Small and Medium Businesses

The Institute

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides access to a collection of over 200 free four page briefings on key business topics. You can access the briefings at http://www.icaew.com/directorsbriefings

A further selection of topical articles for SMEs can be found in the latest issue of Small Business Update.

See also the Library's Innovation links page which provides information about range of organisations and institutions providing resources, advice and courses.

Reading Lists

The Institute's Library & Information Service compiles daily updated reading lists on:

E-commerce for SMEs

Marketing for SMEs

Building the Successful Family Business

Growing the Business

SME Credit Management

Finance for SMEs

SME Management

Small Business Start-up

SME Taxation

Strategy and Planning for SMEs

Enterprise Management Incentive

Items on the list are available to members of the Institute from the LIS via the Loans or Faxing/Photocopying Service. Telephone the Enquiry Team on +44(0)20 7920 8620 or email us at library@icaew.com.

Links

The Professional Oversight Board for Accountancy, a part of the Financial Reporting Council, has published a Review of How Accountants Support the Needs of Small and Medium-Sized Companies and their Stakeholders. The report is based on a survey of directors of small companies conducted by the Small Enterprise Research Team. In addition a survey of accountants and other business advisers was conducted for this review by the Nottingham University UK Business Adviser Barometer. The FRC has also made available the working paper Qualitative review of the accounting and auditing needs of small and medium-sized companies and their stakeholders by Neil Marriott (University of Glamorgan), Jill Collis (Kingston University) and Pru Marriott (University of Glamorgan) describing the case-study interviews with 17 companies and follow-up interviews with their accountants.

UK Government

Achieving best practice in your business - the DTI Achieving Best Practice website has merged with Business Link. This site provides small businesses with advice on all areas of business - from management through to online technologies and e-commerce.

Basel II for SMEs - website of the EC funded project to "inform Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Multi-Annual Programme (MAP) countries about Basel II." The site includes a toolkit to help SMEs assess their own preparedness for raising funds though banks after the introduction of Basel II Capital Accord and the EU's proposed Capital Requirement Directive (CRD).

Benchmark Index - useful website from the Small Business Service providing a tool that enables small businesses to compare themselves with other companies using a benchmarking sampler (based on data from 2000 companies). The site also provides free downloadable copies of their report 'Closing the gap' and their newsletter 'Benchmark Index' (which includes articles and case studies).

Businesslink Healthcheck - Business Link interactive tool to help business owners identify areas of their business or administration which may need attention and the advice of external business advisers. It stresses the importance of identifying and tackling problems as early as possible.

Business Link - a national business advice service which gives information on a range of business topics with links to relevant regulation and schemes to help small businesses. A small business start up service is featured, along with an extensive collection of annotated sources such as factsheets, FAQs, case studies and links. The No-nonsense guide to Government rules and regulations for setting up your business is a freely available 100 page factsheet containing all the legal and official information required to start up on your own as well as regulations that could affect a growing business such as employing staff and gaining new premises.

Data Protection and Small and Medium Businesses - This report investigates the awareness of data protection and the Data Protection Act amongst small and medium sized businesses in the UK. The aim of the study was to 'investigate small and medium sized businesses' attitude to privacy, to look at their practical compliance measures and to evaluate their concerns about this area of the law.' This is the final report prepared for the Information Commissioner's Office by Enterprise Research and Development Unit (ERDU) of Lincoln Business School, September 2004 (PDF 460kb/73 pages ). Guidance on the DPA can be found on the website of the Information Commissioner's Office.

Design Factfinder - Design Council website aimed at businesses, business intermediaries, design educators, researchers and students to alert them to the financial advantages gained by the use of design in the business context. Statistical data is provided to prove how Design alert businesses can improve their performance and increase their turnover. The site includes the Design Council's Design in Britain 2005-2006 report.

Grants - via Businesslink.gov.uk - part of the Small Business Service government agency.

Entrepreneurial Edge Online - US magazine aimed at small business.

Graham Review of the Small Firms Loan Guarantee - HM Treasury web page with a list of the Review's aims and links to: the Graham Review of the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Final Report: published 4 October; Press notice on the Graham Review; Government Response to the Graham Report 4 October 2004; and related documents, all in PDF format.

Less taxing tax: What small businesses want from the taxation system - a report from the DTI's Small Business Service that delivers response from and "explores the needs and desires" of the SME sector regarding the organisational changes to HM Customs and Excise, HM Treasury and Inland Revenue.

