This report explores the role of accountancy practitioners in managing the foreign exchange exposures of SME clients, and what the accountancy profession could do to improve its offering to small businesses. It reports the findings of a survey of SMPs developed by ACCA and the Edinburgh Group, along with insights from Kantox Peer FX.
This report delves deeper into the findings of a recent survey of SMPs developed by ACCA and the Edinburgh Group, as well as additional ACCA economic research. Its purpose is to discuss the role of practitioners in managing the FX exposures of SME clients, and what the profession could do to improve its offering to small businesses.
At the beginning of 2013, the Edinburgh Group, a coalition of 14 accountancy bodies around the world created to champion small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small and medium-sized accountancy practices (SMPs), commissioned a substantial survey among its members. The aim of the survey, designed by ACCA, was to find out more about the extent of international activity among SMPs’ clients, the challenges those SMEs face in developing themselves internationally, the support available to SMEs and any further assistance governments could provide.
Fieldwork was conducted in early 2013. A total of 1,350 SMPs from over 70 countries on all continents were surveyed, with the strongest responses received from South Africa (24.1%), the UK (21.6%) and the Republic of Ireland (16.8%); and adequate samples also received from Romania 6.9%) and Turkey (4.6%).
Headline findings from this research were published in June 2013 under the title, Growing the Global Economy Through SMEs (Edinburgh Group 2013).