Small businesses are being urged to get their accounts sorted out, to make it easier to get hold of finance.
Research by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) found hardly any SMEs are happy to show their accounts to outsiders, with just 13 per cent prepared to make their management accounts available, and less than half of that number are willing to provide their own audited accounts.
The FPB say without up-to-date accurate financial information and projections, companies will find it much harder to access finance.
Meanwhile 96 per cent of small businesses in need of funding say rather than looking for loans, they're pursuing late payers and cutting costs.
