November 2007 update
PAKISTAN: ACCA PAKISTAN SUPPORTS FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS
ACCA Pakistan organised launch event of exploratory report - "Access to finance for female entrepreneurs in Pakistan." The report states that female entrepreneurs need the support of the Government, the private sector, and most importantly finance providers, as they strive to satisfy their entrepreneurial instincts, and establish sustainable enterprises necessary for ensuring an equitable and economically successful Pakistan.
The report was launched at an event at a local hotel in Lahore. The guest of honour at the launch was Mr. Shahid Rashid, Chief Executive SMEDA. The event also featured presentations from Mr. Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan, Dr. Shehla Javed Ikram, President of the Women's Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Javed Iqbal Marath, Deputy Chief Manager State Bank of Pakistan and Ms. Zoya Aliem Khan, CEO Zoya Herbal Workshop.
Access to finance is one of the main obstacles faced by female entrepreneurs as they try to establish a sustainable enterprise in the face of social and domestic constraints. The sources of seed capital for female entrepreneurs are usually personal savings, income from the sale of personal jewels or loans from family members and relatives.
The growth potential of female owned enterprises is constrained by the lack of availability of formal finance; this is mainly is due to reluctance of the female entrepreneurs to access bank finance. The major reasons for this reluctance are fear of default, high interest rates, unpleasant experiences with the banks, difficulties in raising collateral and guarantors, lack of awareness of financing schemes, high risk averseness compared to men, social barriers and lack of an effective lobby.
The report recognises that the problem is both a supply and demand side problems, and supports measures that will help female entrepreneurs adopt a more proactive approach to learning about financing, maintain relevant and reliable accounting records and encourage wider usage of the services of professional accountants. Female entrepreneurs should also consider refreshing or enhancing their accounting and finance skills by attending professional development courses of accounting and finance and attempting to build and support more effective representative organisations.
In terms of the supply side, the report recommends that the State Bank of Pakistan will have to play a pivotal role in enabling greater access to finance for female entrepreneurs, by encouraging banks to design and advertise products customised to their needs and constraints and encourage banks to allocate amounts in the total lending portfolio for lending to female entrepreneurs. The report concludes that public-private partnership is needed to overcome the barriers to accessing finance faced be female entrepreneurs.
HONG KONG: SEMINAR SERIES A SUCCESS
ACCA Hong Kong co-organised an Accountancy and Financial Management Seminar Series for SMEs with the Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs (SUCCESS) of the Trade and Industry Department. Three seminars were held in May and June with experienced ACCA members discussing with SMEs issues such as implications of the new PRC Corporate Income Tax Law, how SMEs can compute a reasonable price in a merger or acquisition and how SMEs can prepare a good business plan.
A further seminar namely "The Key to Sound Financial Management" was held on 13 September. Two senior ACCA members were invited to share with over 200 SMEs on how financial management helps management in operation and decision.
SINGAPORE: ACCA COLLABORATES WITH SINGAPORE MALAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
ACCA Singapore is currently working with the Singapore Malay Chambers of Commerce & Industry (SMCCI) to build and develop the skill sets of Malay SMEs by working closely with the SMCCI Enterprise Development Centre (EDC). ACCA is assisting SMEs by leading relevant and practical workshops on accounting and finance. This is part of a wider objective for ACCA, to provide the Malay community with the opportunity, and access, to further their interest in accountancy, business and finance.
Apart from organizing practical workshops for SMCCI, the two organisations will also organise regular networking sessions for the members of both organisations.
GLOBAL: RESEARCH GRANTS
As mentioned in the last update, ACCA's research committee has issued a n international call for research proposal on the issue of SMEs and Entrepreneurship. In total 34 proposals were received and applications were received from research in eleven countries across five continents.
The vetting process chose four proposals from this high caliber field. We have now commissioned the following research projects:
- Comparison of the role of accountants in SME financing in China and the UK by Dr Junji Wu, Leeds Met and Prof Jinyi Zhu, Yunnan University of Finance & Economics, China
- Accountants as providers of support and advice to SMEs by Ass Prof Susela Devi, University of Malaysia and Helen Samujh, University of Waikato, NZ
- The Roles of Competence, Trust and Professional Ethics in the Supply of External Financial Advice to SMEs by Dr George Tanewski and Assoc Prof Peter Carey, Monash University, and Prof Robert Blackburn, Kingston University
- Unpacking incomes and rewards to understand self-employment decisions by Professor Ian Stone, Durham Business School
These research projects will be completed over different timescales over the next few years. We very much look forward to them producing thought provoking and insightful findings.
