Proceedings of 7th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
25 - 26 August 2014, Bayview Hotel, Singapore ISBN: 978-1-922069-58-0
Financial Literacy Assessment in Record Keeping among
Women Micro-entrepreneurs: Basis for Literacy
Enhancement Program
Ma. Cedocia N. Oco
The study primarily aimed to assess the level of financial literacy in record keeping
among the women micro-entrepreneurs. The respondents had been categorized
according to their type of enterprises such as; trading, basic processing and
service. Specifically, the study sought answers to the following sub-problems: (1)
What is the socio-demographic characteristics of women micro-entrepreneurs? (2)
What is the level of financial literacy in record keeping among women microentrepreneurs? A descriptive survey research design was utilized to realize the
objective of the study. Semi-structured questionnaire and follow-up interview
were the major tools used to gather primary data from the sample population of
interest which consist of 146 women micro-entrepreneurs in Goa. Collected data
were processed and analyzed using the percentage technique and weighted
mean. Findings show that more women micro-entrepreneurs were in their 40s with
45 as mean age, majority are married and a greater number of them were high
school educated. Most of the sources of income were wholesale and retail
activities. Majority of the women micro-entrepreneurs generated a meager
monthly gross income ranges from Php 4501 to Php 6500 and majority of the
respondents obtained their business finances from loans. Findings further reveal
that majority of the women micro-entrepreneurs possess moderately low level of
financial skills in record keeping as indicated by its grand mean value in record
keeping practices using cash book, expense record, sales record, profit and loss
statement and accounts payable/receivable. They were as well not sophisticated
in utilizing their skills. It was further revealed that education is a factor that could
increase financial superiority among women micro-entrepreneurs. It can be
concluded to some extent that these women micro-entrepreneurs are lagging
behind in the adoption of formal financial practices. Apart from households,
women micro-entrepreneurs should also be targeted and made aware about
different alternatives available to benefit them.
Field of Research: Management
1. Introduction
The Philippine Millennium Development Goals seek to address poverty among other
things. It is assumed that addressing poverty issues through financial literacy will
bring growth to the country‟s economy. The informal sector is one avenue that has
been observed to be contributing highly to the creation of employment opportunities,
economic development and empowerment especially for women. However, the
informal sector is heterogeneous which makes it difficult to quantify its profile and due
to the nature of its existence, informal sector women micro-entrepreneurs are often
characterized by low levels of skills, limited access to organized markets, and low and
unstable incomes. This is influenced by the lack of knowledge and skills in business
management at the onset.
____________________________
Ms. Ma. Cedocia N. Oco, Gender and Development Focal Person, Partido State University, Camarines
Sur, Philippines, Email: ma.cedociaoco@yahoo.com
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Proceedings of 7th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
25 - 26 August 2014, Bayview Hotel, Singapore ISBN: 978-1-922069-58-0
It is believed that financial literacy can improve the performance of informal sector
entrepreneurs and sustain business information and skills. By means of financial
literacy, their basic skills such as numeracy and literacy, communication skills and
information searching skills will be improved which in turn, will help improve their
confidence, generate good income and Millennium Development Goals 1- 3 namely;
the poverty alleviation and equal education opportunities for women, though not all will
be reached.
To take appropriate measures for the problems cited, knowing the aspects associated
with the problems is a precondition for a problem well stated is half solved. It is
therefore the aim of this research study to look into the financial literacy in recording
among women micro-entrepreneurs in Goa as the commercial nerve center in Partido
district of Camarines Sur and to design a record keeping literacy enhancement
program for women micro-entrepreneurs to improve their existing knowledge and skills
in record keeping activities..
2. Literature Review
2.1. Theoretical Framework of Financial Literacy
Entrepreneurship has increasingly become popular as the recession keeps on getting
worse and worse. Those who have already decided to become entrepreneurs have
discovered that there is more to the activity than what is generally assumed. Marshal‟s
Neo-classic theory of entrepreneurship stipulates that everyone who is conducting a
particular business gets a particular profit margin which is in line with his or her levels
of labour. This means that entrepreneurs who work hard at their various businesses
will get more profits than those who do not. The theory also views the level of
knowledge of an entrepreneur as an important factor in whether or not that individual
entrepreneur will make a lot of profit.
The present study also connects to the theory of Schumpeter (1991). Schumpeter
believes that creativity or innovation is the key factor in any entrepreneur‟s field of
specialization. He argued that knowledge can only go a long way in helping an
entrepreneur to become successful. He views innovation along with knowledge as the
main catalysts of successful entrepreneurship. He believes that creativity is necessary
if an entrepreneur is to accumulate a lot of profits in a heavily competitive market.
