id,value,measures,sample,method,source_org,source_title,year,url,tier,self_reported_or_independent,stale_flag
1,69 bps (0.69 pp) lower cost of debt; range 25 to 105 bps across models,"Interest rate gap, audited vs unaudited US private firms (Minnis 2011, as summarized by Huq et al.)",Proprietary Sageworks database of US private firms,Regression; Huq et al. literature review quoting Minnis main model,"Huq, Hartwig, Rudholm (Int. J. of Disclosure and Governance)",Do audited firms have a lower cost of debt?,2021,https://d-nb.info/1251468233/34,1,INDEPENDENT,STALE
2,"About USD 25,000 per year",Annual interest savings from audit for the average firm in Minnis 2011,US private firms (Sageworks),Secondary summary of Minnis 2011,"Huq, Hartwig, Rudholm",Do audited firms have a lower cost of debt?,2021,https://d-nb.info/1251468233/34,1,INDEPENDENT,STALE
3,Significantly lower cost of debt; lenders put more weight on audited numbers,"Audited vs unaudited private US firms, debt pricing",Large proprietary database of privately held US firms,"Abstract, Journal of Accounting Research 49(2)",Michael Minnis (abstract via RePEc/IDEAS),The Value of Financial Statement Verification in Debt Financing: Evidence from Private U.S. Firms,2011,https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/joares/v49y2011i2p457-506.html,1,INDEPENDENT,STALE
4,0.47 pp (47 bps) lower cost of debt,"Audited vs unaudited private firms, Sweden",Swedish private limited firms 2009 to 2013,Instrumental variable / endogenous switching model,"Huq, Hartwig, Rudholm",Do audited firms have a lower cost of debt?,2021,https://d-nb.info/1251468233/34,1,INDEPENDENT,STALE
5,No significant association between audits and cost of debt,"Allee and Yohn 2009 result on audits and cost of debt, as characterized by Huq et al.",US small private firms (SSBF),Literature review statement,"Huq, Hartwig, Rudholm",Do audited firms have a lower cost of debt?,2021,https://d-nb.info/1251468233/34,1,INDEPENDENT,STALE
6,32%,"Share of US small firms that applied for a loan in prior 3 years that produced financial statements (Allee and Yohn 2009, Table 1)",Fed Survey of Small Business Finances,Secondary citation in Minnis and Sutherland footnote,Minnis and Sutherland (Journal of Accounting Research),Financial Statements as Monitoring Mechanisms: Evidence from Small Commercial Loans,2017,https://mitsloan.mit.edu/shared/ods/documents?DocumentID=2700,1,INDEPENDENT,STALE
7,51%,Share of small commercial loans where banks request financial statements,"4,518 loans, 35 US banks, 3,148 borrowers (Sageworks Lending Assistant)",Bank loan correspondence data,Minnis and Sutherland,Financial Statements as Monitoring Mechanisms: Evidence from Small Commercial Loans,2017,https://mitsloan.mit.edu/shared/ods/documents?DocumentID=2700,1,INDEPENDENT,STALE
8,43%,Share of small commercial loans where banks request business tax returns,"4,518 loans, 35 US banks",Bank loan correspondence data,Minnis and Sutherland,Financial Statements as Monitoring Mechanisms: Evidence from Small Commercial Loans,2017,https://mitsloan.mit.edu/shared/ods/documents?DocumentID=2700,1,INDEPENDENT,STALE
9,24%,Share of bank financial statement requests that are for interim (not annual) statements,"4,518 loans, 35 US banks",Bank loan correspondence data,Minnis and Sutherland,Financial Statements as Monitoring Mechanisms: Evidence from Small Commercial Loans,2017,https://mitsloan.mit.edu/shared/ods/documents?DocumentID=2700,1,INDEPENDENT,STALE
10,21.3% (23.4% in 2002 falling to 19.5% in 2011),Share of borrower financial statements collected by US banks that are unqualified audits,"About 1.8 million statements, RMA, 2002 to 2011",Bank-collected statement database,"Berger, Minnis, Sutherland (Journal of Accounting and Economics)",Commercial Lending Concentration and Bank Expertise: Evidence from Borrower Financial Statements,2017,https://mitsloan.mit.edu/shared/ods/documents?PublicationDocumentID=5270,1,INDEPENDENT,STALE
11,About +1.7 pp higher interest rate for voluntarily audited firms,Voluntary audit and cost of debt (riskier firms self-select into audits),"7,420 small private firms, Slovenia, 2006 to 2022",Regression; International Review of Economics and Finance vol. 109,"Ichev, Koren, Kosi, Sitar Sustar, Valentincic (Univ. of Ljubljana news page)",Cost of debt for private firms revisited: voluntary audits as a reflection of risk,2026,https://www.ef.uni-lj.si/en/news/latest-news/2026-06-04-cost-of-debt-for-private-firms-revisited-voluntary-audits-as-a-reflection-of-risk,1,INDEPENDENT,
