Small and Medium-scale Enterprises

Financial institutions approve and disburse loans to individuals and firms to generate profit for their sustainability. However, one major challenge financial institutions face is loan default. Multiple borrowing is widely acknowledged as a major factor that contributes to loan default; but there is virtually no empirical evidence in support of this claim especially in the case of sub-Saharan African countries. This study therefore examines the impact of multiple borrowing on loan default with evidence from small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We rely on primary data and employ the binary probit regression for our analysis. The results show that SMEs that have multiple borrowing are more likely to default. The study therefore recommends loan and credit officers of financial institutions to be more diligent and circumspect in their quality control checks and credit appraisal of prospective borrowers. Again, the study suggests establishment of more Credit Reference Bureaus under the Credit Reporting Act, 2007 (Act 726) which facilitate information sharing among financial institutions about credit activities of borrowers. These are likely to reduce incidence of loan default because potential defaulters will be exposed and subsequently their loan applications declined.

Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) is now an emerging industry in Malaysia. Frozen food products are in high demand but not all demands can be met due to certain limiting factors. This study is undertaken to develop a goal programming model in order to optimize the customers’ demands of a SME company producing frozen foods. A pre-emptive goal programming model is formulated with three objectives. These are maximizing the total distribution of five products of frozen foods to three different locations, maximizing total profits and
minimizing the total manufacturing costs using LINDO 6.1 as the optimizer solver. The first objective was achieved, albeit not fully. Nonetheless, the second and third objectives were fully achieved.

У статті розглянуто особливості визначення оренди як об’єкта обліку за новими правилами. МСФЗ 16 «Оренда» вступає в дію з 01.01.2019, тому на сьогодні орендатор зобов’язаний визнавати практично всі угоди з оренди у балансі, щоб відобразити своє право на використання активу протягом відповідного періоду та свої зобов’язання за платежами. Підприємства транспорту орендують або надають в оренду значну кількість об'єктів високої вартості, включаючи автомобілі, літаки, судна, частини портової та логістичної інфраструктури, офіси, склади, засоби навігації. Тому транспортні підприємства, що застосовують в обліку МСФЗ, як орендарі відчують найбільший вплив нового стандарту з оренди. У орендодавців порядок обліку в основному залишається без змін. Однак вони можуть відчути вплив на бізнес-модель та попит на орендні послуги у зв'язку з зміною потреб і поведінки клієнтів. Очікується, що новий МСФЗ 16 «Оренда» значно вплине на фінансову звітність орендаря, методику обліку, аналізу та контролю. Встановлено, що орендований актив визнається за моделлю «права на використання» одночасно з відображенням зобов’язання на початок орендних відносин на основі оцінки строку оренди. Також для підприємств транспорту у застосуванні МСФЗ 16 є особливості у поділі орендних компонентів і компонентів, які не є орендою.
Ключові слова: оренда, облік, звітність, МСФЗ 16, транспорт.
FEATURES OF RENTAL ACCOUNTS IN TRANSPORT ENTERPRISES UNDER IFRS 16

The article deals with the features of the definition of the lease as an object of accounting under the new rules. IFRS 16 "Leases" comes into effect on 01.01.2019, so today the tenant is obliged to recognize practically all lease transactions in the balance sheet to reflect their right to use the asset during the relevant period and their payment obligations. Transport companies rent or lease a significant number of high-value objects, including cars, aircraft, vessels, parts of the port and logistics infrastructure, offices, warehouses, and navigation facilities. Therefore, transport companies that use the IFRS as tenants will feel the greatest impact of the new standard on lease. Enterprises will have to undertake a deep analysis of the changes and assess their impact on the financial ratios and performance indicators, the terms of credit agreements, business operations, the capabilities of information systems accounting and control, and their compliance with the requirements of the implementation of IFRS 16 "Leases". The new standard leads to an increase in assets and liabilities in the statement of financial position, as well as in the presentation of data in the statement of income or other comprehensive income, and in the statement of cash flows. The main essence of the innovations: the lessees recognize the asset under the model "right to use" and the obligation at the time of the beginning of the rental relationship, all lease relations are assessed on the basis of evaluation of terms of lease. Lease costs are replaced by depreciation and interest expense in the income statement, similarly, as the finance lease was reflected until the adoption of the new standard. All this leads to the recognition of rental costs at the initial stage of the lease, which may mean a reduction in revenues and a reduction in the equity of transport companies immediately after the commencement of the lease compared with the data when accounting for operating leases to IFRS 16 "Leases".
Key words: lease, accounting, reporting, IFRS 16, transport.

