Keeping Pace with Change
Why Creative and IT SMEs Must Embrace Sustainable Accounting Now
The landscape for UK businesses is shifting fast. The UK Finance “Supporting SMEs in the Transition to Net Zero” report (October 2025) revealed that more than 70% of small businesses still lack the systems and skills to measure or report their environmental impact. For accountants and advisors, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity.
For creative and IT firms, sustainability is now inseparable from accounting. Every cloud subscription, data centre, and software licence leaves both a financial and environmental footprint. Procurement teams, lenders, and investors increasingly require evidence of sustainability performance alongside traditional financials.
These are the strategic priorities for businesses that want to stay ahead:
Map your operational footprint. Review cloud providers, device usage, and software subscriptions. Use integrated accounting systems such as Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, Zoho Books, or Dynamics 365 to capture ESG data alongside financials.
Turn sustainability into a reporting advantage. Include environmental and social metrics in management reports to strengthen bids, funding applications, and investor confidence.
Leverage automation. Automate data capture, reduce manual input, and use analytics to link financial performance with sustainability outcomes.
Act early. Businesses that embed ESG into their accounting and advisory frameworks now will outperform when reporting becomes mandatory.
At Highwoods Group, we help creative and IT businesses build sustainable accounting systems that deliver transparency, compliance, and long-term growth. Sustainability is not an add-on, it is the next evolution of modern accounting.
