Small business

4.7 Supporting the development of professional services 
Objective: To develop the capacity for private sector professional services for SMEs
These wide-ranging services, described in more details in Chapter 5, play a major role in SME
development, as it is rarely economical for the individual entrepreneur to internalise them. Two examples
may give an idea. If SMEs did not have external accountants, tax revenue collection in most developed
economies would face massive problems. Business also needs strong, ethical professional private-sector
property management to acquire property on terms that support investment and the growth of a business
- this has been a major barrier to SME development in many transition economies. 
The role that public policy can play in developing standards to enhance the capacity of these professions
has already been argued. The key to policy support for professional development lies in encouraging the
growth of associations and creation of standards with associated qualification, possibly linked to the
vocational education system. Growth of self-help provision for the informal sector should particularly be
encouraged.