Top Concern For 58% of SMEs Facing Workforce Challenges

Challenges in expertise acquisition, price administration, and ESG reporting emerge because the three prime hurdles for SMEs in 2024.  

New analysis from the Affiliation of Chartered Licensed Accountants (ACCA) highlights the urgent challenges and strategic innovation alternatives for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  

The research, SMEs: Enterprise challenges and strategic innovation alternatives,reveals three important challenges: escalating prices, workforce and expertise administration, and the evolving ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) reporting agenda. 

Fazeela Gopalani, Head of ACCA Center East, mentioned: “As we enter the brand new yr, SMEs are grappling with a large spectrum of points. The inflation problem has been a really international phenomenon, as central banks raced to manage inflation initiating a number of the most restrictive financial insurance policies internationally seen in current instances.” 

“Our analysis additionally means that SMEs proceed to battle to each purchase and retain key expertise, in addition to persevering with to face vital wage strain and pay calls for inside their organisations. Upskilling can be a vital space of focus as technological change accelerates. By addressing these challenges head-on, SMEs can unlock new development avenues and strengthen their market place,” Gopalani added. 

The report emphasises the necessity for tailor-made methods that may assist SMEs navigate the evolving enterprise panorama efficiently, together with embracing innovation, optimising useful resource administration, and staying forward of regulatory adjustments. 

Key findings embody: 

Price pressures and the financial system: SMEs face vital will increase in utility costs and provides, with 58% of companies highlighting larger prices as their prime concern.  

Workforce and expertise administration: The research reveals a notable rise in job vacancies and challenges in filling particular roles. Elevated job vacancies for skilled employees had been reported by 31% of companies, and 14% had been unable to search out appropriate candidates for clerical employees, technicians, and repair and gross sales employees.  

SMEs and the ESG agenda: Almost 50% of SMEs are actually required to supply ESG data, highlighting the rising significance of sustainable practices. Nonetheless, the report identifies a niche within the means to generate and handle this knowledge, presenting each a problem and a chance for SMEs. 

“As danger proliferates, there’s a wealth of latest and rising regulation impacting companies, most clearly within the space of ESG. Regulation and reporting necessities will proceed to evolve quick on this space, and SMEs must be future able to accommodate growing calls for,” says Gopalani. “In these testing instances, SMEs should pivot in the direction of modern methods to navigate the complexities of price pressures, expertise retention, and sustainable practices. Our analysis not solely identifies the vital hurdles but in addition affords a roadmap for SMEs to emerge stronger and extra agile.”  

The roadmap recommends the adoption of digital applied sciences, enabling SMEs to streamline operations, cut back prices, and improve productiveness. It additionally emphasises the significance of embracing sustainable practices, not solely as a regulatory compliance measure but in addition as a strategic transfer to draw new enterprise and clients.  

It additionally encourages SMEs to develop and retain prime expertise by way of steady studying and improvement alternatives.