That sounds like homework to me.

newlynew · Oct 21, 2009 12:59 PM

sorry its not a homework and i'm not going to school, its the real work and its the new project that we will be working on,...thanks for the feed back though...just the one anticipated !

ruchi · Oct 21, 2009 1:24 PM

well, i guess people need to know the basic math to perform any kind of accounting work.

dolphin · Oct 21, 2009 1:30 PM

we are targeting those villagers who has certain skills and wants to have their own business , may be retail.

ruchi · Oct 21, 2009 1:40 PM

As i haven't been to Nepal for a while but am aware of load shedding and not having electricity in villgaes has always been a challenge. However, to help villagers understand the basis of business and accounting and how the bookeeping can help them budget and see their actual expenses and their incomes, may be they will learn new techniqes. However to design a training model for nepalese villagers is quite challenging and i would apprecite it if someone has any suggestions.

ruchi · Oct 21, 2009 1:48 PM

I think we need some more detail here. Is this happening in a classroom setting?

newlynew · Oct 21, 2009 2:01 PM

more like a library meeting hall or could be in classroom, depends on accessibility .

ruchi · Oct 21, 2009 2:27 PM

I would go from basic like debit and credit , I bet it should be easy for them to understand the terms. Once they are familiar with the terms, they can learn about operating cost and expenses, depreciation, value of goods, profit and loss. But the most important thing is a scope of business and the way they market it. For retail, they don't require a much of knowledge. All they need to do is to document day to day transaction like Income in one column and Expenses in one column and by the end of they day they can just add it up.   Last edited: 21-Oct-09 03:24 PM

sona · Oct 21, 2009 3:20 PM

This is what I would and would not do. 1. First ask yourself what they would like to get out of their book keeping exercise and ask them the same question. Based on that you should tailor your presentation. 2. It sounds like you are talking about little stores so I would focus on their core business processes,  main expense items - Cost of supply, Rental, their own wages etc. and main revenues which is basically the sales. What are the key question they have on their book regarding these items and how best to keep their books so that they get the answer with ease. 3. I would not use any Accounting Jargons. 4. I would give them a concept of financial standing at a given point (balance sheet - don't have to use that term) and an Income Statement. Give them an idea of what data they need to collect to be able to answer their business questions down the line.

newlynew · Oct 21, 2009 3:57 PM

- Contact the local NGOs who are successfully working in the area and talk to them first. - Hire some local social mobilizer (to influence the local people) and train them first. - Setup an office and start giving out the trainings with the help of your trained social mobilizer. Good Luck!

Phatte · Oct 21, 2009 4:20 PM

Pay them some money to come to your training.

kuhire · Oct 21, 2009 6:03 PM

@ruchi This is quite interesting. As you are going to gather the villagers first thing you need to focus is on their participation and whole hearted involvement. I think for aspiring entreprenuers in Nepal, creativity and thinking outside the usual MO is very importnat to foster in business now. As you are saying your focus is in Retail. Nepal is a epicenter of small business entreprenuers but I think our country can prosper overall if there more risk takers who pool in their resources to start bigger ventures. Book keeping is a very integral part as well as the economics of doing business. Dont forget to impart the concept of marginal costs,breakeven cost and economy of scale(I am sure they know it from experience though). For the book keeping part the simple the better. There should be room for them to customize it as per their business need.    

pixie · Oct 21, 2009 6:17 PM

thank you everyone for your suggestions. And Mr Phatte,to your question about contacting NGOs is concerned, i'm infact doing this for one of the NGOs, I was just trying to get more info thru sajha as we are from nepal and are more familiar with the environment than someone who is willing to help and is not from Nepal !

ruchi · Oct 21, 2009 8:49 PM