Lifting the barriers to growth in UK small businesses - report on the Federation of Small Businesses 2006 biennial survey of its membership. The survey is claimed to be the "largest survey of its kind". The report gives detailed information and several tables of data on Characteristics of business; Markets and customers; Finance; Employment; E-commerce; Business advice and services; Legislation; Transport and the environment ; and Incidence and cost of crime. The report was compiled by staff at the Universities of Sterling and Strathclyde.

Business rates - this Business Link guide explains who pays business rates, how business rates are calculated, how to pay them, and what to do if you have reason to believe your rateable value is incorrect.

NetRegs - a dedicated government website which has been 'designed to help small businesses navigate through the maze of environmental legislation'. The site includes information on management and sector guidelines, as well as providing the full text of a survey of environmental policies of SMEs called 'SME-nvironment 2007' which is available in PDF format.

Passing the baton: encouraging successful business transfers - (PDF, 36 pages 1,665KB). The Small Business Service have published a report investigating the market for the sale of small businesses in the UK. In particular the report identifies barriers to the transferance of ownership, the nature of these barriers, potential solutions that have been prooposed to solve these problems, and support that is available to small businesses that are succession planning.

SMEs missing out on benefits of competition - Press Release of 24/5/05 detailing the launch of the 'Championing Competition' campaign by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). 'Championing Competition' aims to highlight the positive aspects of competition in the market place and to help small companies understand and comply with the Competition Act.

Small Business Service - new UK Government Agency working across government departments running a range of activities designed to help small business.
Small Firms Consultation Database - "The database itself allows the Small Business Service (SBS) to contact SMEs on behalf of policy officials to gauge the potential impact of proposed new regulations on small business."

Supplier Route to Government - Government backed portal providing access to lower value public sector contract opportunities. Registration is free and includes guidance on public sector procurement as well as daily e-mail alerts containing new contracts.

Small Business Organisations in UK

PKF SME Index - a "quarterly performance survey of small and medium sized enterprises". The index is produced in conjunction with NTC Research Ltd and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. The report is available to download on free registration.

Angelbourse - network of regional exchanges for SMEs with the intention of linking up SMEs with new sources of funding.

Better Payment Practice Campaign - essential reading for small businesses, with the full text of 'The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 - A User's Guide' available for download. The site maintains a useful section on credit worthiness, risk reduction techniques and an assortment of checklists - including the Small Business Credit Healthcheck. On top of this, you can also find the latest news on the issues and an update on legislation. Visitors to the site are encouraged to complete a web poll.

BizGuides - a useful set of over 30 trade-by-trade guides developed by Parkes and hosted on the Alliance & Leicester Business Banking website aimed at a wide range of people from accountants to pig farmers. Each guide provides sector specific information and tips on buying an existing business, market research, sector trends, what to sell and services offered. The guides provide advice on how to make an appropriate cash flow forecast, with supplementary entries including everything from payments to creditors to stationery costs. The range of businesses includes ice cream vans, bookshops and funeral parlours.

British Chambers of Commerce - including listing and links of Chambers of Commerce in Britain.

BT Click.com for Business - information on a wide range of business services and 300 factsheets for small business.

Business Advisers' Digest - free current awareness service aimed at SMEs, with a fortnightly digest by e-mail, and an archive of previous editions on the site.

Business Banking Code (British Bankers Association) - banking code for SMEs issued by the British Bankers Association and effective from 1 March 2003, designed to help businesses 'understand and manage the relationship with their bank'. The code is available to download in sections or as a whole.

Business Seduction Guide - A guide for SMEs to improving business communication and forging working relationships produced by Royal Mail following research that poor business communication costs SMEs in the UK more than £3bn a year.

Business Zone - business information service for accountants (and sister site to AccountingWeb) with a special emphasis on SMEs. Includes the BusinessZONE Internet Search Engine which indexes sites of interest to SME professionals.

CCH Business Focus - a series of industry-specific guidance and statistical intelligence on over 80 trades and professions, available through the AccountingWeb website. A sample report is provided, setting out what information is available.

Clearly Business - small business portal supported by Freeserve and Barclays providing guides and advice on different topics for SMEs. The information on the site is helpfully divided into business, ebusiness and finance.

