ACCA考官文章解讀 Business Finance for SMEs-（F9）

Prior to considering some of the finance sources available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) we should first consider what we mean by SMEs, why they are important, and why they often find raising finance difficult. In this article, we consider potential finance sources that an SME could use. There will be a particular focus on the more modern sources of crowd funding and supply chain financing that have been introduced to the F9 syllabus and are examinable from September 2015. Finally,we will consider how, and why, governments often try to assist the SME sector.

在考慮對(duì)中小企業(yè)而言可行的一些融資來源時(shí)，我們應(yīng)先考慮中小企業(yè)意味著什么，為什么中小企業(yè)那么重要以及為什么他們經(jīng)常面對(duì)融資難的問題。這篇文章中，我們給出了一些中小企業(yè)潛在的融資來源，尤其關(guān)注如今比較現(xiàn)代化的眾籌和供應(yīng)鏈融資的問題，它們剛剛被引入F9的考綱，并從2015年9月可能被考到。最后，這篇文章考慮政府為何以及如何幫助中小企業(yè)融資。

WHAT IS AN SME?

什么是中小企業(yè)？

It is generally accepted that an SME is something larger than those businesses that are fundamentally a vehicle for the self-employment of their owner. Equally an SME is unlikely to be listed on any stock exchange and is likely to be owned by a relatively small number of shareholders. Indeed, very often the majority of the shareholders come from one extended family. Hence the term SME covers a very wide range of businesses.

一個(gè)廣泛接受的定義是，中小企業(yè)是那種比所有者自營(yíng)的交通工具或單位大一些的企業(yè)。不過同樣的中小企業(yè)不太可能在任何一個(gè)證券交易所上市，而且很可能是由一小群股東所有。事實(shí)上，經(jīng)常大多數(shù)股東來源于同一個(gè)大家族。所以，中小企業(yè)這個(gè)定義其實(shí)囊括了很多類型的企業(yè)。

WHY ARE SMEs IMPORTANT?

為什么中小企業(yè)很重要？

As we have just seen, the term SME covers avery wide range of businesses. As a result, the SME sector as a whole is very important to the economies of many countries. Estimates vary widely but within the UK, SMEs probably account for about half of employment and half of national income, and hence are of great importance.

As SMEs are relatively small they are often more flexible and quicker to innovate than larger companies. Indeed, SMEs are often thought to be better at embracing new trends and technologies. Obviously it is important to any economy that this occurs. One consequence for some successful SMEs is that they are acquired by a larger company with the financial resources to fully exploit the potential of what the SME has developed. When this happens the SME sector has provided a useful service as it has helped a larger company to innovate and continue its success into the future.

In economies, such as the UK, where manufacturing industry has declined as a proportion of total economic activity and the service sector has become increasingly important, the SME sector is likely to continue to grow. This is because, in the service sector, economies of scale are normally less important than they are in manufacturing. Hence,within the growing service sector it is easier for SMEs to survive and flourish.

Finally, it is important that SMEs can flourishas potentially a number of the SMEs of today could be the bigger companies of tomorrow.

如剛才所見，中小企業(yè)囊括很多公司。因而，中小企業(yè)這一整體都對(duì)許多國(guó)家的經(jīng)濟(jì)很重要。例如在英國(guó)，中小企業(yè)大約解決了一半就業(yè)問題，占據(jù)國(guó)民收入的一半，因而非常重要。

因?yàn)橹行∑髽I(yè)相對(duì)較小，它們往往更靈活，比大公司創(chuàng)新更快。事實(shí)上，中小企業(yè)往往能更好的利用新趨勢(shì)和激素。對(duì)一個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)體而言，這點(diǎn)很重要。許多成功的中小企業(yè)被大公司收購(gòu)來更充分的利用中小企業(yè)所發(fā)展的。當(dāng)這發(fā)生時(shí)，中小企業(yè)提供了一個(gè)很有價(jià)值的服務(wù)，因?yàn)樗鼛椭舜蠊緞?chuàng)新和未來的成功。

例如英國(guó)在內(nèi)的經(jīng)濟(jì)體重，制造業(yè)占總經(jīng)濟(jì)的比例減少，服務(wù)行業(yè)變得越來越重要，中小企業(yè)很可能進(jìn)一步發(fā)展。這是因?yàn)?，服?wù)行業(yè)中，規(guī)模經(jīng)濟(jì)就不如制造業(yè)中來的重要。因此，中小企業(yè)更容易在服務(wù)行業(yè)中生存和發(fā)展。

最后一點(diǎn)也很重要，欣欣向榮的中小企業(yè)很可能成為明天的大企業(yè)。

WHY DO SMEs FIND RAISINGFINANCE DIFFICULT?

