Preliminary Investigation: Accounting Literacy among Small Business Owners

Abstract

Accounting is important for a business of any sizes to keep well-organized and up-to-date accounting records for their daily transactions. It helps businesses to plan and manage financial matters more effectively. However, most of the small business owners do not keep proper books of accounts since there is no legal obligation to do that. Moreover, they also perceive accounting as a very difficult process due to its technical difficulties. Thus, it is quite hard for the small business owners to monitor the financial status/growth and also obtaining financial assistance from third parties. Hence, this study examines the extent of accounting literacy which focuses on accounting records and financial management among small business owners in Jasin district. 51 small business owners responded to the questionnaire distributed. Findings of this study revealed that, in terms of accounting records, majority of the small business owners do not have proper record keeping and do not concern on separation of business and personal transactions. Besides, almost 70% of them did not maintain any financial reports for the business. In terms of financial management, most of the owners use selffinancing in running the business since they are worried they cannot afford the loan commitments. Apart from that, it might be difficult for them to apply for a loan due to no proper business record and financial reports prepared for the business. These results indicate that accounting literacy is still very weak among the small business owners in Jasin district.