Common business myths are set to be challenged by a speaker at the upcoming Small Firms' Summit, it has been announced.

Alex Pratt, who previously advised both Conservative and Labour governments and currently runs a high-grade lamp manufacturing company, will address small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the conference on October 17th.

Mr Pratt seeks to expose the truth behind such commonly-heard statements as "your staff is your biggest asset" and "the customer is king" and will try to convince SMEs that innovation is led by supply rather than demand.

"No one asked for mobile phones, McDonalds or Starbucks," he explains.

In addition to speakers, the summit will offer workshops for managers of smaller firms to discuss and debate how government policies affect their companies.

The Small Firms' Summit has been organised by the Forum for Private Business and is sponsored by Barclays Bank.

Recently, the FPB cautioned that government pressure to file tax returns online could be disadvantaging small businesses.