Poor documentation or record keeping is threatening survival and growth of local businesses in Ghana, according to a recent survey by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Business School.

Dean of the Business School, Prof Nathaniel Boso is worried the situation has implications on credit assessment from governmental and commercial creditors.

The investigations also pointed out Lack of managerial skills as managers lacked effective oversight responsibilities.

“They have the perception that apprentices and workers are always there to deliver on their instructions,” he said.

He advocated management control systems to help monitor daily operations of their business to drive profit.

The survey which took place in Kumasi Central Market and Suame Magazine, sought to find the best practices that accelerate business growth and profit maximization.

Researchers also found lack of trust in the commercial Banking system which they blamed on experiences with commercial banks and creditors.

Defunct institutions like DKM, God is love, UT Bank, Capital Bank among others, were cited and used as justification.

It has also emerged traders believe commercial banks are not fair and therefore prefer to deal with local credit union associations or keep their monies at home.

“We sighted bundles of cash in various international currencies used in cash transactions,” he bemused.

Invasion of foreign traders especially Nigerian and Chinese businesses in the spare parts businesses was also a worry to traders.

They complained foreign operators charged lower prices thereby depriving local counterparts of business.

The outreach, the first of its kind was to stimulate the University’s vision of academia-productive sector connectivity.

Head of the University’s Business Incubator, Samuel Yaw Akomea is encouraging local business Enterprises to enter into Limited Liability.

He said it is a formidable way to attract investors and ensure the business survival.

Ashanti Regional Chairman, Association of Small Scale Industries, Kwame Buor urged the university to work closely with the association to improve their contribution to the economy.

“They should help us with numeracy and ICT skills since everything now is on the internet.

“They should help us with everything like business branding, proposal writing to improve our game,” he appealed.

President of the Students Association, Enoch Yeboah was happy the engagement would bridge classroom work with activities of the informal sector.

“What we do is basically theory and they do the practical so we’ve been able to educate them on basic Business principals and they have also taught us a lot,” he said.