The gap in management accounting skills required by venture capital providers and those possessed by small and medium enterprises in the craft industry

SMEs are considered as the best possible vehicle to reduce the unemployment rate andincrease economic participation in the country, specifically for historically disadvantagedpeople. Due to, among other things, the lack of small business management skills, thepotential of SMEs cannot be fully realised.From the study it was found that one of the major reasons why SMEs fail to secureloans is a lack of management accounting skills. This lack of management accountingskills is due to a lack of mentors, training and business education. The study hasidentified a number of management accounting skills which most of the venture capitalproviders consider when they evaluate applications for loans. From empirical survey itwas considered that budgeting, cash flow management and product costing wereconsidered as imperative by most venture capital providers.