The Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) in conjunction with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), on Monday launched a five-day workshop on Financial Management Techniques for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Guyana.
This workshop is the “implementation phase of this partnership and is the culmination of months of planning,” said Carlotta Walcott, Manager of IPED’s Entrepreneurial Development Centre. Commenting on the importance of programmes of this nature, Walcott stated that “improving the business skills of entrepreneurs is important if we are to reduce poverty and produce wealth.”
Outlining the specifics of the workshop, Ramesh Persaud, IPED’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) revealed that a total of 20 individuals will be participating in the activities that will be taking place over the five-day period. He related that the participants are entrepreneurs themselves and are engaged in businesses ranging from providing internet services to agro-produce. To provide a sense of the impact this workshop may have on business in Guyana, Persaud revealed that together the 20 participants employ a total of 110 workers and their combined sales amount to approximately $1 billion. To qualify for this workshop, each successful participant would have had to be a business owner, have access to a computer, and be able to dedicate five full days to the workshop. Persaud said that it was imperative that participants chosen were committed to the workshop and they were all therefore required to pay a US$10 registration fee. He stated that such steps were necessary since the cost to arrange the workshop equated to US$600 per participant. He opined that the workshop will provide each participant with the tools necessary to understand their business to a better degree, and will allow them to become far more efficient in the execution of the day to day affairs of their business, “probably even leading to expansion”.
Sessions will be facilitated by Jagdesh Haripersaud, a qualified Associate of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and current Financial Manager at IPED. Apart from this, he currently facilitates courses in the area of Financial Management for the Inter-American Investment Corporation as well as the Institute of Commercial Management.
Emphasizing the importance of the workshop, Dr Yesu Persaud, IPED’s chairman emphatically stated that “the most fundamental part of business is the understanding of basic financial management.” He warned them particularly on issues concerning honouring financial obligations. He stated that it was absolutely imperative to repay any loans that would have been taken, as failing to do so can put the future of the business in jeopardy.
On a similar note, Ronald Webster, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, warned that entrepreneurs must take all costs, provision of services and repayment of loans and other financial obligations very seriously. “Financial management is about discipline,” he said, warning that “most companies fail because of family involvement.”
Webster also cautioned business owners to be wary of using loans meant for the business to take care of family related issues.
Jason Allicock, one of the applicants shortlisted to participate in the workshop is the owner of a Poultry and Agro Producing business. He admitted that in the 5 years he has been in operation, decisions relating to “how much should I take out for myself and how to go about offsetting the expenses that are incurred” have often posed challenges. Allicock related that on more than one occasion, “I had to go into my own pocket to take care of business expenses.” He said he hopes the workshop teaches him to effectively manage the financial aspects of his business so that he will no longer be plagued by past problems.
According to the programme outline, the participants will benefit from both practical and theoretical instruction on various aspects of business including the use of Microsoft Excel, creation of financial statements, creation of balance sheets and income statements, balance sheet review, record keeping and the identification of weaknesses and strengths.
IPED has already distributed in excess of $1 billion in loans to such businesses. It lauded the decision of the CDB for seeing it fit to pursue the partnership, “and remains open to outside help”.
