Small Business Boost? ACCA SME Expert Comments on the Autumn Statement’s Deals for SMEs
The senior economic analyst at Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Manos Schizas, responded Autumn Statement’s SME focus by stating that support and assistance for SMEs is applauded. He continued that improvement has been observed in credit conditions and confidence for SMEs since last year but the progress has slowed down in the current quarter. He added that government must act in this situation and support SME segment.
Some of the announcements of Autumn Statements have been analyzed in detail by Manos Schizas:
Peer to Peer Lending
The P2P Lending through the British Business Bank and is appreciated. But details about how the money will be utilized are still required. We believe that the responsibility of the bank is to develop new financial markets for SMEs and aid them as required. ACCA is working is collaboration with other bodies to assess the role of institutional investors in this regard.
Sovereign Wealth Fund for the North
The talk of sovereign wealth fund for the North was interesting and unclear. We would like to know about classes of assets the fund will invest in.
R&D Tax Credits for SMEs
The rise in the R&D tax credits for the SMEs is highly appreciated. ACCAs analysis indicates that SMEs are sometimes unable to identify eligible investment and are not able to measure and protect intangible assets.
Job Creation Schemes
Incentives for producing jobs and internships for the youth who are freshly qualified and unemployed would be highly appreciated by the SMEs.
Funding for Lending Scheme
Funding for Lending (FLS) for SMEs has been extended and ACCA appreciates it. Some factors like tax reliefs for Research and Development expenses and the increase in the exports, are important in ensuring that SMEs of UK will remain competent and continue to be innovative.
Exporters
Providing support for the fresh exporters is encouraging. Developing the capability is really important. ACCA’s research has identified that small exporters have been comparatively less supported as they need to be backed up with more than just finance.
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