12,+2.4 pp approval probability (12% of mean approval rate),"Effect of assignment to a cash-flow-intensive lender on approval, owners under 40","About 1.1 million applications, 74,000 loans, 3 US fintechs, 2013 to 2024",Quasi-random lender assignment; NBER WP 33367,"NBER (Hair, Howell, Johnson, Matsumoto)",Underwriting Based on Cash Flow Helps Younger Entrepreneurs Access Credit,2025,https://www.nber.org/be/20252/underwriting-based-cash-flow-helps-younger-entrepreneurs-access-credit,1,INDEPENDENT,
13,2.08,TACO ratio (benefited vs harmed by cash-flow model) for low-FICO entrepreneurs under 40,Same as above,Model reclassification,NBER,Underwriting Based on Cash Flow Helps Younger Entrepreneurs Access Credit,2025,https://www.nber.org/be/20252/underwriting-based-cash-flow-helps-younger-entrepreneurs-access-credit,1,INDEPENDENT,
14,FICO below 670 (under 30) vs 720 (over 70),Owner FICO by age among fintech small business applicants,Same as above,Descriptive,NBER,Underwriting Based on Cash Flow Helps Younger Entrepreneurs Access Credit,2025,https://www.nber.org/be/20252/underwriting-based-cash-flow-helps-younger-entrepreneurs-access-credit,1,INDEPENDENT,
15,More than 2 pp lower default (young firms) vs 1 pp (older firms),"Default reduction per 1 SD higher bank balance (about $64,000)","38,000+ small business loans, 2 fintech lenders, Feb 2015 to Jan 2024",Default regressions with cash-flow variables,"FinRegLab with NYU Stern (Howell, Matsumoto)",Sharpening the Focus: Using Cash-Flow Data to Underwrite Financially Constrained Businesses,2025,https://finreglab.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/FinRegLab_06-03-2025_Sharpening-the-Focus-Accessible-Text.pdf,1,INDEPENDENT,
16,7.57 (1.74 for all young firms),"TACO ratio for young, low-FICO firms under cash-flow model",Same as above,Model reclassification,FinRegLab,Sharpening the Focus: Using Cash-Flow Data to Underwrite Financially Constrained Businesses,2025,https://finreglab.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/FinRegLab_06-03-2025_Sharpening-the-Focus-Accessible-Text.pdf,1,INDEPENDENT,
17,17% default; 16% average interest rate; 41% lines of credit,Baseline outcomes in the fintech small business loan sample,Same as above,Descriptive,FinRegLab,Sharpening the Focus: Using Cash-Flow Data to Underwrite Financially Constrained Businesses,2025,https://finreglab.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/FinRegLab_06-03-2025_Sharpening-the-Focus-Accessible-Text.pdf,1,INDEPENDENT,
18,59% of large banks rank personal credit score most important for smaller loans vs 11% of small banks,"Most important underwriting factor, smaller loans","FDIC Small Business Lending Surveys (2018, 2024)","Bank survey, cited by FinRegLab",FinRegLab citing FDIC,Sharpening the Focus: Using Cash-Flow Data to Underwrite Financially Constrained Businesses,2025,https://finreglab.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/FinRegLab_06-03-2025_Sharpening-the-Focus-Accessible-Text.pdf,1,INDEPENDENT,
19,More than 80%,"Share of banks evaluating personal credit scores and collateral/guarantees for most or all small business loans, all loan sizes","About 1,300 responding US banks (68% response), fielded June 2022 to Jan 2023",Bank survey,FDIC,"2024 Small Business Lending Survey, Section 3: Loan Underwriting and Approval",2025,https://www.fdic.gov/publications/small-business-lending-survey-2024-section-3-loan-underwriting-and-approval,1,INDEPENDENT,
20,More than 90% (non-audited statements) vs 41% (audited statements),Share of banks evaluating non-audited vs audited financial statements for most or all large loans,"About 1,300 US banks",Bank survey,FDIC,"2024 Small Business Lending Survey, Section 3: Loan Underwriting and Approval",2025,https://www.fdic.gov/publications/small-business-lending-survey-2024-section-3-loan-underwriting-and-approval,1,INDEPENDENT,
21,67%,Share of banks citing insufficient debt service coverage ratio as adding levels of loan approval,"About 1,300 US banks",Bank survey,FDIC,"2024 Small Business Lending Survey, Section 3: Loan Underwriting and Approval",2025,https://www.fdic.gov/publications/small-business-lending-survey-2024-section-3-loan-underwriting-and-approval,1,INDEPENDENT,
22,29% of small banks vs slightly more than half of large banks,"Can approve a small, simple loan in one business day or less (76% small / 81% large within a week)","About 1,300 US banks",Bank survey,FDIC,"2024 Small Business Lending Survey, Section 3: Loan Underwriting and Approval",2025,https://www.fdic.gov/publications/small-business-lending-survey-2024-section-3-loan-underwriting-and-approval,1,INDEPENDENT,