為何中小企業(yè)面對(duì)融資難的問題?

The directors of SMEs often complain that the lack of finance stops them growing and fully exploiting profitable investment opportunities. This gap between the finance available to SMEs and the finance that they could productively use is often known as the ‘funding or financing gap’. As advisers to SMEs it is important that we understand why this gap occurs.

中小企業(yè)的董事們總是抱怨因?yàn)槿狈Y金而導(dǎo)致企業(yè)增長(zhǎng)暫停也錯(cuò)失一些可盈利的投資機(jī)會(huì)。中小企業(yè)可得到的資金和中小企業(yè)能有效使用的資金量之間的差距被稱為融資缺口。作為中小企業(yè)的建議者，我們應(yīng)明白為何這一融資缺口會(huì)產(chǎn)生。

The first thing to understand is that there is a limited supply of funds from investors. Once potential investors have satisfied their need and desire to spend and have paid their tax there is often little left over to be invested. An additional issue at the current time in theUK is that the returns available to investors on a typical deposit account areso low that investment does not seem attractive.

首先來源于投資者的資金供給有限。往往潛在投資者滿足了他們的消費(fèi)需求并支付稅收之后，就很難有錢余下用來投資。而且，英國(guó)目前投資者的回報(bào)率往往是很低的儲(chǔ)蓄賬戶回報(bào)率，投資并不具有吸引力。

Equally there is a competitive market forthe limited supply of investors’ funds. Governments and larger companies have agreat appetite for the funds available and, hence, the SME sector can be squeezed out.

The SME sector tends to suffer because SMEs are viewed as a less attractive investment opportunity than many others due tothe high levels of uncertainty and risk they are perceived to have. This perception of risk is due to a number of reasons including:

•       SMEs often have a limited track record in raising investment and providing suitable returns to their investors

•       SMEs often have non-existent or very limited internal controls

•       SMEs often have few external controls. For instance they are unlikely to be a biding by the rules of any stock exchange and due to their size they are unlikely to attract much press scrutiny. Indeed, in the UK many SMEs are no longer required to have their annual accounts audited

•       SMEs often have one dominant owner-manager whose decisions may face little questioning

•       SMEs often have few tangible assets to offer as security.

但是有限的投資者資金供給往往需要面對(duì)激烈的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。資金通常更偏好于政府和大公司，于是，中小企業(yè)被擠出。

中小企業(yè)比較困難。因?yàn)橥顿Y者一般會(huì)認(rèn)為中小企業(yè)的投資機(jī)會(huì)和其他大公司和政府相比不那么吸引，因?yàn)樾枰鎸?duì)很高的不確定性和風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。這種風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的認(rèn)知是由以下原因造成的：

1、中小企業(yè)的良好投資者回報(bào)記錄有限。2.中小企業(yè)幾乎沒有內(nèi)控或內(nèi)控很有限。3.中小企業(yè)的外部控制很少。例如他們不太可能服從證券交易所的規(guī)定，而且因?yàn)樗鼈兊囊?guī)模它們很難吸引媒體的監(jiān)督。事實(shí)上，英國(guó)許多中小企業(yè)的年報(bào)不需要審計(jì)。4.中小企業(yè)往往有一個(gè)主導(dǎo)所有者又兼職管理者，他的決策具有局限性。5.中小企業(yè)的固定資產(chǎn)很少，不足以抵押。

As a result of the above, investors are nervous of investing in SMEs as they are concerned about how their funds might be used and the returns that they might get. Hence, the easiest thing for an investor is to decline any opportunity to invest in an SME, especially when there are so many other investment opportunities available to them.

Accountants can do little to alter the supply of funds or the competitive market for those funds, but can assist by showing how an SME could reduce the level of risk it is perceived to have,thereby improving its ability to raise finance. For instance, SMEs that can show that they have treated earlier investors well, have adopted some key internal controls, and have a rigorous and documented approach to decision making are more likely to be attractive to investors.

