Archives For Rosana Mirkovic

Where next for the women on boards debate?

accapr —  16 January 2013 — 1 Comment

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By Rosana Mirkovic, head of SME policy, ACCA

With such unprecedented focus on this topic throughout 2012, it’s difficult to imagine how such a high level of interest and activity can be sustained. Will the record increase in female NED appointments continue?

A voluntary target of 25 per cent of directors to be female by 2015 has been set in the Lord Davies report and it seems that companies are heading in the right direction towards achieving it – women now account for 17.4 per cent of the FTSE 100 board directors.

And what will happen with the European Commission proposals? In November the EC published its much awaited proposal for there to be at least 40 per cent women non-executive directors on the boards of big-listed companies by 2020. There is still debate on what this means in practice and to what extent will this translate into quotas for companies. It would appear the proposals deliberately avoid the term ‘quotas’ and instead refer to a 40 per cent ’objective’, with unspecified sanctions against companies flouting the rules.

It is clear that over the past two years the gender equality debate has by and large been dominated by the women on board debate. It certainly has some high profile ambassadors. What we must ensure now is that we use this momentum to broaden the discussions.

We know that women are under-represented at senior levels in virtually all areas of economic activity and especially those with high financial rewards. While higher numbers of female non-executive directors would go some way towards addressing this, there is scarce evidence that it would change anything else.

In fact the Norway example that is so often used for the quota argument shows that despite 35 per cent of female NEDs on Norway’s publicly listed company boards, there has been no increase of female representation at the CEO level.

The UK is heading in the same direction – only 6.6 per cent of the FTSE 100 and 4.9 per cent of FTSE 250 of executive directors are women. In October 2012, two female FTSE 100 chief executives resigned (Cynthia Carroll and Dame Majorie Scardino) and once their resignations come into effect, this will cut in half the number of women holding the top spot at a blue-chip company (Alison Cooper at Imperial Tobacco and Burberry’s Angela Ahrendts will be the only two FTSE 100 female chief executives standing).

And this is what we are acutely lacking – a focus on why women remain under-represented in senior management positions. Issues such as stereotypes, the cost of childcare, pay inequality are the really difficult issues that are lacking high profile supporters and that are infinitely more difficult to solve and commit to such short-term targets. Two reports released last month (see here and here) show that for all the talk of women on boards, and there has been plenty, there has been no change in the prospects of women running big businesses. And this points towards a real danger of the women on boards debate overshadowing the real issues.

ACCA’s own research shows that stereotypes still remain despite the unprecedented focus of female board appointments. For this reason the language of finance is seen to help break down some persistent stereotypes about women’s competence and emotional nature. Finance is also seen as the language of the board and for women with a finance background it gives them access to the conversations. Thus, the finance qualification is seen as a masculine qualification that combats some of the female stereotypes.

We need more research that helps us understand better what is hindering women in their careers and more importantly, what is helping them succeed. The women on boards agenda does very little on this front yet it is the only issue we should be looking at. Once we have more women leading our businesses, it would seem the rest would take care of itself, including the numbers of women at board level.

After all, our research shows that for every board member in the FTSE 100, there are 5,500 employees, demonstrating a real need for a more bottom-up approach.

In ACCA, Finance Transformation, Rosana Mirkovic, Women in Business , , , , , , ,
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SMEs in South East Asia looking ahead

accapr —  10 December 2012 — 1 Comment

SMEsBy Rosana Mirkovic, head of SME policy, ACCA

What never ceases to surprise us here in the SME Team, is how similar small business issues are, no matter which country or region we go to.

Take access to finance as an example – lack of collateral, appropriate good governance and risk management, as well as the skills of owner managers themselves are more than likely to be brought up in the discussions whether they are taking place in Africa, Asia or Europe. It seems that SMEs across the world have many things in common and unfortunately most of these are likely to be problems.

However, on my recent visit to Cambodia and Vietnam where I took part in a series of events and meetings organised by ACCA offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh, I learnt something new. Export is actually a major source of SMEs’ economic contribution in these fast growing and open economies and this was not only apparent in the figures, but in the culture and the whole business ecosystem in which small business owners operate.

