New surveys look at COVID impact on SMEs
The OECD, Facebook and World Bank have published a number of joint surveys looking at COVID’s business impact on SMEs. The aim of the surveys is to provide a window into small businesses’ experiences amid COVID. They measure the pandemic’s effects on business closures, revenue, employment, and finances, and also aim to gain insight into SMEs’ needs and challenges. Read more
ACCA publishes report on talent transformation in the SMP sector
ACCA, a member body of Accountancy Europe, has published a new report looking into talent transformation and careers in the small and medium practitioner (SMP) sector. The report is based on the findings of more than 60 interviews conducted with SMP experts from around the world and provides practical insights on talent attraction, development and retention within SMPs. Read more
European Court of Auditors will assess whether EU fosters SME internationalisation
On 25 August, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) announced its intention to assess EU support to help SMEs access international markets. It will examine how two key actions managed directly by the European Commission (the Enterprise Europe Network and the Startup Europe Initiative) have specifically contributed to achieving the EU’s goals in this area. In particular, the auditors will assess:
- How coherent the EU’s strategy for SME internationalisation is
- How effectively existing actions are coordinated at EU-level
- How well they complement national initiatives
The audit is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2021. Read more
Digital SME Alliance lays out its expectations for Digital Services Act
Digital SME Alliance, representing Europe’s ICT SME sector, has issued a statement calling for targeted measures aimed at large platforms instead of one-size-fits-all approach that could hurt SMEs. Ideally, any new rules and obligations should directly tackle the issues caused by a small number of large gatekeeper platforms, i.e. they should be limited to certain thresholds. Moreover, they should be defined along a list of criteria which may include size, the associated harm and impact, turnover, network effects, lock-in of users, integration of services throughout different markets, cross-platform and cross-services collection and combination of data at a large scale. Read more
ACCA publishes new report on SMPs’ crucial role in supporting SMEs
A new report by ACCA, Accountancy Europe’s member body, has published a report on the role of small and medium sized practitioners (SMPs) in supporting SMEs. It is based on the findings of more than 40 interviews conducted with SMP leaders from around the world and is aimed to shine a light on the broader social role of the small practices.
The report looks at the social role that SMPs play in areas such as charity and NGO sectors, financial inclusion and literacy, social inclusion, sustainability and ethics. Read more
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