ACCA welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) call for input titled “Understanding how our regulation can help SMEs access to finance”. We believe that SMEs face significant challenges in access to finance due to a complex market with strains on the availability of finance, uncertainty of access, provision of financial services, cost pressures and time constraints.

Since 2011 ACCA (in partnership with the Institute of Management Accountants) has run the world’s largest regular economic survey of accountants (GECs). In Q4 of 20252 our work indicated SMEs have a poor economic outlook within the UK and confidence declined to its second lowest score in the survey’s history due to weak growth and rising costs.

To read the response in full, please download the consultation document found on this page.