PAKISTAN: "ACCOUNTING AND BOOKKEEPING FOR SMALL ENTERPRISES"
ACCA Pakistan initiated a project in July 2007 for developing a manual in English and Urdu on " Accounting and Bookkeeping for Small Enterprises". The main aim of the project is to create awareness about basic accounting, taxation and bookkeeping skills amongst small enterprises in Pakistan . The manual will be a significant contribution from ACCA Pakistan towards the growth and success of SME sector in Pakistan . The project is expected to be completed by December 2007.
SINGAPORE: ACCA DINNER TALK – THE SME STANDARD
ACCA Singapore will be conducting an evening talk in November for ACCA Members on the proposed FRS standard for SMEs. The Council on Corporate Disclosure & Governance (CGFRC) recently issued an exposure draft on the much anticipated FRS for SMEs. The Standard will likely be issued in 2008. The evening presentation aims to prepare companies for the implementation of the standard as well as provide a platform for SMEs to discuss critical areas surrounding the exposure draft.
PAKISTAN: HELPING TO DEVELOP SME SKILLS
ACCA Pakistan along with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) and the Haripur Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a workshop aimed at developing accounting and bookkeeping skills of SME owners and managers. The workshop was divided into the following three sessions:
- Financial Accounting Concepts and Tools
- Introduction to Financial Statements
- Analysis of Financial Reports and Access to Finance
The SME owners and managers shared their problems and issues related to accounting and bookkeeping. Even though the reading material was in English, the trainer conducted the workshop in Urdu to make it easier for the participants to understand him. The workshop was designed to be interactive in nature with various exercises for the participants.
HONG KONG: SUPPORTING SUCCESS'S BUSINESS ADVISORY SERVICE
ACCA Hong Kong is one of the partners for the Business Advisory Services provided by the Government agency, SUCCESS. The service aims to help SMEs which encounter problems when starting and running a business. As part of this support a senior ACCA member who is a tax expert met and supported an SME which came across a number of tax issues during the operation of a small restaurant. Other ACCA members will be offering their support to SMEs in similar circumstances.
HONG KONG: SUPPORTING SUCCESS'S MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME
SUCCESS also runs a SME Mentorship Programme which aims to provide an opportunity for SME entrepreneurs who are at their early stage of their business to learn from and be guided by accomplished entrepreneurs, senior executives and professionals through one-to-one free counselling. ACCA Hong Kong, being a partnering organization of this programme helped match 10 mentors to their mentees during the first half of the term of this programme.
PAKISTAN: SME SUB-COMMITTEE APROVES MORE WORKSHOPS FOR RURAL SMES
ACCA Pakistan's joint SME Sub-committee (North and South) meeting was held on 13 August 2007 in Lahore. The meeting chaired by Mr. Faysal Shaikh, Member SME Subcommittee (North) recommended that following the success of recent joint workshops with the SMEDA further workshops should be held. These workshops, in consultation with Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) should be arranged in the remote and rural areas, as capacity building needs in terms of accounting, taxation and finance skills is higher in such areas.
The meeting also discussed the accounting and bookkeeping manual for small enterprises being prepared by ACCA Pakistan, it was decided that the draft manual should be circulated to the SME subcommittee members for review and feedback.
The committee also discussed the launch event of "Access to Finance for Female Entrepreneurs in Pakistan" – an exploratory report by ACCA Pakistan. The members at the meeting expressed satisfaction with the work that is being done by ACCA Pakistan in terms of developing accounting and finance skills of SME owners and managers.
HONG KONG: SUB COMMITTEE SUPPORTS FURTHER COLLABORATION
The second SME sub committee meeting for the term 2007/08 was held on 24 October. It was resolved that collaboration opportunities with other SME supporting organizations should be further explored. Meanwhile, the sub committee would continue to provide training to ACCA members who work for SMEs, serve SMEs, as well as SMEs themselves.
HONG KONG: SME INTEREST GROUP ON CHINA TRADE
A Chinese Certified Public Accountant, who is an expert on Peoples Republic of China (PRC) customs issues, presented to the SME Interest Group on 15 September. The presentation was on the PRC custom regulations and policies. The meeting was jointly organised with ACCA Hong Kong's Mainland Affairs Interest Group and over 80 members attended the gathering.