The article, “Accounting Practices of MSMEs in Quezon Province, Philippines” by

Rodrigo Velasco seeks to show whether or not MSMEs have a complete understanding and

follow appropriate accounting practices. The background information of the problem was clearly

presented in the article. The author first mentioned the current state of MSMEs in the Philippines

and backed it up with relevant statistics from the Department of Trade and Industry. This is a

good start as it gives the audience an initial view of what the article is all about. Then the author

proceeds to discuss the problem. The research problem being addressed here is whether the

knowledge of accounting practices contributes to the MSMEs’ long-term survival in the industry.

The problem statement agreed with the title and seemed to be relevant today. However, the

significance of the problem was not clearly visible to the average reader, and it required several

readings to establish why the author felt this study needed to be done. Perhaps the correlation of

good accounting practices and the survival of MSMEs could be considered its significance, but it

would have been helpful to have more information justifying this study.

The author cited no clear review of literature; however, several appropriate references

were used in the introduction section. The literature review only defined the variables of the

study but does not explain in detail how those variables have been previously studied. The author

begins with a brief definition of MSMEs and ends with a summary of important concepts

relevant to the current study. No theoretical framework was presented in the study. Furthermore,

the author does not clearly point out the gaps in the existing literature. Overall, this section lacks

substance and does not help with further understanding of the readers.

The research questions were concisely stated and also agreed with the title. The author

sought to determine: (1) the accounting expertise among MSME owners; (2) accounting methods

used by MSMEs; and (3) common accounting issues encountered by MSMEs. In the final
paragraph of the introduction, the author reiterated that the primary goal of the study is to assess

the accounting practices and look for the problems experienced by the selected businesses. The

author chose to obtain the answer to his queries by testing null hypotheses. These hypotheses

were testable and served to help explain the problem.

The method used in the data gathering procedure was clearly presented. Accordingly, the

author used a survey tool and has appointed an enumerator to personally gather the data. The

instruments and development were also explained. However, the reliability coefficients of all

possible tests were not given. The sample used was adequate to represent the population and was

selected based on the respondents’ availability and accessibility. Although not explicitly stated, it

appears that the author employed convenience sampling. Since a convenience sample is used by

the author, inferences may not be as trustworthy as if a random sample is used. No discussion of

the statistical techniques was given in this particular section.

The author begins by relating the findings to the overall objective of the study, which is

to assess the accounting practices and look for the problems experienced by the selected

businesses. Appropriate descriptive statistics are presented well in tables and described

objectively in the text. The results specifically address each research question and every

hypothesis was tested. The accounting knowledge of MSME owners was clearly discussed in

Table 4; accounting practices used by MSMEs were explained in Table 5; common accounting

problems faced by MSMEs were presented in Table 6. Overall, this section provides a

comprehensive analysis of the data obtained from the previous section.

Conclusions and implications were logically stated. The author concluded that the

majority of the MSME owners lack sufficient knowledge of fundamental accounting concepts

and principles. This study is important as it increases the level of awareness on the role of good
accounting practices in the success of MSMEs. The recommendations were limited to a call for

future actions to address the problem. Specifically, the author made the following

recommendations: (1) develop a Public-Private Partnership (PPP); (2) equip entrepreneurs with

knowledge, skills, and values in sustaining the business; and (3) include accounting training and

workshop in the community extension projects of different state universities and colleges. No

recommendation was made for future research.