SME experts said that key success drivers like vision, people and strategy underpinned by excellent leadership help businesses seeking to scale-up and prosper, at ACCA's report launch event in Lahore. Success in scaling-up is not only good for the businesses themselves, but also delivers many benefits for the wider economy, including the people who they employ as well as the community in which they operate. At a multi-stakeholder conference organised in Lahore by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), business leaders and regulators discussed the role of governance measures to address Pakistan's financing gap, alongside the need to formulate policy to help SMEs to scale-up.

"27 percent of SMEs don't have a vision that covers more than the next 12 months," the report finds. However, most SMEs are aware of the benefits of good governance practice but, faced with limited time and resource, many still fail to put it in practice - which could be costly to long-term success. How vision and strategy helps small businesses succeed is the latest in a global research programme supporting SME growth from ACCA launched today at an event that brought together over 60 SME leaders in Pakistan including representatives from Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA).

The business leaders who spoke at the event included Nadia Seth, GM Policy and Planning, SMEDA, Ghalib Nishtar, President, Khushhali Bank and Kamal Mian, Director, Fast Cables.

The report outlines the governance needs of SMEs, where simple but effective practice over vision, strategy and human capital can provide them with greater flexibility, adaptability and resilience as they grow - a huge factor in the long-term sustainability of the business.-PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019