thinkBIG - Investing in the Future

2009

Small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in Australia employ some 3.9 million people in about 1.2 million enterprises. SMEs are critical as a growth engine for the nation’s economy, with productive small businesses having universal economic importance.

At RSM Bird Cameron, we have been serving SME owners since our inception in 1922 and we have a deep understanding of what it takes to build a successful growing business. We are also constantly looking for new ways to help business owners achieve sustainable development and over the years, we have invested heavily to better understand how the environment has changed.

Since 2005, RSM Bird Cameron has been conducting thinkBIG, a study of SMEs across Australia to gain insights into what drives success in these businesses. The results of the 2005 study revealed that business owners face two common challenges of creating wealth to support a successful and growing business, and realising wealth to fund personal wealth and retirement plans.

The results of the research from the 2007 study were highly publicised and they indicated that SME owners have a tendency to postpone planning for retirement until very late in the business lifecycle. The findings revealed that a good majority of SME owners are totally reliant on the proceeds of their business sale for their retirement, and most of these owners do not have an exit plan.

With the economic climate changing drastically in 2009, the aim with our third thinkBIG research study was to benchmark the planning practices of SME owners and assess the impact of the global financial crisis on their businesses. This report details key findings on whether SME owners are undertaking formal business planning, what superannuation planning challenges they face and how receptive they have been to seeking help from external advisors.

Productivity improvement in SMEs, even under adverse economic conditions, delivers profit growth and we are confident that this report will give you critical insight into the importance of investing in the future, even when the current downswing may make SME owners feel particularly vulnerable.

Terry Rodoni

National Director Business Solutions

RSM Bird Cameron