因?yàn)橐陨显颍顿Y者對(duì)投資中小企業(yè)很擔(dān)憂，因?yàn)樗麄冃枰獡?dān)心資金的使用問題和他們可能取得的回報(bào)。因此，對(duì)投資者而言，最簡(jiǎn)單的事情是減少對(duì)中小企業(yè)的投資，尤其是市場(chǎng)中還有很多投資機(jī)會(huì)。

會(huì)計(jì)幾乎不能改變資金的供給，但可以通過展示中小企業(yè)如何減少如上風(fēng)險(xiǎn)來起到輔助性作用，從而改善企業(yè)的融資能力。例如，中小企業(yè)可以表現(xiàn)他們對(duì)先前的投資者都給予了合理充足的回報(bào)，已經(jīng)采取了一些關(guān)鍵的內(nèi)控管理，并有了嚴(yán)格的書面的決策制定機(jī)制從而使中小企業(yè)更加吸引投資者。

WHAT ARE THE POTENTIALSOURCES OF FINANCE FOR SMEs?

中小企業(yè)潛在的融資來源有哪些？

In reality there are quite a few potential sources of finance for SMEs. However, many of them have practical problems that may limit their usefulness. Some key sources and their limitations are briefly described below. Crowd funding and supply chain financing are then considered in more detail.

實(shí)際上，中小企業(yè)的融資來源還是有一些的。然后，因?yàn)橐恍┎僮餍缘膯栴}它們的作用被有所限制。一些關(guān)鍵融資來源和它們的局限性將在下文中被簡(jiǎn)單介紹。眾籌和供應(yīng)鏈融資將被討論的詳細(xì)一點(diǎn)。

The SME owner, family and friends

中小企業(yè)所有者及其家人朋友

This is potentially a very good source of finance because these investors may be willing to accept a lower return than many other investors as their motivation to invest is not purely financial. The key limitation is that, for most of us, the finance that we can raise personally, and from friends and family, is somewhat limited.

這是一個(gè)很好的潛在融資來源，因?yàn)檫@些投資者會(huì)原因接受一個(gè)較低的回報(bào)率，因?yàn)樗麄兊耐顿Y動(dòng)機(jī)不僅僅是因?yàn)樨?cái)務(wù)回報(bào)。但關(guān)鍵的局限性在于，通過個(gè)人，家人朋友得到的資金非常有限。

The business angel

天使投資人

A business angel is a wealthy individual willing to take the risk of investing in SMEs. One limitation is that these individuals are not common and are very often quite particular about what they are prepared to invest in. Once a business angel is interested they can become very useful to the SME, as they will often have great business acumen themselves and are likely to have many useful contacts.

天使投資人是一個(gè)愿意接受投資中小企業(yè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的富有的個(gè)人。一個(gè)缺陷在于這些投資人并不多見，而且對(duì)他們準(zhǔn)備投資的項(xiàng)目非常挑剔。一旦天使投資人感興趣，他們會(huì)對(duì)中小企業(yè)起很大作用，因?yàn)樗麄冏约罕旧硎蔷鞯纳倘?，而且有許多有價(jià)值的關(guān)系網(wǎng)絡(luò)。

Trade credit

商業(yè)信貸

SMEs, like any company, can take creditfrom their suppliers. However, this is only short-term and, indeed, if theirsuppliers are larger companies who have identified them as a potentially riskySME the ability to stretch the credit period may be limited.

中小企業(yè)和其他公司一樣可以從供應(yīng)方獲得借貸。然后，這只是短期的，而且，如果他們的供應(yīng)商是大公司，并把他們看作是高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的中小企業(yè)，信貸期可能被限制。

Factoring and invoice discounting

保付代理和發(fā)票折現(xiàn)

Both of these sources of finance effectively let a company raise finance against the security of their outstanding receivables. Again, this finance is only short-term and is often more expensive than an overdraft. However, one of the features of these sources of finance is that, as an SME grows, their outstanding receivables will grow and so the amount they can borrow from their factor or from invoice discounting will also grow. Hence, factoring and invoice discounting are two of the very limited number of finance sources which grow automatically as the business grows.

