Financial education and SME's: an empirical research.

Abstract

It is believed that the topic of financial education concerns almost exclusively individuals as consumers, as defined by the Consumer Credit Directive or the Mortgage Credit Directive. While it is true that financial education efforts primarily target individuals as consumers, the attention of the Bank of Italy and the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission (Consob), as well as various political and educational initiatives, is also directed towards the financial education of entrepreneurs. This is particularly relevant for owner-managers, who are widely present in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector, especially in Italy. Contrary to the attention given to consumers, the issue of financial education for entrepreneurs has often been overlooked. While their management and financial challenges, as well as their reliance on bank debt, have been identified, little attention has been given to addressing the lack of managerial skills in economic and financial matters. Similarly, the importance of increasing awareness in investment decisions and financing choices, in order to improve business performance, has been neglected. In this contribution, an overview of the current state of the field is provided, based on the analysis of a questionnaire administered to readers of a specialized newsletter focusing on topics such as corporate financial management and bank-business relationships. The analysis takes into account changes in legislation regarding corporate crisis as well as regulatory changes for banks.