Despite the contributions South African Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) make to the national economy, they have among the highest failure rates in the world. Though various factors contribute to their high failure rate, one factor has not been considered, namely the potential lack of governance. Governance is seldom researched in a South African SMME dispensation, rendering it a nascent research topic. Hence, this study aimed to determine the influence the “tone at the top” had on the economic sustainability of sampled South African SMMEs. The research study was empirical, exploratory and took the form of survey research. A quantitative research methodology was and data were collected through self-administered questionnaires from 123 South African SMME owners/managers and 82 South African SMME employees. All respondents had to adhere to relevant sets of delineation criteria. Stemming from the results, out of all tested attributes of management, seven overlapping attributes...
Category - Luyolo SIWANGAZA
Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
A large proportion of South African Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) make use of customised internal control initiatives and customised risk management practices to mitigate and/or manage risks, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the attainment of objectives in the foreseeable future. According to research studies however, the aforementioned internal control initiatives and risk management practices are deemed to be inadequate and/or ineffective. This is especially the case as these business entities are predominantly focused on preventing generic risks in relation to the safeguarding of assets and independent checks, while ignoring key risks which may be detrimental to the attainment of their objectives. Since approximately 70% of South African SMMEs fail after being in existence less than four years it is highly probable that these business entities are not paying enough attention to mitigate and/or manage key risks (potential loss events) and controlling actual...
Before the official recognition of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa during the mid-1990s, these business entities have been key players in the stimulation of the national economy. Albeit their socio-economic value added, prior research shows that the sustainability of these business are among the worst in the world, since approximately 70% of South African SMMEs fail within their first three years of existence. This dispensation is often blamed on inter alia, their inadequate management of economic factors which, in turn, cultivates risks. Notwithstanding the fact that most South African SMMEs make use of customised risk management initiatives, previous research shows that these initiatives are not deemed as adequate and/or effective to mitigate risks. Since the manner in which risks are managed are strongly dependent on the attitude and awareness of its management surrounding internal control (control environment), this study focused on investigating...
