How accountants transform SMEs

The ACCA members from around the world who feature in the report include auditors, sustainability champions, tech advisers and others who have carved out niches that offer SMEs valuable support in key areas.

Walking the talk

Seyi Willoughby FCCA, for example, is the founder of Elma Park Advisors, a boutique financial advisory firm that specialises in finding suitable funding for middle-market companies across Sub-Saharan Africa. Mid-sized companies in Nigeria and neighbouring countries face a US$31bn funding gap and struggle to find affordable capital, often because of a lack of proper records and structuring, as well as the perceived risk associated with SMEs. Willoughby uses her two decades of corporate experience, including leadership roles at major banks in Nigeria, to help SMEs articulate their story and strategy to investors, and incorporate sustainability principles for long-term value creation.

Meanwhile Chankiriroth Sim FCCA, the founder of Banhji, a fintech startup that provides digital financial solutions for SMEs and rural businesses in Cambodia, is similarly focused on financial inclusion. The solutions created by Banhji are suited to the realities of SMEs, rather than structured around traditional practices, and are helping to address the hurdles that 750,000 micro-enterprises and agricultural cooperatives in Cambodia face in accessing finance and maintaining proper books. Chankiriroth also acts as an assistant to the Prime Minister of Cambodia, focusing on fintech, finance and accountancy aspects of SME policy, and is a member of the ACCA Global Forum for SMEs.

Some professional accountants featured in the report have encouraged SMEs to act as pioneers in important areas, including sustainability. Candice Brett FCCA, CFO of Faith in Nature, a UK-based company specialising in ethical personal care products, explains how her organisation took the groundbreaking step of appointing ‘nature’ to its board, including giving it a vote.

‘This means that when you’re looking at decisions, it becomes not just about commercial [concerns] any more,’ says Brett in the report. ‘It’s a lot more about that balance between profitability and sustainability.’

Building resilience

Resilience is a recurring theme throughout the stories, reflecting the fact that many SMEs were hit particularly hard by the pandemic and are feeling the impact of high inflation and financial downturns. Eoin Massey FCCA, a director at the Irish insolvency advisory firm Friel Stafford, is described in the report as ‘the resilience navigator’, helping SMEs in Ireland better withstand economic shocks or internal missteps. His aim is to support enterprises in difficulty by positioning Friel Stafford as a trusted partner that helps businesses identify areas for improvement, restructure operations and potentially save jobs.

Early Warning Europe, a non-profit organisation operating across Europe, features in the report for its extensive support mechanism for SMEs who find themselves in challenging situations. The organisation uses the collective expertise of accountancy professionals and seasoned mentors to guide SME owners through challenging times. More financial education for SMEs, combined with a culture of in-depth and regular interaction between small businesses and finance professionals, is seen as an essential component of resilience and growth.

Mindset shift

Sometimes the support that SMEs need goes well beyond financial expertise. The work of Elisabet Bach Oller, a business adviser and mentor based in Barcelona, is highlighted for its importance in helping entrepreneurs shift their mindset and see themselves as leaders of sustainable enterprises. 

Bach Oller’s work, and her collaboration with the Association of Self-Employed Professionals (PIMEC), recognises that most entrepreneurs begin as self-employed workers with a freelancer mindset, focused on execution rather than strategic business management. She helps entrepreneurs create sustainable growth strategies, including adjusting operations for profitability before the business is scaled up, with a roadmap for target revenues over future years. Under her guidance, many micro businesses have transformed into flourishing, viable organisations.

The report concludes with an extensive toolkit, which collects together all of the ACCA resources, best practices and insights that accountancy and finance professionals need when working with SMEs. The comprehensive list of topics covered includes how to use data analytics to create a compelling narrative and support SME access to finance and growth, risk management and business resilience, how to attract, retain and develop talent, and supply chain management.