Many accountants said they avoided awkward client conversations when it came to chasing unpaid invoices, resulting in financial cost for firms and employees, according to research by ecommerce platform Ignition.

In the UK, 90% of accountants said that chasing clients for late payments was the most awkward client situation they faced.

As a result, around 74% have avoided a conversation entirely, with over half of accountants saying that staying silent had impacted their client relationships negatively.

In some cases, accountants avoided client situations at all costs, with one in three going as far as to write off an entire or part of an invoice for work completed.