Changes in the direction of government policy may endanger the future of small business, says Robin Jarvis, head of small business affairs at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

In a letter sent to ministers at the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR), the global accountancy body underlines the importance of small businesses to the UK economy.

The letter warns against focusing on larger established businesses, saying that this may lead to a path that neglects the real creators of employment, wealth and economic growth in the UK – small businesses.

The government is currently consulting on an enterprise bill and a ten-year strategy for enterprise. The ACCA believes it needs to contain a definite small business perspective.

Jarvis says: ‘Small business policy was strongly represented in the past. However the change of the Small Business Service to the Enterprise Directorate appears to have diluted the ‘think small first’ attitude. It is worth remembering that in the past five years, for every job created by a medium-sized firm, the small business sector created nearly 37.’