SMALL firms can now beef up their financial management expertise under a $3 million initiative to help them tackle the effects of the financial crisis.
Vector Scorecard Asia-Pacific (Vsapac) is a private financial management firm which is offering subsidies to up to 1,000 companies interested in undergoing the programme.
In effect, the subsidies on offer will allow firms to try the programme for free before possibly paying Vsapac to continue beyond the programme's first phase.
The pilot programme, which started here on Monday, aims to help at least 1,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) manage challenges from the effects of the financial crisis.
Vsapac's group managing director for Asia Pacific, Mr Nazri Muhammad, said: 'We're basically providing them with CFO (chief financial officer) expertise.'
Under the programme, firms possibly access cash outlays, assistance with intellectual property costs and subsidies to build up their capacity.
Singapore's SMEs will be the first in Asia which can apply to join.
Vsapac said the programme, 'Rebuild-and-Grow', has three phases.
In the first phase, Vsapac will provide SMEs here with free access to its 'artificial intelligence' CFO software for one year. The software can help SMEs identify and diagnose problem areas which may require immediate attention.
The SMEs can then seek assistance from Vsapac's in-house financial analysts and advisers to guide them in the findings over a two-hour advisory session.
'Some will not have a ready set of financial statements but we will interview them, try to re-construct their financial statements so that it can be entered into the system,' said Mr Nazri.
'So this category of Micro-SMEs will need a little bit of hand-holding prior to the meeting (but) our analyst will then guide them through it.'
The second phase will involve selecting viable firms for a subsidised management programme to help build up the firm's financial and business competencies for up to 12 months.
And the third phase will see firms reaching a level where they have 'ultimate capital and business infusion'.
Vsapac said the first 1,000 firms to undergo the first phase will receive a subsidy of $1,500, while it will consider giving additional sums to firms that qualify for the second and third phases.
'Our key theme for helping SMEs can best be described as the '4-I': internalise, innovate, invest and internationalise,' Mr Nazri said.
He added that the 4-I plan can help SMEs strengthen internal competencies, refine and modify business models with innovative ideas by 'infusing the right mix of human and dollar capital, and providing access to international markets through our overseas and local offices'.
According to Vsapac, the programme will also be extended to micro-businesses or 'mom and pop shops' that generate a yearly turnover of just $10,000.
He said the programme can help cash-strapped firms with viable business plans or businesses that require additional financial management expertise or funding to deal with the protracted effects of the global crisis.
'Our commitment to SME development has never been stronger in times of financial crises like this,' he said.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on November 19, 2008.
