SMEs put the buzz into business Micro-firms are the worker bees of the economy. They provide the thousand-and-one services that keep business going, contribute to the community, and help us keep our daily lives on track. They are the one-man bands; the partnerships, and the family businesses. They’re the people in the kiosk at the station serving your coffee in the [...]
Fintech and the accountancy profession The union of finance and technology as fintech has become pervasive, transforming how financial services are delivered and consumed. It’s a thriving sector with many diverse parts such as online-only or neobanks, peer-to-peer lending, payment gateways / application programming interfaces (APIs), investment banking back-end infrastructure, insurtech, wealthtech and regtech. And that’s before considering some frontier [...]
How accountancy can help advance the global economies of tomorrow Society’s expectations of business and governments have shifted with speed and intensity. This has been driven by the profound impacts of Covid-19, compounded by deeply alarming threats to peace and prosperity from the war in Ukraine and conflict elsewhere. The humanitarian cost is devastating, while economic growth, public debt and wellbeing have all been adversely [...]
Give women green jobs to accelerate the journey to net-zero March 10, 2022 International Women’s Day is a day we remember the immeasurable role women play in society. Sadly, this year, it comes at a time when the world is having to wade through even more unsettling and unchartered waters, while keeping our focus on working towards a more peaceful and sustainable future. The climate agenda is redefining [...]
SMEs need support February 10, 2022 Since April 2020, as the pandemic started to truly bite, we’ve been getting regular feedback from our UK members about the financial outlook of their SME clients through our monthly ACCA UK and Corporate Finance Network SME Recovery Tracker. The data provides an insightful picture of the ups and downs for SMEs. We’ve seen how [...]
Don’t forget smaller companies while you are thinking big November 11, 2021 While world leaders and sustainability champions have been thinking about big solutions to the climate crisis in Glasgow, we’ve been appealing to them to also Think Small. For every government and large corporate making pledges to reduce carbon consumption, there are hundreds of small and medium businesses (SMBs) in their supply chains. These smaller enterprises [...]
Ethics – the foundation for a better world October 21, 2021 This week has been a special one for us at ACCA. Wednesday was Global Ethics Day – an important occasion in the calendar that we celebrate annually as it aligns with our values. It’s a day where businesses and individuals can reflect and explore the meaning of ethics and their impact on life and society. [...]
There is hope after furlough September 16, 2021 The word ‘furlough’ is one we’ve all been acquainted with from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In England, at the beginning of lockdown, about 8m people were put on the government-backed job retention scheme in order to protect millions from unemployment. Now recent government figures show 1.55m people were on the scheme at the [...]
Harnessing the power of Gen Z May 20, 2021 The first digital native generation now entering the workforce is being shaped by the unique world events they’ve lived through in their young lives – economic crises, the current climate change emergency, and of course Covid-19. Generation Z’s coming of age is happening during one of the most turbulent times in modern history. This presents [...]
We need new models of public procurement April 29, 2021 Public procurement has been in the headlines recently, and not for wholly good reasons. During the pandemic, governments around the world have rushed to buy essential kit – including face masks, gloves, medical equipment and vaccines – from suppliers. This scramble has come at a price, with the balance of power moving from the buyer [...]
