Accountants urged to spread the word on MTD

Learning about Making Tax Digital (MTD) is the biggest concern for VAT-registered small business owners as they transition to digital accounting according to research by Intuit QuickBooks. More than three-quarters of respondents cited understanding the legislation as a challenge followed closely by finding new tools to help them comply (70%) finding time (66%) managing additional work (64%) and choosing the right cloud-based software (63%).

The need for education among businesses is clear with 41% unaware of MTD and 22% aware of what it is but planning to file taxes digitally only if they were to incur financial penalties.

Accountants cite client education as their top concern in the lead-up to MTD (29%) ahead of adapting their own practice to comply with it (27%) and training clients on online software (27%). Though educating clients on MTD is a priority for accountants the...