A growing literature has documented the low level of financial literacy in the large
sections of the US population, especially among people with low level of education,
women, and ethnic minorities (Lusardi, 2008). Berman & Saunders (2006)
subscribed to the general principle of good business through financial literacy. Good
business leads to competitiveness in the globalized communities. Despite the strong
association between financial literacy and a range of measures of financial well-being,
little is known about the efficacy of financial literacy training programs in improving the
outcomes (Welch, 2002).
Women entrepreneurs face peculiar challenges in an attempt to achieve success
(Planck, 2007) and women in less developed countries face much more barriers to
formal economic participation than those in developed countries (Allen, et al, 2008).
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Proceedings of 7th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
25 - 26 August 2014, Bayview Hotel, Singapore ISBN: 978-1-922069-58-0
Attitude towards risk-taking is another crucial attribute of entrepreneurs especially
women. This is because enterprise involves risk-taking, and risk-averse entrepreneur
is less likely to exploit entrepreneurial opportunity (Shane, 2003). Attitude towards
risk-taking is entrepreneur‟s ability and willingness to engage in risky activity (Shane,
2003). Studies have found that attitude and behavioural intention are positively related
(Turner, 2007) and that attitude towards behaviour leads to intention which eventually
leads to actual behaviour.
In his study of microenterprises in the Philippines, Chua (2002) cited the need to
differentiate microenterprise development approaches according to the two types of
microenterprises determined by Ghate, et al. (1993). The first type is simply a
livelihood activity, directed mainly towards meeting consumption needs; the second
type is the growth-oriented microenterprise, one with aims for expansion.
2.2 Record Keeping in Micro-enterprises
Record keeping is essential to decision-making, consistency and fairness, impartiality,
continuous learning and improvement and effective risk management (Tacy, 2004).
Record keeping is critical and important for any kind of enterprise (Kegie, 2004). For
many business entrepreneurs, the biggest problem is that of not knowing where to
start with business records, so none are kept (Syracuse, 1994). Keeping accurate and
up-to-date financial records is for many people the most difficult and uninteresting
aspect of business operations. Most micro-enterprises do not keep the most basic
cashbook and are thus contented with mental records about their costs, revenue and
debt (Stover, 1997). Apparently, this is a phenomenon replete in many microenterprises. The International Monetary Fund Mission (IMFM, 1999) being in
agreement with the aforesaid statement affirms that many entrepreneurs in Uganda
appear ignorant about keeping books of accounts. Good record keeping can greatly
improve many of the management decisions a business owner should make.
3. Methodology
A descriptive survey research design was utilized to realize the objective of the study.
Semi-structured questionnaire and follow-up interview were the major tools used to
gather primary data from the sample population of interest which consist of 146
women micro-entrepreneurs in Goa. The women micro-entrepreneurs who are
considered in this research study are those who owned and ran business enterprise
and have a physical presence ( stores, shops, residences) where their business
operates with contact details which enables the researcher to trace them and collect
the distributed questionnaires. Collected data were processed and analyzed using the
percentage technique, mean scores and standard deviation.
4. Findings
4.1 Socio-demographic Profile of Women Micro-entrepreneurs
This section provides the socio-demographic profile of women micro-entrepreneurs in
Goa. The results were taken from 146 total number of respondent-women microentrepreneurs.
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Proceedings of 7th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
25 - 26 August 2014, Bayview Hotel, Singapore ISBN: 978-1-922069-58-0
4.1.1 Age of Women Micro-entrepreneurs
Table 1: Age of Women Micro-entrepreneurs
Age
Less than 20
20 – 29
30 – 39
40 – 49
50 – 59
More than 59
Total
Number
0
21
33
52
38
2
146
Percentage
0
14.4
22.6
35.6
26.0
1.4
100%
As shown in table 1, the respondents ranged in ages from 20 to 59 years old with the
majority of them were between 40 to 49 years old (35.6%), followed by the
respondents‟ ages which ranged from 50 to 59 (26%), others (14.4%) were made up
of the young women micro-entrepreneurs between ages 20 and 29 with only 1.4% of
women micro-entrepreneurs in this category above the age of 59 years old.
It is an important finding that 72.6% of women micro-entrepreneurs in the study were
below 50 years old; a period during which women micro-entrepreneurs‟ business
activities may overlap with the childbearing and child rearing responsibilities. This age
of women micro-entrepreneurs was also noted in the study of Fonchingong (2005).
Constrained by economic difficulties, women micro-entrepreneurs are compelled to
associate childcare and childbearing tasks and income earning opportunities to
supplement inadequate household income. This further attests that the entry of
women into the entrepreneurship sector is mainly for economic need and for survival.
