A recent survey by IFAC/The Banker revealed that although lending to small and medium-sized enterprises slowed down in the first half of 2009 as banks tightened security measures, a cautious increase in activity can be expected over the next few years. Silvia Pavoni reports.

Innovative small businesses often hold the key to job creation during financial turmoil and the accountancy profession can play a strategic role in helping such enterprises to obtain the financing they need to grow, writes IFAC president Robert Bunting.

Recognising the key role that the accountancy profession plays in the development of SMEs, IFAC has extended its services to help facilitate this relationship, writes Sylvie Voghel, chair of IFAC's Small and Medium Practices Committee.

Risk management, the lifeblood of financial services, is undergoing an identity crisis as many experts call into question the validity of traditional risk management methods. In this Masterclass, Keith Saxton, global director for financial markets at IBM, and Francis Lacan, global risk and compliance solution manager for the financial services sector at IBM, discuss how technology can help improve the measuring and monitoring of systemic risk and why internal risk management functions should be regarded as a profit centre. Writer Michelle Price

In the wake of the crisis almost everything to do with banks is being questioned - regulation, business models, corporate governance and ownership. Some fear that once burned, shareholders will be twice shy and may avoid bank stocks and bank debt altogether. State ownership is deemed a temporary measure but have private investors fallen out of love with banks? Writer Geraldine Lambe