Accountants warn business growth is being stunted by ‘too much regulation’

A new study of accounting, finance and business professionals has warned that too much regulation is holding back business growth.

The IFAC's survey found that two-thirds of the 300 respondents regarded the problem as a global issue that had a significant or very significant impact.

Worldwide problem

The IFAC Global Regulatory Survey takes into account the views of more than 300 accounting, finance and business professionals around the world.

The respondents are drawn from a diverse range of sectors, which means the results can give an overview of opinion in the industry.

This year's study comes eight years after the start of the financial crisis and gauges the state of regulation and how it affects the global economy.

Genuine and sustained economic growth is the aim for national economies and businesses alike, and regulations have a very real impact of the speed of growth that can be attained.

Increased regulation

In the wake of the financial crisis, IFAC's Global Regulation Survey reported that over the past five years, the amount of regulation has increased.

IFAC chief executive officer Fayez Choudhury said: "Good regulation is essential to the fairness, efficiency and effectiveness of economies, and making it work as well as it can is a never-ending mission."

"Growth remains a concern globally, and these results should be a wakeup call for us to examine the impact of regulation, including the regulation and reform introduced in response to the global financial crisis," he continued.

"For many organisations, Basel III, recent EU reforms, Dodd-Frank and multiple other sector- and country-specific regulations are all coming into play at once, and the scope of each is substantial," Choudhury concluded.