This study investigates the mediating role of self-awareness within the broader framework
of business acumen, emphasizing its connection to entrepreneurial accounting proficiency
and financial performance in community enterprises across Thailand. The purpose is
to advance theoretical understanding by integrating metacognition theory and the resource-based
view (RBV), and to provide practical insights for strengthening grassroots entrepreneurship.
Using survey data from 210 enterprises, a hybrid Structural Equation Modeling–Artificial
Neural Network (SEM–ANN) approach is applied to capture both linear and nonlinear
relationships among cognitive, technical, and financial variables. The results confirm
that accounting proficiency has a significant and positive effect on self-awareness
with value of 0.125. However, self-awareness does not exert a direct influence on
financial performance. These findings suggest that self-awareness may function as
a cognitive enabler, facilitating the translation of entrepreneurial skills into effective
decision-making, rather than serving as an independent predictor of financial outcomes.
Empirical patterns further reveal that commercial enterprises report higher self-awareness
than service firms, unregistered enterprises show greater awareness than registered
ones, and financially stable firms display lower awareness, suggesting complacency
or overconfidence. In contrast, regular participation in training significantly enhances
awareness, underscoring the role of continuous learning.
