英语翻译Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly see

英语翻译Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly seen as playing animportant role in the economy of many countries.Thus,governmentsthroughout the world focus on development of the SME sector to promoteeconomic growth.In Thailand,SMEs comprise the majority of businessesin the country.The Department of Industrial Promotion revealed that in2002 there were 1,639,427 SMEs in Thailand,comprising 99.63% of all enterprises (Department of Industrial Promotion 2004).SMEs make substantialcontributions to the national economy in terms of output,employmentand effective utilization of regional resources (Asian ProductivityOrganization 2002a; Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises Development2006).The crucial role of SMEs to the overall health of the economy is dependenton their performance - that is growth and profitability (Sage1993).Although not all small firms pursue growth goals,their mere survivaland provision of jobs for the owner-managers and/or their familiesadd to the economic wellbeing of a nation (Kotey and Meredith,1997).Governments around the globe including the Thai government invest inthe development,survival and growth of SMEs in recognition of their contributionto economic development.The effectiveness of government assistanceto the sector depends on clear identification of barriers to performanceand development of appropriate policies and programs to dealwith them.Several factors have been identified in the literature as affecting SMEperformance,in particular access to external finance (Blackwood andMowl,2000; Bukvic and Bartlett,2003; Leeds,2003).Access to finance isin turn influenced by variables in both the enterprise's internal and externalenvironment.It is held that SMEs are unable to access external financebecause they are not investment ready.They lack the necessary informationand knowledge of their businesses to approach finance providers or tobe successful in accessing funds if they do (Lattimore et al,1998).Financialinformation does not only influence ability to access external capital,it also influences SME performance directly.This is because it provides allnecessary data on key operational matters with guidelines for controllingthe resources of the firm.These data in turn help firms make effective decisions,which ultimately enhance their performance (Peacock 2000).