Former MP and recently-appointed chairman of the United Bermuda Party Wayne Furbert has launched a new accountancy firm for small- and medium-sized businesses.

Genesis is the brainchild of Mr. Furbert and his wife, Ulena, and already has clients in the retail, construction and service industries.

The company provides accounting and management consulting services, including processing of daily transactions, bill collection and invoicing, and the generation of financial and operating reports. The company also helps companies incorporate and receive financing.

"We provide our clients with accounting and management services uniquely tailored to their business goals so they can focus on what they do best: running their business," Mr. Furbert said.

According to a press release, Genesis "assists clients with financial planning, helping them to better understand both current issues relevant to their business as well as the potential risks".

Mr. Furbert said there was a market for accounting services among businesses who could not afford to hire a controller.

And he added: "A lot of small businesses in particular say 'we have an idea', but unless you know how to prepare information to raise capital, the idea really just stays there. We hope to make the idea come alive so they can do what they want to do."

As the business grows, he hopes e-commerce companies will find Genesis' services attractive, and he and his wife are currently studying for a master's degree in e-business through an online programme at the University of Phoenix. They expect to complete their courses a year from now.

"Because Bermuda is becoming an e-business hub, I thought I should prepare myself for the influx of work that may come," Mr. Furbert said.

Genesis will expand the Furbert's collection of business, many launched after Mr. Furbert lost his parliamentary seat in the 1998 election. Their current ventures include the popular Paradiso Caf? in Washington Mall West and a coffee distribution operation.

"Once (Caf? Paradiso) was up and running smoothly, I started concentrating on my own background as an accountant," Mr. Furbert said.

Mr. Furbert serves as Genesis' president, while his wife is the company's vice president.

The firm is run out of the Furbert's Hamilton Parish home with two part-time staff. Mr. Furbert said when the company needs to expand, it will relocate to Hamilton and take on more staff.

"We don't want to grow so large that we lose contact with our client base," Mr. Furbert said.

He added that the company's small scale allows the firm to charge lower rates as overhead costs are not as high as those at larger accountancy firms.

As a politician, Mr. Furbert served as Minister of Transport, Housing, Culture and Health and Social Services. He began as an accountant at Price Waterhouse and also worked as controller of the law firm Richards, Francis & Francis.

Mrs. Furbert has an insurance background, and served as the insurance technical officer at the Registrar of Companies.