Editor,

RE: "Bounced cheque: BNR should double public awareness” (The New Times, October 2).

Thank you for pointing out the awareness and educational angle. Without rudimentary/elementary bookkeeping, without a record of how much cash you have in the bank, both individuals and institutions will inevitably suffer the affliction/plague of bounced cheques.

From experience, the local business community, public institutions and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) do not value record keeping. When they do, it most of the time it is not up to date.

Years back, a typical Asian business promoter would have in mind the importance of record keeping, not so the counterpart from other local communities/backgrounds.

Need for records/bookkeeping arises in order to meet third-party requirements e.g. Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) or the bank when in need of a loan. No value is added and derived from having a simple set of books of accounts. Often, in the circumstances, the entrepreneur finds it nearly impossible to know whether profit or loss has been registered.

It is no secret that some taxpayers avoid record keeping to dupe RRA. Bad as it is, why not keep records for own use, internal management and decision making? A mind shift is urgently needed; the status quo must be shaken and modern tools employed.

Munga