Federation of Small Businesses - has sections for members and guests. The guest access includes details of the organisation, its history, role and policies plus statistics and publications.

Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship - Organisation aiming to advance research, education and policy in the field of small business and entrepreneurship. Web site includes abstracts of conference papers and a quarterly Small Business Issues newsletter.

P3 Capital - works with businesses and new ventures to raise finance from business angels, venture capital funds and other investors. P3 Capital focuses on businesses that integrate social and environmental responsibility into their business model.

Small Business.co.uk - themed small business directory that aims to help businesses to find suitable products, services and suppliers. Includes a selection of small business news stories, plus the option to subscribe to a free smallbusiness.co.uk bulletin.

Small Business Journey - Described as "a way for small businesses to realise more value by behaving responsibly", Small Business Journey provides guides on within the areas of practice, policy, and stakeholders.

Small Business Research Portal - text based website focusing on information in the SME sector, including news and consultation documents (with links to the full text where available).

Startups - online resource produced by publisher Crimson Business for those starting or running a small business. Includes startup guides, a searchable franchise database plus an enewsletter.

The supply of banking services by clearing banks to small and medium-sized enterprises: A report on the supply of banking services by clearing banks to small and medium-sized enterprises within the UK - summary and full text of the report from the Competition Commission published in March 2002. The report includes background information on the main suppliers of banking services to SMEs and the profitability of banks' services to SMEs.

TelecomsAdvice - an independent website endorsed by Oftel set up to provide small UK businesses with information and advice on using telecommuncations and the Internet including an overview of products and services on offer. The website includes a range of information sheets on various topics as well as case studies and feature articles. The site can be searched or browsed by an a-z index.

Tom's Law: Legal Documents Online - an online collection of draft legal documents, checklists, legal guides and example letters. The site is 'intended to serve the public interest by helping smaller companies and their investors' and has been developed by Tom Mackay, former head of the legal department of the London Stock Exchange and leader of the project team which rewrote the Listing Rules of the London Stock Exchange. Included in the collection are draft documents covering AIM companies, articles and memorandum, company administration, confidentiality, employment, investment and options, private placing, sale and purchase, and listing. The site includes a warning notice that should be read before using any of the documents in the collection.

Small Business Organisations in Europe and Worldwide

Avoiding Business Failure - a Guide for SMEs (2004) - a publication from FEE (European Federation of Accountants) which is free to download from their SME publications section after registration. The guide "provides practical advice to SME entrepreneurs on responsible financial management."

European Commission: SME definition - document outlining the Commission's recommendations on the definition of an SME. Additionally, a table displaying these figures clearly can be found in the Craft and Small Businesses page.

European Public Limited-Liability Company Regulations 2004 - came into force on 8 October 2004. This enables any company operating in more than one EU member state to incorporate as a European Limited-Liability Company or 'Societas Europaea'. Registration is voluntary. For more information, refer to the Institute's links page on the European Company / Societas Europaea

Global Information Network for SMEs - details of national SME resources in G7 countries, as well as a range of additional resources in other locations, listed with direct links.

Global Reporting Initiative - details of the High 5! handbook produced by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) providing guidance and practical advice to SMEs on using the GRI's Sustainability Reporting Guidlines.

The new SME definition: user guide and model declaration - an Enterprise & Industry Publication from the European Commission (PDF, 52 pages 1,189KB). The guide outlines changes made due to the new definition and the reasons for the changes. The guide states that the "changes reflect general economic developments since 1996, and a growing awareness of the specific hurdles confronting SMEs. The new definition is more suited to the different categories of SMEs and takes better account of the various types of relationships between enterprises. It helps to promote innovation and foster partnerships, while ensuring that only those enterprises which genuinely require support are targeted by public schemes."

Plus Markets - information on small unquoted UK securities with news and prices.

One Stop Internet Shop for Business - an EU site for small businesses wishing to trade across the EU. It includes business related links and guides to EU legislation and regulations on relevant issues, advice and practical information.

small business|europe - Based in Brussels, small business|europe represents UK SMEs "at EU level".

World Bank Doing Business Website includes country data summaries for 175 countries, which provide useful comparative data such as number of procedures/days to start a business.

Other Small Business Services

Telephone Preference Service - central register enabling corporate subscribers to indicate for free their wish not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls. A Mailing Preference Service, Facsimile Preference Service and E-mail Preference Service are also available.

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