CHARTERED accountants and business advisers Simpkins Edwards are using Twitter to connect with clients.

The firm has joined the social networking site and added an instant chat facility to its own website to communicate with clients and other professionals.

Mary Jane Campbell, partner in charge of IT development, said: "We keep our clients updated through personal briefings, seminars, e-bulletins and newsletters and now Twitter.

"Twitter allows us to keep in touch with people through quick, frequent tweets with links that will answer simple questions or provide up-to-date information. The instant chat function on our website allows users to communicate freely, improving their accessibility to information and people.

"Many of today's business decision-makers were brought up in the age of social networking so it is very much a normal way of communicating for them. We view Twitter and instant chat as valuable business tools."