ICAEW reports to help SMEs
The latest finance advice guides and reports designed to help small and medium-sized organisations navigate the business world.
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The Guide to Financial Fitness in Business
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This is a one-stop guide for busy business owners looking to maximise their financial wellness.n
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The Essential Guide to GDPR
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Getting to grips with the General Data Protection Regulation
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Basics of VAT
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Information for those ready to start your business, or have just started operating your business and need to register for VAT.
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Export finance
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Information for businesses considering exporting for the first time. While exporting can have significant benefits for a business there are some risks associated with it.
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How do I monitor the progress of my business?
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Information on how to monitor the progress of your business.
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Why write a business plan?
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A business plan is essentially the route map that helps you establish a viable new business. It will also be essential if you need to raise finance for your business.
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Managing cash flow
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Information on why you should manage your cash flow and what you should do to achieve this.
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Questions about business taxation
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Information on key questions with regards to business taxation.
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Red tape: A big problem for SMEs?
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Whitepaper which sets out to explore the nature and challenge of ‘Red Tape’ to SMEs and startups in the UK.
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Sole trader or limited company
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Outline of the main points of each business structure.
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The Enterprise Finance Guarantee guide
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EFG facilitates lending to smaller businesses that are viable but unable to obtain finance from their lender due to having insufficient security to meet the lender’s normal security requirements.
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The limited company and tax
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We explain below why you need to notify Companies House and the tax implications for running your business as a limited company.
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The sole trader and tax
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Information on why you need to notify HMRC and the tax implications for running your business as a sole trader.
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Top five spreadsheet errors guide
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When starting your own business, you may end up using a spreadsheet package for everything from accounting to expense reports, from order tracking to reporting. This guide highlights five common mistakes in spreadsheet thinking.
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Why you need good accounting records for HMRC
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Information on why you need good accounting records to satisfy HMRC.
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Barclaycard - Small Business Credit and Charge Cards guide
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ICAEW has joined with Barclaycard to produce this guide which explains the key aspects of business credit and charge cards – the benefits, reporting, control, security and risks.
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Cyber security guide - Top five cyber risks
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An awareness and basic understanding of the threats posed in a cyber-world will help protect your digital assets, intellectual property and your business.
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Audit Insights - Small Business Guide
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The most important challenge that small businesses face in their early years is to survive. in this publication we highlight some of the key areas which we believe are important for their survival and put forward ideas for helping them to compete more effectively.
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The Business Finance Guide 2016
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Since the British Business Bank and ICAEW’s Corporate Finance Faculty jointly published the first edition of The business finance guide in summer 2014, a growing number of alternative finance solutions have become more established, mainstream and accessible for the UK’s smaller businesses.
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Competing in the Global Race guide (2016)
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International trade involves buying and selling over extended periods of time to countries and regions with very different business cultures, legal systems and environments. A range of financial products and services – from bank guarantees to specialised loans providing exporters with working capital – have developed to allow businesses to trade with confidence. This guide covers the area known as trade finance and its associated field of credit insurance.
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Asset Finance Guide
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This guide sets out the benefits of asset finance to help business-owners decide if it could help their businesses grow.
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The SME Guide to Energy Efficiency
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The Department of Energy & Climate Change have produced this publication to help SME owners find ways to save money and energy of interest.
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Crowdfunding Explained
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A guide for small and medium enterprises on crowdfunding and how to use it.
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The Business Finance Guide
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If you are starting a business, planning to grow your business or running an established business – or a business adviser or investor – this guide is essential reading. It outlines the alternative types and sources of finance – from start-up loans to venture capital. It includes sections on peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding which are growing in popularity.
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A guide to Trade Finance and Credit insurance
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As international trade involves buying and selling over extended periods of time across oceans, borders, legal systems and regions with very different business cultures and environments, a range of financial products and services – from bank guarantees to specialised loans providing exporters with working capital – have developed to allow businesses to trade with confidence. This guide covers the area known as trade finance and its associated field of credit insurance.
Access the individual sections of the report below:
- Exporting - setting the scene
- What is trade finance and credit insurance?
- Getting access to working capital
- Export insurance
- Making sure you get paid
- How to raise contract bonds
- How to secure buyer finance
- The role of UK Export Finance
- An overview of UK Export Finance products
- Case studies
- An overview of UK Trade & Investment
- Exporting - information on brokers and insurance companies
- Exporting - advice from the banks
- Exporting - help from Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe
Helpful guides and reports for start-up and early stage growing businesses.
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Financing a growing business
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Information on the financing of a growing business.
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First steps in business
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Information on the things you should consider before taking the plunge into business.
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Looking for business premises?
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Information on all the issues you should address when considering business premises.
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Start-up finance
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Information on start-up finance for new businesses.
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The role of business guidance in start-up success
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Report which explored the role of business guidance in start-up success.
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Starting a Business
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This special Finance & Management Faculty report highlights the issues which you might face in the first year of operating a new business so that you might be in a stronger position to know how to deal with them. It is aimed at those seeking to work for themselves, but it should also be of assistance to those looking to improve their business performance.
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Starting a business: Five practical issues to consider
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Five practical issues to consider before you start trading. The report covers who to notify, accounting records, accounting software, whether to work from home and the use of private vehicles.
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Run a Successful Business
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This booklet examines the challenges involved in setting up a business: the issues that you need to resolve before starting up and the questions you need to answer in order to make those crucial first steps and then grow your business with confidence
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Growing your Business
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This report has been produced by the Finance & Management Faculty and is primarily aimed at smaller businesses seeking to grow and develop. To achieve their full potential through practical guidance and advice.
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BCM 10 year report
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Over the last decade, the ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) has grown from strength to strength, and has consistently provided a unique perspective into how businesses view the environment in which they operate and the direction of the UK economy.
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Pensions
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Articles, reports and other resources that enable accountants in business to make a real difference to their organisations by providing them with practical information on the latest thinking in pensions.
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Previous reports
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Continuing the ICAEW’s policy leadership on the issue of SME access to finance, the research presents a snapshot of the availability of credit for SMEs.
For further information please contact:
Nick Levine
Head of Enterprise
E nick.levine@icaew.com
Svetlana Dimitrijevic
Senior Research Manager
E svetlana.dimitrijevic@icaew.com