-- Small business owners keep up with regulatory changes in various ways. The most popular sources of information on changes are: professional services such as an accountant or lawyer (59%); government web sites or phone line (38%); other people in the same profession (21%). Other information sources cited regarding regulatory changes include: industry association (18%), accounting software (17%), small business publications (16%), small business web sites (15%) and seminars (9%). -- Larger companies are more likely to obtain information on regulatory changes from professional services (80%) and industry associations (31%). -- More than two thirds (69%) of small business owners wait until they file their tax return to see what effect tax code changes had on their taxes, while only 31% promptly include announced tax code changes into their financial plans for the coming year. More financially literate people or those who have a high comfort level with financial management, are more likely (34%) to promptly include tax code changes in their plans, as are those with accounting software (40%). -- Small business owners rely on diverse sources for advice on managing finances. The most common resource is an accountant or consultant, relied on by 65% of businesses, followed by the Internet (38%), contacts in the same industry (32%), government information (29%), friends and family (24%), books (21%), business or industry association (15%), mentors or former employers (14%), employees (4%) and business education services (4%). -- The most commonly outsourced service today is accounting, as cited by 39% of businesses, while payroll is done in-house by 48% of business owners, and invoicing and billing are performed by 78% of businesses themselves.The survey was conducted Oct. 2 -7, 2009 and the majority of respondents (58%) were the sole employee of the business being surveyed. The survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%, 19 times out of 20. Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) For more information on the Harmonized sales tax, please visit http://www.simplyaccounting.com/tax or http://fr.simplyaccounting.com/tax. About Sage North America Sage North America is part of The Sage Group plc, a leading global supplier of business management software and services. Sage North America employs approximately 4,000 people and supports nearly 3.1 million small and medium-size business customers. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs 13,400 people and supports 6.1 million customers worldwide. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagenorthamerica.com. ©2010 Sage Software Canada, Ltd. Sage, the Sage logo, and the Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software Canada, Ltd. or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. www.sagenorthamerica.com
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