Small and medium-sized enterprises must be given greater aid to develop their financial management skills for the sake of the sector and the nation's economic health, CPA Australia said today.

According to CPA Australia CEO Alex Malley, measures to support the further development of SMEs' financial skills should be a part of both major parties' election commitments.

"The Government's recent announcement of funding to help SMEs in areas including human resources management and environmental sustainability is welcome and important. Ditto the Coalition's commitment to reduce the compliance burden in its announcement today. These commitments however must be underpinned by strong and tangible measures to improve SMEs' financial management and literacy," Mr

Malley said.

"Through our various surveys, member feedback and other research, the one constant is the importance of SMEs enhancing their ability to manage liquidity, debt and cash flow," he said.

"The sector was particularly hard hit during the GFC. They had come off a period of an extended buoyant economy and many were ill-prepared for the nature and depth of the downturn.

"With the business climate still uncertain, good financial management is paramount. It is the platform on which all their key business relationships, including with banks, is built and is a critical component in addressing the issue of access to finance.

Mr Malley said, "The Government stimulus saw us through the worst of the global downturn but what's needed now is to give SME operators the tools to ensure their businesses are sustainable in every sense."