這種方法可以讓公司有效的收到他們的應(yīng)收賬款的資金。然后，這樣的融資方式只是短期的，而且比銀行透支要昂貴。不過，這樣的融資方式有一個(gè)特點(diǎn)，當(dāng)中小企業(yè)發(fā)展適合，他們的應(yīng)收賬款會(huì)不斷增加，而他們可以從保付代理借到的資金和發(fā)票折現(xiàn)也更多。所以，這兩種方式隨著公司的擴(kuò)大他們的融到的資金也會(huì)自動(dòng)增大。

Leasing

租賃

Leasing assets rather than buying them is often very useful for an SME as it avoids the need to raise the capital cost.However, leasing is only really possible on tangible assets such as cars,machines, etc.

租賃某項(xiàng)資產(chǎn)而不是購(gòu)買某項(xiàng)資產(chǎn)對(duì)中小企業(yè)是非常有用的。因?yàn)檫@避免了資本成本的母雞需要。然后，租賃僅僅可以對(duì)汽車、機(jī)器這類的固定資產(chǎn)有用。

Bank finance

銀行借款

Banks may be willing to provide an overdraft of some sort and may be willing to lend in the long term where that lending can be secured on major assets such as land and buildings. However,raising medium-term finance to fund operations is often more difficult for SMEs as banks are traditionally rather conservative. This is understandable as the loss on one defaulted loan requires many good loans to recover that loss.Hence, many SMEs end up financing medium-term, and potentially longer-term assets, with short-term finance such as an overdraft. This is poor matching and very much less than ideal. This issue is often known as the ‘maturity gap’ as there is a mismatch of the maturity of the assets and liabilities within thebusiness.

Furthermore, banks will often require personal guarantees from the owner-manager of the SME, which means the owner-manager has to risk his personal wealth in order to fund the company.

銀行愿意提供一些種類的投資而且如果有一些例如土地大樓的抵押物的借貸時(shí)，他們可以提供長(zhǎng)期借貸。然而，對(duì)中小企業(yè)而言，中期的融資非常困難，因?yàn)殂y行都比較傳統(tǒng)而飽受。這是可以理解的，因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)違約貸款需要很多正常歸還的貸款來彌補(bǔ)損失。所以，許多中小企業(yè)盡管申請(qǐng)中期的貸款或運(yùn)用了長(zhǎng)期的資產(chǎn)抵押，一般會(huì)得到透支類的短期融資。這很難匹配，也遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于理想化的狀態(tài)。這一問題被稱為到期缺口，因?yàn)槠髽I(yè)的資產(chǎn)和負(fù)債的到期不匹配。

另外，銀行往往要求中小企業(yè)的所有者提供個(gè)人擔(dān)保，這意味著，所有者需要冒著個(gè)人財(cái)富的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)來為公司融資。

The venture capitalist

風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本

A venture capitalist company is very often a subsidiary of a company that has significant cash holdings that they need to invest. The venture capitalist subsidiary is a high-risk, potentially high-return part of their investment portfolio. Hence, many banks will have venture capitalist subsidiaries. In order to attract venture capital funding an SME has to have a business idea that may create the high returns the venture capitalist is seeking. Hence, for many SMEs, operating in regular business,venture capitalist financing may not be possible. Furthermore, a venture capital is trarely wants to remain invested in the long term and, hence, any proposal to them must show how they will be able to ‘exit’ or release their value after a number of years. This is often done by selling the company to a bigger company operating in the same trade or by growing the company to such a size that a stock exchange listing is possible.

一家風(fēng)投公司往往是一個(gè)有很多現(xiàn)金持有需要投資的公司的子公司。風(fēng)投在他們的投資組合中是一個(gè)高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)高回報(bào)的部分。所以，許多銀行都有風(fēng)投子公司。為了吸引風(fēng)投資金，中小一起要有一個(gè)可能創(chuàng)造風(fēng)投們?cè)趯ふ业木薮笫找娴纳虡I(yè)概念。所以，對(duì)許多普通商業(yè)環(huán)境的中小企業(yè)，風(fēng)投融資不是那么現(xiàn)實(shí)。另外，風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資很傻想長(zhǎng)期投資，所以，任何一個(gè)項(xiàng)目計(jì)劃書都必須要展示風(fēng)頭的推出路徑或價(jià)值釋放路徑。這通常需要把公司賣給一個(gè)更大的運(yùn)營(yíng)相同項(xiàng)目的公司或者把這家公司發(fā)展到一定程度以上市。

Listing

上市

By achieving a listing on a stock exchange an SME would become a quoted company and, hence, raising finance would become less of an issue. However, before a listing can be considered the company must grow to such a size that a listing is feasible. Many SMEs can never hope to achieve this.

