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Small and micro business: news, insights and industry press

Interviews, reflections and commentary on key issues affecting small and micro businesses. ICAEW members and ACA students can also access industry press articles as a benefit of ICAEW membership.
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News and insights

Interviews, reflections and commentary on key issues affecting small and micro businesses.
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Firms showcase AI across corporate finance
  • Article
  • 26 Mar 2025
AI across the deal process has morphed from theoretical to something that is being actively used to deliver client work. But how does it work in practice? A recent ICAEW event lifted the lid.
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FRC updates resources to reflect reporting threshold changes
  • Article
  • 26 Mar 2025
The Financial Reporting Council has updated relevant documents on UK reporting thresholds ahead of the changes that come into effect from 6 April.
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Government confirms consultation on business growth scheme
  • Article
  • 19 Mar 2025
First announced in December, the Business Growth Service will serve as a one-stop shop for government advice and support, to streamline the government’s offer to small companies and to assist businesses seeking to raise finance.
London Westminster
Chancellor must prioritise skills, tech and infrastructure
  • Article
  • 17 Mar 2025
To kickstart economic growth the government needs to accelerate infrastructure projects, ensure access to skilled workers and support investment in new technologies, says ICAEW.
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Could the new Procurement Act drive local growth?
  • Article
  • 12 Mar 2025
With more focus on local SMEs providing services to their local authorities, the Procurement Act 2023 could be a source of growth across the regions.
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Euro ‘omnibus’ proposal reveals softer CSRD and CSDDD
  • Article
  • 04 Mar 2025
The European Commission’s omnibus proposal waters down European sustainability reporting and assurance rules within CSRD, CSDDD and CBAM.
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IASB publishes third edition of IFRS for SMEs Accounting standard
  • Article
  • 28 Feb 2025
Revised SMEs Accounting Standard enhances alignment with IFRS Accounting Standards while incorporating targeted modifications to ensure it remains relevant and simplified for SMEs.
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FRC issues updated going concern reporting guidance
  • Article
  • 26 Feb 2025
The non-mandatory guidance is to help directors of UK companies demonstrate the assessments underlying their going concern conclusions in a bid to increase confidence from all stakeholders.
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Industry press

The ICAEW Library provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive Precedents thinking: how to innovate by combining old ideas
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2025
  • Stefanos Zenios, Ken Favaro
This article examines how groundbreaking innovations often stem from creatively reworking existing ideas, a concept known as precedents thinking. It outlines a three-step process for leveraging this method to drive innovation in both startups and established companies.
Exclusive Should my side hustle become my main gig?
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2025
  • Michael A. Stanko, Jeffrey M. Pollack, Alexander Staub
This fictionalised case study examines Evan Hale's dilemma between a job promotion and a $1 million investment in his startup, Fritch Audio.
Exclusive How to attract the best talent
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2025
  • Nooshin Hashemi
This article discusses the challenges startups face in attracting top talent and shares strategies for recruiting a dedicated team by emphasising personal connections and meaningful work.
Exclusive Your business needs a succession plan
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2025
  • Elaine Silvestrini
This article stresses the importance of succession planning for small business owners approaching retirement, discussing risks and various options for a smooth transition.
Exclusive What hopes for the new Fair Payment Code?
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2025
  • Sean Feast
Sean Feast discusses the prospects of the Fair Payment Code, launched recently by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner with the aim of improving payment practices and supporting businesses to tackle late payments.
Exclusive Maintaining a startup culture while scaling
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2025
  • Tarang Amin
Tarang Amin, CEO of e.l.f. Beauty, discusses how the company has continued to operate like a start-up, even as it has become a major player in the beauty industry.
Exclusive The biggest mistakes that startups make
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2025
  • Nir Zicherman
Nir Zicherman, CEO of Oboe, sets out 50 hard-won lessons that start-ups ought to take heed of in order to avoid common pitfalls.
Exclusive Who learns fastest, wins: Lean Startup and Discovery Driven Growth
  • Article
  • 01 Nov 2024
  • Rita Gunther McGrath
Most entrepreneurial ventures and startups fail. Against this backdrop, Lean Startup and Discovery-Driven Growth (DDG) are methods that emphasize rapid learning, resource parsimony, and focus on validating assumptions as ways of reducing the cost and risk of failure. Rita Gunther McGrath looks at the benefits of both methods, suggesting that they are a major advance over traditional planning processes because they both emphasize rapid learning. She also provides a 'flops file' of massive corporate failures and analyses the mistakes made.
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Useful links

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Latest Business news from Insights
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Read the latest business articles published in ICAEW's Insights hub.
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Ukraine hub
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Visit our Ukraine hub for the latest on sanctions, ethical guidance and reputational risk.
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Brexit – impact on ICAEW members
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Find a range of resources to help you navigate this new chapter.

Business Spotlight

Read these Business Spotlight articles for Chartered Accountants' reports from the front line of industry, across regions and sectors.
Business spotlight
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