4.1.2 Civil Status of Women Micro-entrepreneurs
Table 2: Civil Status of Women Micro-entrepreneurs
Civil Status
Single
Married
Separated
Widowed
Live-in partners
Total
Number
2
104
11
7
22
146
Percentage
1.4
71.2
7.5
4.8
15.1
100%
The results showed that a significant percentage (71.2%) of the respondents are
married with an average of 5 children. Some (15.1%) of them are live-in partners, a
few (12.3%) are separated and widowed, and the rest (1.45) are single.
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Proceedings of 7th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
25 - 26 August 2014, Bayview Hotel, Singapore ISBN: 978-1-922069-58-0
4.1.3 Educational Attainment of Women Micro-entrepreneurs
Table 3: Educational Attainment of Women Micro-entrepreneurs
Educational Attainment
College graduate
Some college education
High school graduate
Some high school education
Elementary graduate
Some elementary education
Total
Number
7
26
67
32
11
3
146
Percentage
4.8
17.8
45.9
21.9
7.5
2.1
100%
A greater number of women micro-entrepreneurs in the study were high school
graduates (45.9 %). It is interesting to note that 4.8 and 17.8 were college graduates
and with some college education, respectively. These results showed that the level
of educational attainment of women micro-entrepreneurs was relatively high.
4.2 Women Micro-enterprises
4.2.1 Profile of Women Micro-enterprises in Goa
Table 4: Profile of Women Micro-enterprise
Women Micro-enterprise Classification
Number of registered micro-enterprise
Number of not registered micro-enterprise
Total
Number of micro-enterprise with workers
Number of micro-enterprise without workers
Total
Average of workers per micro-enterprise
Number
98
48
146
87
59
146
3
Percentage
67.1
32.9
100%
59.6
40.4
100%
Results showed that more number of micro-enterprises surveyed and included in the
present research study were registered (67.1%). This means that some (32.9%) are
illegally operating their micro-business activities. In line with this finding, the Local
Government Unit (LGU) of Goa should undertake action to legalize all business
activities in the municipality. Further, only 87 (59.6%) of the micro-enterprises have
hired workers with an average of 3 workers per micro-enterprise.
4.2.2 Type of Women’s Micro-enterprise
The present study has categorized the micro-enterprise activities of women microentrepreneurs into three broad business types which includes trading, basic
processing, and service. Generally, women micro-entrepreneurs were engaged in
trading business like operating variety stores, groceries, selling of used clothing,
trading animal feeds, fresh and dried fish vending and fruits and vegetables vending
among others. The next higher number of response was basic processing which
includes smoked fish, baked goods, tocino and ham, fruit preserves and repacking of
spices among others. Service type of business was the least numbered response
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Proceedings of 7th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
25 - 26 August 2014, Bayview Hotel, Singapore ISBN: 978-1-922069-58-0
from among the respondents. This includes manicure, pedicure, hair styling,
massage and small eateries (Table 4).
Table 5: Type of Women‟s Micro-enterprise
Type of Micro-enterprise
Trading
Basic Processing
Service
Total
Number
92
33
21
146
Percentage
63.0
22.6
14.4
100%
4.2.3 Ownership of Micro-enterprise
Table 5: Ownership Type of Women Micro-enterprise
Ownership Type
Single Proprietorship
Partnership
Cooperative
Total
Number
137
7
2
146
Percentage
93.8
4.8
1.4
100%
Most of the women micro-entrepreneurs representing 137 or 93.8% had a single type
of business ownership while 7 or 4.8% and 2 or 1.4% had a partnership and
cooperative types of enterprise ownership, respectively.
4.2.4 Number of Years of Enterprise in Operation
Table 6 reveals the distribution of the women micro-entrepreneurs with respect to the
number of years the enterprise has been in operation.
Table 6: Number of Years of Enterprise Operation
Number of Years
Less than a year
1–5
6 – 10
11 – 15
16 – 20
21 years and above
Total
Number
13
47
26
15
23
22
146
Percentage
8.9
32.2
17.8
10.3
15.8
15.0
100%
Data disclose that greater number of women micro-entrepreneurs have been
operating their micro-enterprises for at least 1 – 5 years as cited by 47 or 32.2
percent. Another revelation made by 26 or 17.8 percent of the respondent - women
micro-entrepreneurs stating that they have been engaged in their micro-enterprise
for 6 – 10 years while 13 or 8.9 percent, the least number of respondents who have
divulged the length of business operation for less than a year.
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Proceedings of 7th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
25 - 26 August 2014, Bayview Hotel, Singapore ISBN: 978-1-922069-58-0
4.2.5 Monthly Gross Income from Women Micro-enterprise
Table 7 presents the range of monthly income generated by the respondent-women
micro-entrepreneurs from their respective business activity.