通過在一家證券交易所上市，一個(gè)中小企業(yè)公司就變成了一個(gè)上市公司，而融資難問題就會(huì)變得弱化。然后，在考慮成為一家上市公司前，一家公司必須發(fā)展到一個(gè)可以上市的規(guī)模。許多中小企業(yè)不能做到這一點(diǎn)。

Supply chain financing

供應(yīng)鏈融資

In supply chain financing (SCF) the finance follows the value as it moves through the supply chain. SCF is relatively new and is different to traditional working capital financing methods, such as factoring or offering settlement discounts, because it promotes collaboration between buyers and sellers in the supply chain. Traditionally there was competition as the buyer wanted to take extended credit, and the seller wanted quick payment. SCF works very well where the buyer has a better credit rating than the seller.

在供應(yīng)鏈融資中，資金隨著供應(yīng)鏈的移動(dòng)而移動(dòng)。供應(yīng)鏈融資是一個(gè)相對(duì)較新的不同于以往傳統(tǒng)的如保付代理的流動(dòng)資本融資方法，因?yàn)樗龠M(jìn)了買賣雙方在供應(yīng)鏈中的合作。傳統(tǒng)意義上，這之間是有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的，因?yàn)橘?gòu)買者想要延長(zhǎng)借貸期而出售者想要更快回籠資金。供應(yīng)鏈融資可以在買者比賣者有更高的信用等級(jí)時(shí)運(yùn)行的比較好。

Example

例子

Company A (which has an A+ credit rating)buys goods from Company B

(which has a B+ credit rating). Co B has agreed to give Co A 30 days credit.

Co B invoices Co A.

Co A approves the invoice.

Co A is expected to pay the amount due toits financial institution – ‘Bank C’ –

in 30 days at which point the funds are immediately remitted to Co B.

However, Co B can request the funds from Bank C prior to the due date. If they do this they receive the payment less a suitable discount. This discount is likely to be less than the discount charged if Co B used traditional factoring or invoice discounting. This is because they are using Bank C (Co A’s financial institution) and benefit from Co A’s higher credit rating as the debt is the debt of Co A, and by approving the invoice CoA has confirmed this.

Equally, if Co A wants to delay payment beyond the 30-day point, then it can do so. However, when Co A does finally pay Bank C some interest will be due. Obviously this interest charge reflects the credit rating of Co A.

公司A（評(píng)級(jí)為A+）從公司B購(gòu)買商品（評(píng)級(jí)為B+），公司B同意給公司A一個(gè)30天的信貸期。B給A公司開了發(fā)票，A公司確認(rèn)了發(fā)票。A公司希望由它的金融機(jī)構(gòu)C銀行在30天內(nèi)把資金還給B公司。

然而，B公司要求從C銀行來的這筆資金需要早于最晚日期。如果銀行可以做到，他們可以收取一個(gè)更高折扣的現(xiàn)金。這個(gè)折扣可能低于折現(xiàn)率如果C銀行使用傳統(tǒng)的保付代理或發(fā)票折現(xiàn)。這是因?yàn)樗麄冊(cè)谶\(yùn)用C銀行和A公司的更高的信貸期評(píng)級(jí)的好處，因?yàn)檫@負(fù)債是A公司的負(fù)債，而且通過A公司的發(fā)票更確認(rèn)了這一點(diǎn)。

同樣，如果A公司想要延遲30的支付其，它也可以這樣做。當(dāng)然，到時(shí)候A公司需要給C公司一些利息。明顯這利息也會(huì)體現(xiàn)A公司的信用評(píng)級(jí)。

Technological solutions are used in order to efficiently link the buyer, the seller and the financial institution. These technological solutions effectively automate the business and financial process from initiation to completion.

技術(shù)可以很高效的聯(lián)系買者賣者和金融機(jī)構(gòu)。這一方法有效的自動(dòng)化了公司從開始到結(jié)束的金融流程。

SCF can bring considerable benefit and can cover more than one step in the supply chain. It is perhaps of most benefit where considerable value is constantly moving through the supply chain, such as occurs in the automotive trade. SCF is only currently used in a relatively small proportion of companies, but its use is expected to grow significantly.As with factoring and invoice discounting, this source of finance is only short term in nature.

