The perception of small and micro enterprises in Durban central business district towards financial planning

Abstract

Poverty reduction and employment creation are some of the top United Nations Millennium Development goals as per the UN Summit of 2000. In both the developed and developing world this can best be achieved through an increase in employers. In the developing world, especially in Africa, small, medium and micro enterprises have been found to be the engine driving employment creation, economic development and poverty reduction. Having mentioned the crucial role, small and micro enterprises play in the economy and wellbeing of the people, their sustenance, success and continuity are of vital importance. Many small and micro businesses are started every year but most of them fail in their infancy due to a number of problems they face, especially lack of financial planning knowledge which is the main reason for embarking on this study. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the reality of financial planning knowledge among small and micro enterprises, especially from the perspective of owner-managers. An exploration is undertaken to see and understand their perception and attitude towards financial planning processes. The study proposes to find out what financial planning knowledge the owner-manager has tools they are currently employing in their businesses and whether or not, and to what extent do, they implement the advice from financial experts. The research wants to further explore what financial information is collected, recorded, how it is used (or not) to make business decisions and evaluate the enterprise’s success or failure in relation to what they know, use and implement as far as financial planning is concerned. The study used a quantitative technique to collect data and a questionnaire was personally administered to 100 respondents in the Durban CBD including Warwick Triangle and the response rate was 100%. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The overall findings of the study were that most of the small and micro enterprises do not understand what financial planning is or what is involved in financial planning hence their inability to properly plan their finances and manage their businesses accordingly. Some of them were found to be able to calculate a mark-up on their selling price but no records were kept. For those who have a chance to get some advice from a financial expert, do implement the advice given, but in their own way they see suitable for their particular businesses. However, they do not implement the exact advice as given only in the form they see fit for their enterprises.