There are a variety of factors that pose challenges for start-ups globally. These challenges vary based on the country, region, or economy of operation. Research identified the challenges start-ups face depending on whether start-ups were established in developed or undeveloped countries. However, few research studies have been conducted in Nepal. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the top five factors that hindered start-up formation or posed difficulty for the growth of start-ups within Nepal between 2017 to 2020. The primary data was collected using a mixed method using purposive sampling consisting of an in-depth interview followed by a survey with entrepreneurs and experts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Nepal. The authors administered an in-depth interview with open-ended questions and then conducted key informant interviews. Throughout the interviews, the five major issues identified as hindering start-ups were human capital, finance, support system, policy, and marketing.

The “i2Metrix program” is an initiative by a number of researchers and business consultants to design a framework for assessing the innovative capacity of corporate organizations. The framework measures different aspects of a business operation relating to actual and potential capabilities of firms to pursue innovation. i2Metrix stands for "Inclusive Innovation Metrix" and is developed by  DHVP Research (Hanoi, Vietnam), in collaboration with the Center for Business Studies and Assistances (BSA) of HCMC. Academic Partners include The Center for Creativity and Innovation, Boise State University, Idaho, USA; Stamford International University, Bangkok, Thailand; and Collaborators from Hanoi-based Organizational Capacity Development (OCD); i2Metrix Methodology has the support of international Research Fellows in promoting the methodology through training programs on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Vietnam and beyond.

The aim of this study is the Turkish adaptation of the Grit-S and examination of its psychometric properties. Participants were 186 (108 females and 78 males) university students who were enrolled in Kütahya and Ağrı, Turkey. Their ages ranged from 18 to 27, and the mean age of the participants was 21.3 years. Motivational Persistence Scale was used for concurrent validity. There is a significant correlation between the original and Turkish version of the scale in the equivalency was .89 (p= .00). Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy of .83 and a significant result on Bartlett’s test of sphericity χ2= 503,877 (p<.001, df=24). Results of confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that 8 items yielded two factors as original form and that the two-dimensional model was well fit (χ2/df=2.06, p=.00011, RMSEA= .046, CFI=.95, GFI=.94, AGFI=.93, SRMR=.047). Factor loadings ranged from .42 to .77. In the concurrent validity significant relationships (r= .68) was found between the Motivational Persistence Scale and Shor Grit Scale. Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficient was found as .83 for whole scale, .80 for sub-dimension of consistency of interest, .71 for sub-dimension of perseverance of effort. Test-retest reliability coefficient was .69 for whole scale. Corrected item-total correlations ranged from .33 to .65. As a result, it is possible to say that the Grit-S is a valid and reliable measurement tool to be used for the purpose of measuring grit, persevarance and persistence levels of individuals.

The aim of this paper is to characterize the Technological District in Buenos Aires City, assessing to what extent this clustering policy fosters joint action of SMEs and in what way the District leads to dynamic entrepreneurship. The findings of the study show that the policy has limited impacts both on entrepreneurship and on joint action of SMEs.

El objetivo del presente trabajo es caracterizar el Distrito Tecnológico de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires para evaluar en qué medida esta política de cluster fomenta la acción conjunta de las PyMEs y qué efectos tiene el Distrito en materia de creación de empresas dinámicas. Los resultados del estudio muestran que la política tiene limitado impacto tanto en materia de creación de empresas dinámicas como en acciones conjuntas de PyMEs.

The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the future firm performance of formal enterprises that started-up unregistered and spent longer unregistered are significantly different to those that registered at the outset. Reporting World Bank Enterprise Survey data on 3,420 formal enterprises from eleven countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and controlling for other determinants of firm performance as well as the endogeneity of the registration decision using the Heckman selection model, the finding is that unregistered firms at start-up witness lower sales and productivity growth but higher employment growth rates. The effect of the registration decision on future performance thus depends on the performance indicator analysed. The theoretical implications are then discussed along with the limitations and future research required.

The Science and Technology Department has introduced and established a nationwide program-Small Enterprise Technology Upgrade Program (SETUP) methods designed to empower and help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to implement technical technologies to enhance their operations and thus raise their efficiency and competitiveness. The SETUP program provides equipment and technical assistance to micro and medium-sized enterprises to allow micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to increase sales and development, restructure and increase overall company operations , improve product and service quality, comply with national and international standards of excellence and be competitive in their respective fields.