供應(yīng)鏈融資可以帶來很多好處，而且可以跨越供應(yīng)鏈的層級(jí)。最大的好處是大量的價(jià)值持續(xù)不斷的在供應(yīng)鏈中游走，就像一個(gè)自動(dòng)化的螞蟻。目前，供應(yīng)鏈融資只被一小部分公司所采納，但它有望迅速的發(fā)展。因?yàn)楹捅８洞淼软?xiàng)目，這項(xiàng)融資本質(zhì)上是短期的。

Obviously, SCF could be of great help to SMEs that are supplying larger companies, or even the suppliers of larger companies, with a good credit rating. As the technological solutions required to make SCF work become more widespread and SCF grows, more and more SMEs are likely to benefit.

很明顯的，供應(yīng)鏈融資對(duì)那些給有著良好信用評(píng)級(jí)的大公司供貨或大公司的供應(yīng)商供貨的中小企業(yè)有著哈達(dá)的好處。隨著技術(shù)的發(fā)展，供應(yīng)鏈融資將被廣泛傳播，而且越來越多的中小企業(yè)可以從中受益。

Crowdfunding

眾籌

Crowdfunding involves funding a venture by raising finance from a large number of people (the crowd) and is very often achieved over the internet. Crowdfunding has grown rapidly and in 2013 it has been estimated that over US$5bn was raised worldwide through crowdfunding.There are now in excess of 500 crowdfunding platforms on the internet and over400 crowdfunding campaigns are launched every day.

眾籌是指通過許多許多人民群眾募集一個(gè)資金池，而且通過眾籌是在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上完成的。眾籌在2013年發(fā)展的非?？欤翌A(yù)計(jì)全時(shí)間已經(jīng)募集了超過5百億的美元?，F(xiàn)在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上有超過500個(gè)眾籌平臺(tái)，每天有400多個(gè)眾籌的項(xiàng)目發(fā)起。

The internet platforms are set up and run by moderating organisations who bring together the project initiator with the idea, and those organisations and individuals who are willing to support the idea. Different platforms have different policies with regard to assessing the ideas seeking support and checking those willing to provide the finance. Hence,great care is needed when using these platforms.

網(wǎng)絡(luò)平臺(tái)是由一個(gè)把有想法的想法發(fā)起人和那些愿意支持這一想法的組織和個(gè)人聯(lián)合到一起的組織建立并運(yùn)營(yíng)的。不同的平臺(tái)有不同的評(píng)估想法的政策，有不同的審核方法。所以，使用這些平臺(tái)時(shí)需要多加關(guān)注。

Finance provided by crowdfunding may be invested in the debt or the equity of the ventures seeking the finance. Some crowdfunding is done on a ‘keep it all’ basis where any funds raised are kept by the recipient, where as some is done on an ‘all or nothing basis’ where there cipient only receives the funds if the total required to fund the particular project is raised within a given time frame. The crowdfunding platform takes a fee, which is often a percentage of the amount raised.

眾籌提供的資金很可能被投資到需要這些資金的公司的債券或股本里面，一些眾籌堅(jiān)持保持一切的基礎(chǔ)，超級(jí)稻的資金都由接收者保管，然后有的眾籌是采取要么全部要么沒有的基礎(chǔ)，接收者只有在特定項(xiàng)目募集的時(shí)間框架內(nèi)募集到足夠的資金才可以接受。眾籌平臺(tái)可能會(huì)收取一定的費(fèi)用，一般是募集資金的1%。

A feature of crowdfunding is that it lets people search for and invest in ideas and projects that they have an interestor a belief in. Hence, these investors are sometimes willing to take bigger risks and/or accept lower returns than would be usual. A further feature isthat, just as in a real crowd, there is potential for interaction within thecrowd. Hence, keen supporters of a particular idea will very often encourage others to participate.

眾籌的一個(gè)特點(diǎn)是它能夠讓人們需找并投資一個(gè)他們真正感興趣的或信任的想法或項(xiàng)目。所以，這些投資者愿意接受更高的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和比普通投資更小的回報(bào)、另外一個(gè)特點(diǎn)是，在這樣一群人中，很可能有又新的互動(dòng)。所以，某一個(gè)項(xiàng)目的熱情的投資者經(jīng)常也會(huì)鼓勵(lì)其他人參與其中進(jìn)行投資。

Early crowdfunding campaigns very often focused on the arts such as funding for bands and films. However, all sorts of ideas have now been funded in this way and there has been much focus on innovation and new technology.

