Small and Medium-Sized Accounting Practices (SMPs): Explaining Financial Performance based on Human Capital and Organisational Resources

Abstract

Small- and medium-sized accounting practices (SMPs) offer clients – small and medium-sized entities – support to comply with statutory services (financial statements, tax file preparation) and provide customised business advice. This paper investigates differences in SMP’s financial performance. A survey was sent to Belgian heads of SMPs, asking about personal characteristics regarding education and experience (representing human capital resources), firm size, service types provided, cooperation, and communication (representing organisational capital resources). The findings show that additional specialisation degrees, more experience, and more continuing professional development are linked with higher sales per employee. However, the advantage of additional specialisation degrees diminishes as experience increases. Cooperating with other service providers and using the phone as preferred communication method were also linked to higher financial performance. Finally, male-headed SMPs had higher sales per employee than female-headed ones. Female accountants focused more on their educational role, spending more time explaining the figures to clients.