ICAEW: Help for new business is dismal
Three quarters of chartered accountants believe the government is not doing enough to encourage an enterprise culture, according to a new survey.
The ICAEW’s report ‘Developing the Enterprise Economy’ also found over half the accountants considered current support from the government for start-ups was poor or dismal.
Nearly one in five said the current regulatory environment was also poor or dismal.
Michael Groom, president of the institute, said: ‘Too many new businesses are constrained by red tape, cumbersome regulations and lack of access to finance.’
When Groom took over as president of the institute this summer, he declared his term of office would be the ‘year of enterprise’.
The report found the institute’s members were generally positive about the stability of the macro-economic climate, but that they took a dim view of the current regulatory environment – only four per cent rated it as good.
Groom said: ‘Interest rates and inflation may be favourable for start-ups, but the government clearly needs to improve, and better publicise, the level of support available to help them survive and thrive.’
The report showed the average cost of implementing new legislation for businesses with between 11 and 50 employees had jumped from £8,000 last year to £10,100 in 2001.
For smaller businesses, the cost now stood at £4,100, compared to £3,600 last year.
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