BOLTON West MP Ruth Kelly, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has urged companies to make sure they are ready when the euro currency is introduced on January 1.

Twelve Euroland nations including France, Germany and Ireland are replacing their traditional currencies with euros and the Government is warning UK companies that they need to be ready for the big change.

Ms Kelly -- keen to point out that she was discussing practicalities rather than politics -- spoke at a Manchester meeting organised by the Manchester & District branch of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in collaboration with the North West Euro Forum.

"Many companies still believe that because the UK has not joined the single currency, they do not need to take any action to prepare," she said.

"They see the euro as foreign, distant and alien.

"In fact euros will be arriving every single day on the ferry from the Republic of Ireland.

"So to see it as distant is a dangerous, blinkered and complacent approach for businesses to adopt.

"We want businesses to take a positive, proactive approach."

Ms Kelly said the Government was working with various groups to make sure businesses understood the nature of the challenge and that £9 million had already been spent on helping small businesses prepare.

She declared: "Let me stress, this is not money spent to promote the euro -- that is a choice people will have to make for themselves.

"This is money to prepare businesses to compete in the world of the euro."

Ms Kelly said the introduction of the euro in January marked a major change in the business environment.

It was not a threat to the tradition of free trade but an opportunity to engage in a more efficient, more competitive single market."

She said around half of all UK small and medium-sized companies had trading links with Europe.

"These firms need to think about a range of issues including the effects of increased competition, marketing and pricing, methods of raising finance, price transparency and market threats and opportunities generally," she said.

"UK companies need to be prepared for the impact of the euro or else they risk not only losing business but also missing out on the opportunities that the new environment will provide," she added.

Fellow speakers included Toni Hankins, managing director of Rowe Hankins at Bury -- a company which is already harnessing the euro as a major trading tool.