Accountants need to work to dispel their image as 'beancounters' if they are to support SMEs better, according to research commissioned by the CIMA.

A study by professor Malcolm Prowle and Glynn Lowth, from Nottingham Business School, and the Open University's Dr Michael Lucas, looked at how a range of SMEs handled business and financial planning.

CIMA's report Management Accounting Practices of UK SMEs found that many entrepreneurs and small businesses tended to make decisions without adequate financial information or analysis. There was also widespread evidence of poor cashflow management and time.

SMEs were also reluctant to let accountants know much about their business or share sensitive information about their plans or ambitions, the report found.

Prowle said: 'Business owners do not always appreciate the value that management accountants can add. Accountants were sometimes regarded as little more than bean counters, rather than potentially having a business partnering role where they can advise and improve efficiency, not just keep the books in order.'

The report says that CIMA and accountants themselves should take steps to educate business people and promote their advisory and consultancy capabilities. It says many SMEs do not have an in-house accountant and use a small accounting practice for statutory compliance and taxation services. It says accountants in such practices need to be more proactive in selling and marketing management accounting services and act as business partners.

It also recommends developing a basic 'toolkit' of accounting techniques SMEs should use to ensure their survival, such as the use of product costing, break-even analysis and working capital management support tools, along with tips and tools for handling business expansion.