23,About 90%,Share of banks where loan or borrower complexity or unusual characteristics delay approval,"About 1,300 US banks",Bank survey,FDIC,"2024 Small Business Lending Survey, Section 3: Loan Underwriting and Approval",2025,https://www.fdic.gov/publications/small-business-lending-survey-2024-section-3-loan-underwriting-and-approval,1,INDEPENDENT,
24,42% all / 36% some or most / 22% none,"Total financing received by applicants, prior 12 months","6,525 US employer firms (1 to 499 employees), Sep to Nov 2025","Federal Reserve Banks convenience sample, weighted",Federal Reserve Banks (SBCS),Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms,2026,https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,1,INDEPENDENT,
25,46% requirements too strict; 37% too much debt; 30% low credit score; 29% insufficient collateral; 29% weak sales,"Reasons for credit denial (multi-select), applicants not approved for some financing","N=1,189",SBCS survey,Federal Reserve Banks (SBCS),Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms,2026,https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,1,INDEPENDENT,
26,Weak business financials = most cited reason,Why discouraged nonapplicants expected denial ('missing documentation' also an option; % not extractable from PDF text),N=227 discouraged nonapplicants,SBCS survey,Federal Reserve Banks (SBCS),Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms,2026,https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,1,INDEPENDENT,
27,38% applied; 57% fully approved at small banks; fintech share of applicants 17% (2020) to 29% (2025),"Application and approval patterns for loans, lines of credit, cash advances","6,525 employer firms",SBCS survey,Federal Reserve Banks (SBCS),Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms,2026,https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,1,INDEPENDENT,
28,"60% (vs 37% small banks, 32% large banks)","Borrowers reporting actual borrowing costs higher than expected, online lenders",SBCS borrowers,SBCS survey,Federal Reserve Banks (SBCS),Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms,2026,https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,1,INDEPENDENT,
29,60% would likely not get a loan elsewhere; 46% never applied before,QuickBooks Capital customers (company claim),"QuickBooks Capital borrowers, first year; $140M cumulative loans","Intuit internal data / customer survey, method not disclosed",Intuit,QuickBooks Capital Continues Momentum in Delivering Innovative Capital Options for Small Business Lending,2018,https://investors.intuit.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/306/quickbooks-capital-continues-momentum-in-delivering-innovative-capital-options-for-small-business-lending,1,SELF-REPORTED,STALE
30,"$7B loan volume FY26, up 75% YoY; 60% faster revenue growth after accessing capital",QuickBooks lending scale and claimed borrower outcome,Intuit FY2026,"Investor Day slide, method not disclosed",Intuit,"Intuit Investor Day 2026 presentation (Sep 17, 2026)",2026,https://investors.intuit.com/_assets/_70123eb07f7dd3f9d2bb535764d2a2ab/intuit/db/923/10406/pdf/Investor+Day+2026+Presenatation+FINAL.pdf,1,SELF-REPORTED,
31,$1.5K to $250K; 6 to 24 months; decision in as little as 30 seconds; funding in 1 to 2 business days; generally $50K+ revenue,"QuickBooks Term Loan terms; underwriting uses QuickBooks sales trends, profitability, invoices and cash flow forecast",Product page,Company disclosure,Intuit QuickBooks,QuickBooks Capital product page,2026,https://quickbooks.intuit.com/capital/,1,SELF-REPORTED,
32,53% spreadsheets; 31% pen and paper,How small businesses record and manage finances,"About 5,000 businesses, US/CA/UK/AU, 0 to 100 employees",Online survey by Intuit QuickBooks,Intuit QuickBooks,Small Business Insights,2026,https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/small-business-data/small-business-insights/,1,SELF-REPORTED,
33,66% use financial accounting software; of those 69% QuickBooks,Accounting software adoption among small business owners,Small Business Majority owner survey,Survey,Small Business Majority,"Digital transformation: Small businesses face obstacles, opportunities in using digital accounting software",2023,https://smallbusinessmajority.org/sites/default/files/research-reports/small-businesses-obstacles-opportunities-digital-accounting-software.pdf,2,INDEPENDENT,
34,About $1.7B originated Q3 FY26; $4.3B trailing 9 months to Apr 30,QuickBooks Capital originations,Intuit earnings call,Press summary of company disclosure,deBanked,QuickBooks Capital: ~$1.7B Funded Last Quarter,2026,https://debanked.com/2026/05/quickbooks-capital-1-7b-funded-last-quarter-repeats-that-ai-is-not-a-threat-but-rather-an-advantage/,3,SELF-REPORTED,