The objectives of this paper are to identify the financial skills small business owners believe necessary to be successful in business, and to establish whether there is a role for secondary school accounting in contributing to the learning of these skills. A combination of a social network website and snowball sampling technique was used to invite small business owners to participate in the study. The social network website was used to promote the study, with research participants being directed to it for further information. Semi-structured interviews with 18 owners of 17 small businesses situated in the North Island of New Zealand were undertaken. English and maths were identified as being the most important subjects studied at secondary school that contributed to interviewees' understanding the financial side of their business. The small number of business owners interviewed means that the findings of this study may not be representative of the whole population of New Zealand small businesses owners.