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Technical

Finance transformation: a missed opportunity for SMEs? Logo cima

  CIMA |   Free |   2011 |   Thought leadership

SMEs are expected to play an important role in job creation and helping the UK to recover from the current crisis. Almost 40% of job vacancies in the UK are in small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), those with fewer than 250 employees. There is a danger in today’s economic climate that organisations could make false economies or even damage their long-term prospects when cutting costs and limiting investment budgets. Leading organisations have transformed their finance functions to better inform these decisions and to help improve performance.

While much has been written about finance transformation in large corporations, particularly multi-nationals, little attention has been paid to how finance functions in SMEs are changing. Research over many economic cycles has shown that the organisations with the best prospects of emerging successfully from any recession are those which can balance cutting costs to improve operating efficiency with continuing to invest to develop their competitive position.

Topics covered:
  • Management accounting: Technical: Management reporting & analysis: Performance management, Intermediate

1 Comments/Reflections

Kristian Cooper

Kristian Cooper May 2018

This is a very valid and useful article. Far too little emphasis is placed on the role of accountants in SME organisations, given the UKs proud place as a renowned innovator on the world stage. Having spent the vast majority of my career to date working for or with SMEs it gives the perfect grounding to understand what makes a business tick.  Having to multi task and wear 'different hats' enhances knowledge and enables a more rounded professional experience as well as offering a value added service to small business owners