Table 7: Monthly Gross Income from Women Micro-enterprise
Gross Income Range
< 1000
1000 – 2500
2501 – 4500
4501 – 6500
6501 – 8500
8501 – 10500
10501 – 20500
≥ 205001
Total
Number
8
25
19
43
23
14
12
2
146
Percentage
5.5
17.1
13.0
29.4
15.8
9.6
8.2
1.4
100%
The data appearing in the table indicate that majority of the women microentrepreneurs in Goa obtain a monthly gross income from their enterprise which
ranges from a meager amount of PhP 4501 to PhP 6500. Almost 16 percent of the
women-micro entrepreneurs attested that they collected a gross monthly income of
at least PhP 6501 to PhP 8500. There were 2 or 1.4 percent who disclosed that their
monthly gross income is more than Php 20500 while 8 or 5.5 percent divulged that
they only obtain less than PhP 1000 gross monthly income.
4.3 Basic Record Keeping
Setting up the right record keeping system for business helps entrepreneurs work
efficiently, meet legal requirements and strengthen customer relationships. Table 8
presents five basic records systems used according to the type of enterprise and to
the financial knowledge of the women micro-entrepreneurs.
Table 8: Basic Records Used by Women Micro-entrepreneurs
Basic Financial Record
Cash Book
Expense Record
Sales Record
Purchase Record
Bank Account
Total
Number
26
39
30
34
17
146
Percentage
17.8
26.7
21.0
23.3
11.6
100%
Rank
4
1
3
2
5
When the respondents were asked to rank the basic financial records, the expense
record was commonly picked and given a rank of 1 (26.7%) followed by purchase
record which ranked second ( 23.3%) and the last was maintaining or having a bank
account (11.65).
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Proceedings of 7th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
25 - 26 August 2014, Bayview Hotel, Singapore ISBN: 978-1-922069-58-0
4.3.1 Level of Financial Literacy in Record Keeping
Table 9 presents the weighted mean computation on the knowledge and skills of the
women micro-entrepreneurs in record keeping.
Table 9: Level of Financial Literacy in Record Keeping
Basic Financial Record System and Skills
Cash flow statement
 Records cash coming in and going out
of the enterprise.
Expense record
 Maintains an accurate record of all
expenses incurred by the enterprise.
Sales Record
 Issues receipts with complete details
such as whom each sale was made,
the total value and the date.
Profit and loss statement
 Uses total receipts and total expenses
to show how much money the
enterprise made or lost.
Accounts payable/receivable
 Maintains records of short term
expense or income.
Grand Mean
Level of Literacy
3.4
High level
3.9
High level
2..8
Moderately low
1.3
Low level
1.4
Low level
2.6
Moderately low
When the level of financial literacy in record keeping was assessed, it came out that
expense record, cash flow statement and sales record were the top three record
systems reflective of high level and moderately low financial literacy in record keeping
which had the weighted mean values of 3.9, 3.4 and 2.8, respectively. While the
lowest mean score was 1.3 for profit and loss statement with low financial literacy
level in record keeping. The total grand mean was 2.6 with an interpretation of
moderately low level of financial literacy in record keeping.
4.4 Record Keeping Enhancement Model for Women Micro-entrepreneurs in Goa
To address the financial literacy in record keeping system among the women microentrepreneurs as generally revealed in the findings of the present study, this proposed
model is designed anchored from the macro level, the national mandates of the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Gender and Development (GAD). The
SUCs are mandated to implement these mandates that is why Partido State
University, being an SUC is also following these mandates. SUCs have threefold
functions, namely; instruction, research, and extension/production. Gender and
Development, being a national mandate to all government agencies, is also
undertaken. This is where the present study was conceptualized.
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Proceedings of 7th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
25 - 26 August 2014, Bayview Hotel, Singapore ISBN: 978-1-922069-58-0
Record Keeping Enhancement Model
CHED and GAD
Mandates for
Women
Research
Conduct priority
researches
SUCs
Mandates
Gender and
Development
Conduct
Projects/Activities for
women
Institutional
Mandates
Community Extension
Conduct Projects/
Community Activities
Record Keeping Enhancement Program for Women
Micro-entrepreneurs in Goa





Development of Training Modules
Identification of participants
Preparation of Training Schedule
Implementation of the Program
Evaluation
Improved Financial Literacy in Record Keeping
5.0 Conclusion
The study reveal that most of the women micro-entrepreneurs have a single type of
business ownership. Majority have been operating their business for five years and
mostly, they have ventured trading micro-enterprise. The women micro-entrepreneurs
have greatly exhibited in practicing the utilization of expense record over the other
basic financial records in reflecting business transactions. Most of them use
notebooks where they can record their expenses incurred related to their enterprise
activities. Generally, the level of financial literacy in record keeping is moderately low.
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Proceedings of 7th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
25 - 26 August 2014, Bayview Hotel, Singapore ISBN: 978-1-922069-58-0
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