Here in Europe, we talk of exporting and SMEs as something marred with problems and actually quite a difficult proposition for small businesses. In Asia on the other hand, while SMEs are under acute pressure concerning demand, inflation and currency fluctuations, exporting itself is something that they see as business as usual.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just the business owners who seemed comfortable with the idea but also many of the key institutions that small businesses rely on – most surprisingly of all, banks. While over in the UK, financial products such as FX forwards, import documentary credit or foreign currency receivables financing are rarely marketed to small businesses, in Vietnam banks see this is as their key commercial advantage and advertise exactly this in their general SME marketing collateral, whereas in Europe, we are likely to view these products as rather niche. This made me think how far away we are in Europe from seeing SME exporting in this way, and it also made me wonder how much of this is actually tied to culture rather than actual practice.

This brings me to another interesting difference.  Opportunities for SMEs that will be created by the ASEAN integration were never far from the discussions. While many commentators doubt that the regional economic community will come together in time for 2015, the region is still heading firmly in that direction and SMEs are already discussing how they can be ready to make the most of opening up of regional trade.

At a time when the Eurozone is facing so much challenge and doubt in terms of its future, it was quite refreshing to spend some time in a region that is working on coming together and looking ahead to the economic potential that this represents.

Refreshing… but also depressing to come back to a Europe looking in the other direction…

In Access to finance, Economy, Rosana Mirkovic, Small business, SMEs, Uncategorized , , , ,
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XXII Economic Forum in Poland

accapr —  18 September 2012 — Leave a comment

By Rosana Mirkovic, head of SME policy, ACCA

Between 4 to 6 September European politicians and business leaders gathered at the 22nd Economic Forum in the spa resort town of Krynica Zdrój, southern Poland.

Under the title ‘New Visions for Hard Times – Europe and the World Confronting the Crisis’, leaders discussed current models of integration, the economic system, and the substantial reforms required to tackle the on-going economic crisis. Much of the debate was dedicated to the competitiveness of the region and how its businesses can make greater impact on the global stage.

And as the title suggests, this was a high level gathering, attracting regional heads of state, international organisations and the major regional and global business leaders. Most impressively, there was a feeling of a genuine need for the government, business and the NGO sector to work together to address some of the socio-economic problems that remain, despite the remarkable period of transition the region has witnessed. With such a rich audience, the programme provided a similar tapestry of topics; from health, pensions and the ageing Europe, to future energy sources, technological innovations and the social media.

Inevitably, with the Forum’s host being so close to the Eurozone (currently expected to join the Euro in January 2016), the various angles on the Eurozone crisis were debated at length.

I was pleased to take part in a PwC panel debate ‘CEE Goes Global – the Expansion of Foreign Companies in Central and Eastern Europe’, which discussed the chances and the perspectives of the private entrepreneurs with their efforts to expand abroad and the obstacles they have to overcome in order to conquer new markets. The panel also debated the importance of such enterprises for the growth of their home regions and national economies. With larger corporations usually dominating such gatherings, it was especially pleasing to see that smaller, growing businesses were recognised for their dynamism and their increasing presence in international trade.

There was agreement among the panel that while national governments are keen to help the SME sector internationalise, their efforts tend to be mis-directed. The participants, who included presidents of boards of some of the major Polish exporting firms, agreed that government actions ought to be targeted towards making trade easier and less costly and removing barriers to growth and innovation. Other than that, there was reluctance to promote further state interference, and a real sense that entrepreneurs simply need to be left alone to do what they know best. Most interestingly, the extent to which the international expansion of Polish companies benefits the national economy, and as such warrant government support, was raised a number of times – as well as the effect of the country’s branding in boosting the international prospects of its companies. It’s difficult to imagine that either of the questions would be asked if a similar event was held in the UK, for example.

The overwhelming sentiment to note from the Forum however is the general optimism about the region’s future. Having witnessed moderate but steady growth throughout the economic downturn, some degree of retrospection was a common thread that tied together much of the conference’s programme, showing how far the region has come and most importantly, the role of business in opening up the region’s potential and cooperation even further.

