Uncertainty is an inevitable facet in the life cycle of MSMEs. Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues on without an end in sight, fiscal management becomes a priority for MSMEs as they grapple with the impacts of a long-term economic downturn.

Financial governance therefore comes to the forefront of strategic business planning for MSMEs. Whether a business turns to internal audits, rearranging controls, or novel data management protocols, small businesses must revisit how they manage their financial affairs in order to deter detrimental effects and secure a profitable future.

As such, the Pearl Initiative is delighted to welcome an expert on small business management to lead this novel Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on financial governance for MSMEs.

Participants are invited to submit their questions on MSME fiscal management and governance, and to join the AMA session where their queries and concerns will be addressed by our expert panellist.

What we’ve learned:

• All organisations need to have a credible business plan with all assumptions being clearly stated, followed by a financial governance framework, thereby establishing financial control and allowing for Board members to have independent oversight over monthly protocols.
• A key financial challenge for start-ups and early stage MSMEs is how they manage their organisation’s cash flow. Early-stage businesses tend to either overshoot, or expand their businesses too quickly for the monetary resources they have/ can support their business operations
• Board members need to govern financial procedures, whereas senior management needs to execute
• The accounting bodies within an organisation need to prescribe the level of transparency and disclosure that is required by internal stakeholders and separately by external stakeholders. Supported by governance best practices, increased frequency and level of reporting reassures all stakeholders on the financial status of the organisation, while also attracting outside investment
• Using the pandemic and previous economic crises as examples, MSMEs should start provisioning in advance for these kinds of forced measures. This is particularly significant if your organisation has contractual obligations with external contractors.
• Every crisis resolves itself. The rebound from an economic downturn is much better time to commit to new businesses and organisational growth
• All successful businesses operate the same way. A key takeaway from MSMEs, from the session, is to identify what is your organisation’s underlying business challenge. Break this down into what are its causes, likely mitigants and potential negative impact to the organisation. Thinking through these problems in bite-sized chunks allows the challenge to resolve itself.