Published earlier this year, my paper Successes and Tribulations of SMPs in Uganda utilizes the 2014 IFAC Global SMP Survey data to analyze the key challenges and opportunities for small- and medium-sized practices (SMPs) in Uganda and compare them with the rest of the world. In my paper, I highlight those findings that can help determine and design initiatives to better support SMPs as well as explain how professional accountancy organizations like mine (the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU)) can leverage IFAC resources and tools.
The IFAC survey was conducted online globally in 21 languages between November 3 and December 29, 2014 (the 2015 survey is currently underway) and received 5,083 responses from 135 countries. Uganda accounted for 148 responses, higher than the vast majority of countries. The survey asked practitioners operating in SMPs a number of questions about the challenges they face; the market factors and technologies most likely to affect them in the future; the consulting services they provide; and their performance, both past and projected. In addition, respondents were asked about their small- and medium-sized entity (SME) clients, including questions around the challenges they face, exposure to financial crimes, access to finance, and the extent of their international operations.
Methodology
In analyzing the data, I used a quantitative approach to cross-tabulate findings at a global level with those specific to Uganda within the same data set.
Key Findings
SMPs in Uganda expect to see stronger revenue growth across all main service lines as compared to their counterparts globally. However, while corporate advisory services are a significant revenue source in the rest of the world (they are the second most commonly provided type of business advisory/consulting service), this type of service offering is much less prevalent in Uganda (see Table 1). This calls for more research to examine the country specific factors that are limiting growth of this revenue source to Ugandan SMPs.
Table 1: Business Advisory and Consultancy Services by SMPs
Source: 2014 IFAC Global SMP Survey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table 2 shows that the top five challenges facing SMPs in Uganda are broadly similar to those of their peers globally—namely, pressure to lower fees, rising costs, managing cash flows / late payments, attracting new clients, and serving clients operating internationally—except that keeping up with new regulations and standards, the most acute challenge globally, is lowly rated in Uganda
Table 2: Percentage of respondents considering the issue to be a high or very high challenge
Source: 2014 IFAC Global SMP Survey |
Looking to the future SMPs in Uganda, Table 3 demonstrates that technological developments, competition, and globalization are the factors likely to have the strongest impact on them: this contrasts with the global picture where the regulatory environment is on top while globalization is lowly ranked.
Table 3: Factors that will have a high or very high impact on SMPs in the next 5 years
Source: 2014 IFAC Global SMP Survey |
In this article I have provided a snapshot of what I cover in my paper and highlighted how a comparison of a particular jurisdiction’s survey results with the global results can help determine and design initiatives to better support SMPs