Crowdfunding has the potential to be very beneficial to SMEs. It allows them to contact and appeal directly to investors,who may be willing to take the risk involved in funding the new technologiesand innovations, which SMEs are often so good at producing.

早起的眾籌項(xiàng)目通過是為了藝術(shù)，例如給樂隊(duì)和電影籌資，然后，現(xiàn)在所有的想法都可以通過這種方式募集資金，而且現(xiàn)在也有利于關(guān)注創(chuàng)新和新技術(shù)。

眾籌可能對(duì)中小企業(yè)非常有利。它使張小企業(yè)可以直接的和投資者取得聯(lián)系并發(fā)出呼吁，那些投資者常愿意接受投資給新技術(shù)和創(chuàng)新的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，而這正好是中小企業(yè)所擅長(zhǎng)的。

WHY AND HOW DO GOVERNMENTS HELP FINANCE SMES?

政府為何以及要如何幫助中小企業(yè)融資？

Governments are often keen to assist as tothe extent that SMEs are unable to raise finance for their profitable projects,investment opportunities are potentially lost and, hence, national wealth is lower than it could be. Additionally, governments are keen to support innovation, which is one area where SMEs often excel, and are keen to support the growth of SMEs as this boosts employment.

政府熱心幫助中小企業(yè)，那些有盈利項(xiàng)目而不能募集到足夠資金而可能錯(cuò)過投資機(jī)會(huì)的中小企業(yè)，他們可能國(guó)民收入比可能的低。另外，政府熱衷于支持創(chuàng)新，熱衷于支持中小企業(yè)的發(fā)展因?yàn)樗鼈兛梢约?lì)就業(yè)。

A number of key ways governments assist include the following:

• Providing grants.

• Providing tax breaks – for instance, tax incentives may be available to those willing to take the risk of investing in SMEs.

• Providing advice – for instance, in Scotland there is a government-funded organisation known as ‘Business Gateway’, which provides assistance to those setting up and running a business, including advice on raising finance.

• Guaranteeing loans – for instance, for a small fee from theSME, a large proportion of any loan advanced by a bank is guaranteed by the government. As this significantly reduces the risk to the bank, they are potentially more willing to lend. In the UK this is currently called the‘Enterprise Finance Guarantee’ scheme.

• Providing equity investment – many countries have government-backed venture capital organisations that are willing to invest in the equity of SMEs. This is often done on a matching basis, where the organisation will match any equity investment raised from other sources. In the UK this is done through ‘Enterprise Capital Funds’, while in the US there is the ‘Small Business Investment Company’ programme.

許多政府扶持的方法包括以下這些：

提供政府補(bǔ)助

提供稅收優(yōu)惠，例如，愿意投資給中小企業(yè)的人可以得到一定的稅收獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)

提供建議，在Scotland, 有一個(gè)“商業(yè)入口”的政府出資的工資，就是為想建立運(yùn)營(yíng)公司的人提供幫助，包括融資方面的建議。

擔(dān)保貸款，例如，中小企業(yè)只需要付一點(diǎn)費(fèi)用，銀行貸款的一大部分就可以由政府出面擔(dān)保。因?yàn)檫@極大的減小了銀行的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，銀行一般也很愿意借貸。在英國(guó)，現(xiàn)在就有一個(gè)公司融資擔(dān)保的計(jì)劃。

提供權(quán)益投資。許多國(guó)家都有政府支持的風(fēng)投組織，他們是愿意投資中小企業(yè)的股本的。這需要基于一個(gè)匹配基礎(chǔ)，那個(gè)組織可以匹配很多從其他來源得到的股本投資。在英國(guó)，這通過一個(gè)“企業(yè)資本融資“，美國(guó)也有一個(gè)”小企業(yè)投資公司“項(xiàng)目。

CONCLUSION

結(jié)論

This article has hopefully raised your awareness of the issues that SMEs face with regard to raising finance, and how as accountants and advisers we can assist them in their search for finance.

這篇文章旨在提高你關(guān)于中小企業(yè)融資問題的意識(shí)以及作為會(huì)計(jì)和建議者我們?nèi)绾螏椭行∑髽I(yè)找到融資。

William Parrott, freelance FM tutor andsenior FM tutor, MAT Uganda

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