Background information

Given that the search for financing is a process that is often very complex and stressful for SMEs, ACCIÓ (Agency for the Competitiveness of Catalan Businesses) has set up the Financial Advisory Service.

This service is aimed at Catalan companies and start-ups with great growth potential, offering both access to funding opportunities and relevant information.

Content of measure

The Financial Advisory Service offers companies access to financial experts who can guide through funding opportunities, based on an assessment need. The consultation process has three phases:

• Prior analysis: Evaluation of the financial situation of the company. If the advice seeker is an entrepreneur, the business plan will be analysed; if the advice seeker is a SME, the financial statements of recent years will be examined.
• Meeting: The consultant will discuss the results of the financial report with the entrepreneur/company and recommend the most appropriate types of financing.
• Custom accompaniment: The consultant will explain the steps necessary to obtain the financing and, if the entrepreneur/company wishes so, they will attend funders meetings with them.

The service can be accessed by submitting an online application to the agency for enterprises competitiveness (Agencia para la Competitividad de la Empresa -ACCIÓ) of the Catalan Public Administration. ACCIÓ has activated a specific Financial Advisory Service to guide Catalan companies to find financing mechanisms in the context of the COVID-19 crisis through online meetings to assess degree of exposure to the economic crisis of each company, proceeding after with the regular advice itinerary.

Use of measure

In 2020, most common consultations of companies are focused on liquidity and financing problems in the context of the COVID-19. Likewise, more than 700 Catalan companies have participated in specific online sessions focused on issues such as the preparation of contingency plans, the different types of alternative financing instruments available or the management of different international payment methods that are most appropriate in this context.

The Financial Advisory Service of ACCIÓ has supported 147 companies in 2015, 294 in 2016, 1,956 in 2017 and 1,047 in 2018, developing during that year 574 consultancies to find business partners, 422 to seek financing for R&D&I projects and 883 to monitor projects (ACCIÓ, 2015 , 2016 , 2017 and 2018 ).

Strengths: Better knowledge of companies' characteristics and needs at regional level ( Mausbach, Martínez and Castelltort, 2018 , Artigas, Rodriguez and Parra, 2018 ).

Weaknesses: The service is only based on advisement, without own lines of funding or financing ( Artigas, Rodriguez and Parra, 2018 ).

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Local / regional government	Regional funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

No involvement

Views and reactions

Unknown

Sources

• 01 January 2018: ACCIÓ (2018), 'Annual activity report 2018', Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain (www.accio.gencat.cat)
• 10 May 2018: Artigas,S., Rodriguez J., Parra J. (2018), Correlación entre la formación superior, el nivel de innovación y la política industrial de un territorio, in: 3r Congrés d'Economia i Empresa de Catalunya - Full papers. (www.scipedia.com)
• 11 May 2018: Mausbach M., Martínez, R., Castelltort, M.(2018), L’Agència Nacional d’Economia del Coneixement (ANEC). Un vehicle integral per a la innovació i transferència de tecnologia a Catalunya, in: 3r Congrés d'Economia i Empresa de Catalunya - Full papers. (www.scipedia.com)
• 28 October 2022: ACCIÓ - Agencia para la Competitividad de la Empresa (undated), web page (www.accio.gencat.cat)
• 28 October 2022: ACCIÓ (undated), 'Transparency: Lines of action', web page (www.accio.gencat.cat)
• 28 October 2022: ACCIÓ (2020), Acció activates a financial advisory service for Catalan companies in the context of COVID-19, web page (www.accio.gencat.cat)