BOOKKEEPING AND PERCEPTION OF GROWTH OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN THE CAPE COAST METROPOLIS

ABSTRACT 

The  role  of  SMEs  in  the  development  of  any  nation  cannot  be  overemphasised.  Yet  their  growth  into  bigger  firms  is  often  beset  with  many challenges.  This  study  sought  to  examine  the perception of business owners about  the  effect  of  bookkeeping  on  the  growth  of  small  and  medium-scale enterprises  (SMEs)  in  the  Cape  Coast  Metropolis.  The  study  employed  the quantitative research method and survey design. The simple random sampling method  was  used  to  draw  a  sample  of  100  enterprises  from  a  survey population  of  135  registered  SMEs  from  the  Cape  Coast  Chamber  of Commerce. A structured survey questionnaire was used in gathering primary data for the  study. A total of 100  questionnaires were returned and  used for analysis.  The  study  found  that  most  SMEs  surveyed  did  not  keep  complete written records even though majority (74%) of them perceived bookkeeping as an important tool for business growth. The challenges that confronted SMEs owners in bookkeeping were lack of personal knowledge in bookkeeping, lack of record keepers, time and resources constraints among others. The study also found that majority SME owners perceived bookkeeping to have an effect on the growth of SMEs and level of education of SME owners or managers also had  a  positive  relationship  with  their  bookkeeping  practices.  The  study that the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) in Ghana should initiate policies that will intensify education of SMEs operators on  bookkeeping  since  many  of  them  lacked  personal  knowledge  in bookkeeping. Business operators were also recommended to go for seminars and training that will improve their record keeping skills.