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The article seeks to ascertain the extent to which owner-manager gender appears to influence the financial performance and business growth of over 2000 Small and Medium Enterprises taken from the Australian federal government's Business Longitudinal Survey. The research findings reported in the article provide substantial empirical evidence that consistent statistically significant differences in financial performance and business growth do not exist between female and male owner-managed concerns once appropriate demographic and other relevant controlling influences are taken into account.

The principal objectives in this article is to assess and to build upon the recently published research on making a pioneering attempt to estimate equity agency costs in a large cross-sectional sample of smaller, non-publicly traded companies in the United States. The present research employs panel data for 871 manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) legally organized as proprietary companies, taken from the Australian federal government's Business Longitudinal Survey conducted over four financial years from 1994-1995 to 1997-1998. The two proxies for equity agency costs that are trialed, operating expense ratio and asset turnover ratio, both appear lower in more complex agency relationships. It is also found that greater enterprise growth is significantly more evident amongst SMEs with more complex agency relationships.

Examines the financial problems of under- and over-investing in a longitudinal panel of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the Australian manufacturing sector. Factors that encourage under-investment in an SME; Profiles for under-investing SME.

The principal objective of this paper is to compare and contrast financial profiles for a longitudinal panel of 871 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Australian manufacturing sector that have embarked upon different development pathways and to examine possible connections between enterprise growth and the experience of common financial problems. Collectively, the findings represent a departure from much received knowledge in SME financial scholarship. The experience of growth seems not to have influenced the return on investment, asset structure, financial structure, liquidity and solvency ratios of the SMEs studied; but margin, operating expenses, turnover, and financing expense ratios do appear to be affected by growth. Overall, the financial profiles produced are quite unremarkable; there is no evidence of problematic financial consequences of growth. The only differences in financial profiles found are those that are readily explained by differences in the scale or growth resource needs of the business examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes an explanatory study of the impact of financial reporting practices upon business growth and performance outcomes amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in manufacturing in Australia. The study is able to establish some statistically significant bivariate associations between the extent and frequency of financial reporting undertaken and certain measures of SME growth and performance. However, the state of financial reporting practices becomes subsumed by other important influences in multivariate analysis. Management is a complex activity affected by a myriad of interacting internal and external factors, and must inevitably be undertaken in an holistic manner in SMEs. Particular practices make a contribution to the whole task without necessarily standing out as all-embracing solutions to problems generally encountered. Thus, it is argued that improved financial reporting should be realistically viewed as simply part of a broader competence in financial management which, taken together with other functional capabilities, is likely to lead to more effective and efficient management of SMEs and significantly improve their prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes a study of financial reporting practices amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) engaged in manufacturing in Australia. Use of non-linear principal components analysis; Empirical evidence on modelling of financial reporting practices of SME; Research data and method; Research findings; Summary and conclusions.

Presents a study which discussed evidence on financial reporting to financiers by small and medium-sized enterprises that are engaged in manufacturing in Australia. Types of financial reports; Methods; Conclusions.