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ICAEW says SMEs need help to go global

Nov 22 2007

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SMEs want to operate globally but require government support to achieve international aims, says the Institute of Chartered of Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) in recent research.

The ICAEW Enterprise survey reveals 62 per cent of SME respondents are currently engaged in business on a global scale while 38 per cent obtain products and services from overseas.

Only 21 per cent of small businesses have a strategy for global business despite the opportunities this new marketplace opens up.

Michael Izza, chief executive of the ICAEW, says UK businesses were aware that they needed to act quickly if they wanted to thrive in an increasingly global marketplace.

'As our survey shows, small businesses want to take up these opportunities but need help to do so,' he adds.

Appeals to the government to provide more help for SMEs arrive on the same day as the ICAEW's annual summit on globalisation.

The ICAEW was established in 1880 and has become the largest professional accountancy body in Europe containing over 128,000 members.

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