7s Ruby’s Accounting Firm: A Family Practice

Etita Ruby laughs as she describes how her seven children named the firm. No prizes for guessing why it’s called “7s”! Three of Etita’s children now work in the firm, making it a true family enterprise. Etita became a Business Advisory Service Provider – BASP – for Business Link Pacific in 2022, and her contract with BLP has now been extended to 2027.

Ruby’s Accounting Firm provides general financial advice to private sector businesses across Kiribati but specialises in strategic advice to move SME businesses into the formal sector so they can apply for funding to grow. This advice includes future planning, cash flow and projections. Many of Ruby’s clients have historically run their businesses with no system in place to record sales or purchases, often operating on an entirely cash basis, with no bank account. When the tax office comes to call, these clients call Etita for help to straighten out their financial affairs.

Etita Ruby has embarked on a crusade to educate her clients first on why it is important to record their business finances, and second on how to record it. “As an accountant, it’s very strange that when you ask about their accounts. Most clients have no paperwork, they just sell the goods and put the money in their cash boxes. And if they do have a bank account, they bank the money but have no record of where it came from, no source documentation.”Clients or small businesses do not know how to comply with tax obligations and with other stakeholders if this financial information is required when applying for a loan from a bank or the DBK (Development Bank of Kiribati).”

There are of course many ways to record financial information, from a simple spreadsheet to a full accounting package. Etita often helps clients with the basics of Excel and sets them up with a spreadsheet to enter their income and spending. She has also designed and held one training workshop and has plans to extend this to more clients in future.

The whole economy benefits when businesses follow the rules. SME businesses benefit by increasing their knowledge of business and their business’s ability to grow and have improved access to finance – and they can focus on their business knowing they won’t be in trouble with the tax department! The government benefits from increased revenue meaning the country benefits from improved infrastructure investment and services for the wider community.

Advisors benefit from increasing their client base and there is no doubt that Ruby’s Accounting Firm has benefitted from its partnership with Business Link Pacific. Those new clients attracted by the association with BLP are often interested in applying for Business Support Grants which are available through BLP. Most of these clients are looking to raise money to improve their businesses but are unable to do so without good financial records.

BLP Business Advisory Service Providers such as 7s Ruby’s Accounting Firm go through a rigorous process of assessment to ensure they are qualified to provide the services offered. These cover 15 areas of business advice and so far the BLP Network of Advisors has supported thousands of small and medium-sized businesses across the Pacific with quality and affordable business advice.

Subsidised Business advisory services are available to qualifying businesses through the BLP Network of Business Advisors. To qualify, businesses must comply with tax requirements and payment obligations, and the grant application must fall into one of five categories. These are innovation, growth, finance, inclusion and climate.

If you could benefit from a service such as Etita Ruby’s, find out what BLP is all about at https://about.businesslinkpacific.com/.

If you are interested in becoming a BLP Business Advisory Service Provider, visit https://about.businesslinkpacific.com/the-business-advisor-network/ to find out how.