Althoug h sm all and m edium sized enterprises（hereafter S M E s）play a significant econom ic role in the U K ，there is little agreem ent on an all-em bracing definition for determ ining w hat is an S M E .①There are conflicting ideas upon w hich factors to base the analysis. Q uan titative definitions have focussed on the num ber o f em ployees，size o f the prem ises，sales turnover and profit. Qu alitative definitions have focused on the special characteristics that distinguish sm all enterprises from larger corporations for exam ple independent m anagem ent and sm all m arket share. The “econom ic” definition sum m arised by the B olton R eport is a helpful indicator.