Govt must 'tackle' small business concerns, say accountants

Date: 16th March 2009

The government must do all that it can to ease small businesses through the recession, accountants have claimed.

According to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), small firms are just as vital to the economy as their larger counterparts.

The ACCA not only highlighted access to finance, but pointed to complicated regulations and excessive red tape.

A policy advisor at the ACCA, Rosana Mirkovic, said: "There has been a great deal of effort going into restoring the wellbeing of large companies.

"But it is the small firms which make up the majority of businesses, making significant contributions to employment opportunities and innovation."

She added that "tacking their concerns urgently" was vital in the present economic situation.

A recent investigation by the British Chambers of Commerce found that about 90 per cent of firms were unsure whether their lender offered funding under the government's Enterprise Finance Guarantee programme.