In EU, Rosana Mirkovic, Small business, SMEs , , , , , , , , ,
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The internationalisation of SMEs

theaccablog —  14 March 2012 — Leave a comment

By Rosana Mirkovic, head of SME policy, ACCA

Trading and working internationally is not the sole domain of big corporate business. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have a part to play in international trading too. Internationalisation matters for them as much as for big business.

Despite this, they remain underrepresented in international trade. Much of this is owed to the lack of capacity that is needed to overcome cultural, regulatory and practical barriers.

While big businesses have the resources to absorb the costs of dealing with these barriers, SMEs are left out in the dry.

These are some of the issues discussed in a new report from ACCA which collects the views of experts from a series of conferences held in Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Romania late last year.

The internationalisation of SMEs matters not only in terms of their export activity, but also their imports, foreign direct investment, international subcontracting and international co-operation. These activities can be the very essence of many SMEs, including start-ups whose markets for niche products, for example, may well be anywhere in the world.

Removing barriers that will allow SMEs to engage in more international activity is crucial at the time of widespread slow economic growth. In fact, most European governments are betting on export-led recovery and SMEs need to be at the heart of this. Because of their size, they tend to be able to act fast, and can respond to market opportunities as and when they arise. And again, the European Union recognises this fact and has said in the past that SMEs’ growth and innovation will be decisive for the future prosperity of the European Union.

What they need now is an environment in which they can make the most of these opportunities.

There has been a resounding message from governments across the world, urging their SMEs to explore international markets due to weak domestic demand. What they need to bear in mind however is that international activity starts at home; from being able to import, gain the right information and have access to networks and overseas partners.

The emphasis therefore needs to change in urging SMEs to engage in cross border trade, focusing more on the support that is available to make this possible.

And a word of caution: recent evidence suggests that SMEs’ international activity in the UK, both existing and planned, has fallen steadily in the past year.

In general, Western Europe is normally the likeliest place for European SMEs to do business abroad, yet as these countries are also affected by poor economic conditions, SMEs’ international ambitions will need to travel much further to generate the export growth that many European governments are currently banking on.

In Economy, Rosana Mirkovic, SMEs
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Women in the global economy

theaccablog —  7 October 2011 — 1 Comment

By Rosana Mirkovic, senior policy adviser, ACCA

You’re all probably familiar with the global gender development gap.

But even in economies where there is a long history of equal rights and where women are now more likely to outperform men in education, the question remains: why do women still lag behind men when it comes to business ownership and leadership?

The figures are stark: on average, women are about half as likely as men to be involved in business start-ups and they account for fewer than 8 per cent of top managers in OECD countries.

It seems obvious that progress is at very best slow if not stagnant. Here at ACCA we are happy to share a better story with the majority of our students now being female as well as 42 per cent of our membership. And not only were we the first professional body to appoint a female chief executive, but we are already onto our second one.

But the point here is not to show off about our own achievements but to show that things can be different in successful global organisations. The problem is that we still haven’t arrived at the answers of why this isn’t happening more often in other professions and industries. Of course we know that family life and childcare responsibilities have a large role to play but they don’t explain everything.

We’re soon launching a new report that looks at how women have fared since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008.

A couple of findings are worth pointing out a bit early: while our members are most likely to be influenced by their environment and more importantly the position they hold within their organisations, there were still some interesting gender related nuances we observed. For example, female members were found to be more negative towards government policy but more likely to interact with business support initiatives, including access to finance projects.

Most interestingly of all however, is the very fact that our female membership is much less likely to respond to our Global Economic Conditions quarterly surveys; although 42 per cent of ACCA members are female, only 33 per cent of GECs respondents are women.

While it is difficult to prove this, it seems possible that women are generally less interested in making predictions and general assessments on economic matters. For instance, academic and non-academic studies show that women are less attracted to economic blogging and few among even the leading female economists blog (and here too)

So the ‘silent majority’ adage might be more accurate then we thought. And therein lies a bit of problem. Diversity leads to policy- and decision-making based on a mix of views, perspectives, and experience. Without the full engagement of a significant section of society, that pool for diverse opinions is more limited than it should be.

In Economy, Global Economic Conditions, Rosana Mirkovic, Women in Business
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