I RECEIVED this very personal review of 2009 from Tim Rosser, the managing director of the small business Turning Circle Solutions. I rather liked its perspective – so I thought I’d share it with you.

Tim Rosser blogs: Is it really 10 years ago that UK business faced the looming catastrophe of the deadly ‘Millennium Bug’? What a damp squib that turned out to be. Just five years ago the £8bn cost of the London Olympics was decried by respected commentators as being something that this country would never be able to afford. Who would have thought in late 2004 that £8bn out of the public purse would be considered a mere drop in the ocean compared to the stunning level of UK deficit in late 2009? And who could have foreseen 18 months ago that 50% of our major clearing banks would effectively be under state ownership?

My point is this: it is easy for all of us to make windy, portentous predictions; the fact is that none of us really has a clear idea about our country’s economic prospects over the coming year.

However, what can be said with confidence is that in 2009 many thousands of small businesses were kept afloat by HM Revenue & Customs generous ‘time to pay‘ arrangements for arrears of PAYE and VAT. At the end of June 2008 the level of unpaid taxes in UK was £2 billion; one year later it was a £26 billion.

Also in 2009, the banking sector were incredibly cautious in lending money to the SME sector. The Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme, the replacement for the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme, has been a travesty. I understand that banks need to repair their devastated balance sheets; why not be more honest about that requirement instead of pretending that there is still government backed money to lend to small businesses?

What also became clear in 2009 is a clear lack of understanding of UK business from our all shades of our political elite. Too many individuals with serious political responsibilities are theoreticians; too few have experienced real life business.

As for 2010, I would strongly hope – but not predict! – that 2010 will be a year when we start to embrace fully the business turnaround culture. Whether you are an accountant, lawyer, operations expert, investor, funder, IT specialist, or one of the unsung heroes out there actually owning and managing a small business, there are plenty of jobs to preserve and businesses to protect. I believe it is going to be extremely busy.

Level of unpaid taxes indicates harshness of recession