RRA to boost SMEs

The Rwanda Revenue Authority will today sign a memorandum of understanding with the Private Sector Federation worth Eighteen thousand five hundred U.S dollars ($18.500) in a bid to provide financial management support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The signing ceremony will take place at RRA headquarters in Kimihurura from 2:00 pm.

According to the agreement, the funds will support SMEs in preparing their annual financial statements through the BDS Networks’ Resident Accountants using tailor-made software. The move will also address the scarcity of professional accountants in Rwanda and the high cost associated with employing professional accountants by SMEs. The Rwanda Revenue Authority will not only provide funding to the initiative, but will register them as official tax advisors every year at no charge. The private Sector is expected to recruit Resident Accountants to serve in each BDS Center through a competitive process and train them on tax verification methods and techniques. They will also be trained on how to utilize accounting software.

According to the MOU, the Private Sector will organize the Resident Accountants training workshop, identify a firm to provide the financial management software, provide office space to the Resident Accountant in each BDS Center, manage and monitor the entire network of Resident accountants.

It will also provide awareness and publicity to the resident accountant network with a view to encouraging the business community to utilize the services of the resident accountant.

“After training, every resident accountant will be placed in each BDS Center to provide financial management support to the business community in each respective district” reads part of the agreement.

Less than 10% of the SMEs in Rwanda prepare annual financial statements and most of them do not know whether they make a profit or loss at the end of their financial year, thus hindering their filing of tax returns to the RRA and thereby affecting the exactness of forecasting annual revenues from tax returns.

The MOU therefore comes to strengthen the capacity of resident accountants which will in return promote SMEs and hence boost the economic growth.

Ends.