ICAEW: govt must help SMEs compete globally

ICAEW: govt must help SMEs compete globally

ICAEW is calling for government action to help SMEs that want to compete globally

Michael Izza,
ICAEW
chief executive, has called for government action to make globalisation a top
priority on the government’s reform agenda following a survey showing small
businesses want to take up opportunities but need help to do so.

‘The pace of global change has accelerated and UK businesses realise that
they must adapt quickly if they are to thrive in an increasingly global
marketplace,’ he said. ‘We would like to see the new Department for
Business, Enterprise and
Regulation Reform
(BERR) ensuring that globalisation is a top priority.’

The ICAEW enterprise survey showed that, of companies who have customers
overseas, 49% are in the EU of which 36% are in the later EU accession countries
such as Poland and the other former Soviet Bloc countries).

Businesses in London and the south-east are typically most likely to have
customers in more of these markets. However, the exception are Scottish
companies Scotland which are most likely to have clients in the USA, Australia
and Canada, while companies in Wales are the least globally engaged (51%)
compared with Scotland at 90% – above the national average of 72%.

Further reading:

ICAEW FD survey shows need for fewer rules

ICAEW demands compensation for VAT backlog

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