Dear editor,
When I read this morning in The Financial Timesthat only about 2,500 of UK SMEs, less than a tenth of target, had enrolled in the government’s Help to Grow programme I was disappointed, but not surprised. SMEs play crucial part in our economy accounting for around half in the UK private sector turnover – they drive business growth, provide employment opportunities and will be one of the major driving forces behind our economic recovery and delivering the government’s Levelling Up Agenda.
Our own research, Tackling the U.K. Productivity Puzzle, we highlighted that the programme only had enough funding for 0.5% of UK SMEs and was not of the scale to support the bulk of our 5.6 million UK SMEs. We must do better to support SMEs or risk hampering our ability to generate long-term economic growth and achieve the productivity boost the country so desperately needs.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA
Chief Executive — Management Accounting
The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the unified voice of AICPA & CIMA
Media comment: We must do better to unlock the potential of UK SMEs
Andrew Harding FCMA, CGMA Chief Executive, Management AccountingAndrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA
Andrew Harding FCMA, CGMA, is the Chief Executive of the Management Accounting PU at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. Andrew leads all management accounting activities for the Association, develops plans and strategies, manages relationships and delivers results for members. He is also focused on driving value for members, firstly by globalizing Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Andrew is a Deloitte alumnus, having started his career in the mid-1980s as a trainee auditor. He progressed into training and development from there, and then began professional body work in 1991. He joined CIMA in 2009, originally as Executive Director for Global Markets, and became Managing Director in 2011—a position he held until 2016. Andrew served as Non-Executive Chairman of GTS Chemicals PLC, a Chinese company listed in London, from 2014 to 2016. Andrew was born in London. He holds an MBA from Henley Business School at the University of Reading, and a BSc (Economics) from the University of Bristol.
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