The courage of those that run small and medium sized businesses has been praised by Clive Parritt, ICAEW President, speaking in Cardiff tonight (Thursday, October 20, 2011).
At the South Wales Society of Chartered Accountants annual dinner at City Hall, Mr Parritt pointed to the determination and heroism of keynote speaker, explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
Clive Parritt said: “Courage comes in many forms. And for a business person like me, and for many of our members, we see courage every day in the men and women who set out to try to build a business in the face of what can seem like impossible odds. That’s the reason many of us get up in the morning. It was always tough, but it’s never been tougher than today.
“Perhaps you’ll be aware that our latest Business Confidence Monitor, asks people across the UK about their plans to increase employment, and how they view the coming year.
“And if you haven’t already heard, business confidence in Wales and, indeed, in Scotland, is well ahead of the average across the UK.
“Let’s hope that rather than courage, this reflects something real, perhaps the benefits from the Welsh Government’s newly announced enterprise zones and sector advisory panels.”
Clive Parritt said that the ICAEW was also campaigning hard against what he said was the march of regulation.
“The Coalition Government has promised to cut red tape and end the tick box culture to help business growth.
“And yet we know that our latest Business Confidence monitor shows that 40% of businesses now view regulation as a greater burden than 12 months ago. And we are facing new legislation that over the next four years will cost SMEs a cumulative £22.17bn in added employment costs.
This includes:
- The right to request flexible working
- Removal of the default retirement age
- The Employers’ national insurance changes
- An increase in the national minimum wage
- And the Agency Worker Directive
