Many individuals -  analysts or otherwise -  note the high failure rate among entrepreneurs and especially among entrepreneurial professionals (doctors, engineers, service providers).

But few spare the time to acknowledge and deal with the single most important contributor to entrepreneurial failures (after earning new clients), and that is poor records-keeping. That was the subject of a presentation by Chartered Account Marrio Blake during a Scotiabank Jamaica professional seminar at the Jamaica Pegasus.

Mr Blake an accounting professional and entrepreneur with some 15 years experience, told a rapt audience that business transaction and process records, when consistently maintained and managed, provided easy-to-access and timely information that could drive positive business decisions such as when to expand production, when (and if) to seek additional financing, how to fill vacancies, and even how to ensure a a positive cash flow in spite of the tight economic conditions,

He showed models of the more common financial statements, including profit & loss and cash flow, and advised professionals to automate their business processes as early and as much as possible.

The audience also heard from Scotiabank's Head of Government Affairs, Wayne Henry, who outlined the general features and challenges of the Jamaican economy and what businesses could expect in light of the pending IMF Accord (set to be signed May 1) and the other multi-lateral agencies.