Abstract
It is widely accepted that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in any developing economy. However, this sector is struggling in the South African (SA) landscape. Given the important role the SME sector plays and will need to play in the South African economy, it is of critical importance to identify ways in which this sector could be supported, and specifically to understand the current and future role of the accountancy profession in supporting SMEs. Relatively little attention has been given to the role of the accountant in the SME environment. Professional accountants are active in the SME environment, but little is known about the role they currently play, and there is very little existing research on the future role they could play in the SME environment. Based on this, two research questions were formulated with regard to SMEs and the accountancy profession: How do professional accountants and SME owners in South Africa experience the current role of the professional accountant in SMEs? What are their expectations of the future role of professional accountants in providing support to SMEs?
Ph.D. (Accounting)