Research by business community Ingenious Britain, in conjunction with business money-saving experts MakeItCheaper.com, finds accountants are the most trusted advisors among SMEs.

Nearly four-fifths (77%) of the 500 UK SME decision-makers responding* said they trust their accountant - more than any other provider of business services including: solicitor (69%), insurance provider (51%) or bank (50%). Least trustworthy among business service providers are energy suppliers, with only a third (36%) of SMEs being able to trust them.

The levels of trust differed from region to region and across different age groups with accountants in Northern Ireland (100%) and the South of England (85%) out in front of other areas.

There was also a correlation in the level of trust in accountants and the age of the business owner, which ranged from 68% for the 18-34 year old bracket up to 84% for those over 56.

Unsurprisingly a correlation was also found between the level of trust and the number of business owners intending to switch to a different supplier.

Jonathan Elliott, managing director of MakeItCheaper.com, said: "Accountants can sleep easy at night but it looks like this will be the year that hard-pressed SMEs finally get even with their energy suppliers."