EASEY Online Rating Preparation Transfer

Status

completed

Summary

The aim of the transfer project "EASEY Online Rating Preparation Transfer" (EOR T) in the category "positioning sustainability in education, training and financing" is the transfer of conceptual knowledge about rating of sustainability performance of SMEs to three different groups of consultants, whose core business is about dealing with financial data and the relationship of their clients to their creditors.

The result of this for reciprocity designed transfer is a paper version for a web based non-profit service for SMEs, want to get ready for a rating by potential creditors. Sustainability in business, that is the thesis, contributes significantly to an increasing repay capability. Therewith financing can be addressed as a leverage for sustainable business development.

The transfer project EOR T is put on three previously conducted projects [EASEY I (804140); EASEY X (806180); EOR Roadmap (811915)]. In EASEY I+X we created a rating model and a set of relevant indicators from a capital market point of view. In EOR said model was adopted to the needs of SMEs as well as the credit market. Furthermore its feasibility was evaluated.

In the project three transfer- and distribution partners are involved:

1. business consultants certified by the UBIT / WKO regarding Basel II guidelines,
2. tax accountants and
3. commercial accountants of two banks: Raiffeisen Landesbank Niederösterreich/Wien and Volksbank Wien AG.

They are supposed to be future distribution partners. These professions have been chosen because of the following reasons:

1. In 85% of the time SMEs first turn to their tax accountants when questions arise; the tax accountants can provide orientation to their clients and thus create a considerable number of data sets.
2. Basell II certified consultants and accountants acquire their clients hard facts which make them able to evaluate above mentioned thesis effectively; additionally these hard facts are available for cross reference with soft facts over many years to come;
3. Concerns about data storage, privacy and liability; in co-operation with consultants and accountants the EOR team does not need to worry about corresponding regulations.

The project proceeds by three steps

1. After compiling all information needed for preparation of consultants and accountants three workshops will be held;
2. Qualitative interviews with laureates of business awards like family friendly, innovation, etc.;
3. Result: common knowledge substantiated as an amount of text modules (indicator explanations, glossary, feed back report); creation of the basic structure for the feedback report of the online rating preparation; a transfer concept for a nation wide rollout to all members of the involved professionals.

EOR - the future online service - provides its users with questionnaires about their non-financial data (soft facts). The program analyses and evaluates these data and automatically generates a feedback report that is sent to the user. EOR T benefits an improvement of the framework for innovation and technology development in a sustainability promoting sense when the above mentioned thesis could be verified and banks as well as the financial market surveillance accept it.

A possible verification effects positively

• The sustainability performance of SMEs;
• The sustainability properties of bank product portfolios;
• The sustainability expertise of transfer partners.

The deliverables of the project work are therefore:

1. ground structure of the feedback report's ground structure
2. three hand books (manuals) as a guide for both the follow-on project and for its utilization
3. region-wide transfer concept for Austria for all distribution partners involved

Project management

Dr. Reinhard Felix Paulesich
Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien Institut für Regional- und Umweltwirtschaft

Project or cooperation partner

• Dr. Bernulf Bruckner
  LTRC Liquidity Training Research & Consulting GesmbH
• Expertengruppe Bonitäts- und Controllingberatung der Fachgruppe UBIT der Wirtschaftskammer Niederösterreich

Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien - Institut für Regional- und Umweltwirtschaft
Nordbergstrasse 15
1090 Wien
Tel.: +43 (1) 31336 - 5721
Fax: +43 (1) 31336 - 709
E-Mail: reinhard.paulesich@wu-wien.ac.at
Web: www.wu-wien.ac.at/ruw