that with each version," said Peacock. Peacock, who has a degree in Applied Math from Har vard and a MBA from Stanford, has a deep appreciation for data and its place within the small business landscape. A s small businesses continue to grow and adopt the technolog y around them, they are increasingly able to leverage the power of data. By using both their data and the aggregate data available to them, they are beter positioned to take advantage of opportunities that didn't previously exist. Small business owners are also outsourcing more business functions such as Human Resources, market- ing and accounting, instead of trying to handle these areas internally. Tis increased collaboration has led to global teams with members spread across the world and a mixture of part-time and full-time staf. I ntuit has been very vocal and active about its mission to help the small busi- ness owner. And for Karen Peacock, the sentiment really hits close to home. Te SVP and Small Business Segment Leader is married to a small business owner and entrepreneur so she sees frsthand the obstacles they face and how having the right technology can eliminate some of those pain points. It is her personal experience that allows her to not only appreciate, but fully believe in and support, the work that Intuit continues to do with and for small businesses. Advocating for Small Businesses Everywhere CONTINUED ONLINE AT: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor. com/12189294