The June 2014 survey was commissioned by YCG accountancy group and questioned Western Sydney SME business owners and leaders about their views on the market, initiatives that would have the most positive impact on their business, and their thoughts on the future.
“The inaugural YCG Western Sydney Business Confidence Survey reveals that Western Sydney businesses remain reasonably upbeat and optimistic about the future,” said YCG Partner, Pierre Wakim.
“41 per cent of those surveyed are seeking to expand over the next 12 months while 38 per cent were looking to consolidate.
“Only 20 per cent of those surveyed said they were more worried about cash flow than a year ago.
“Respondents believed that reducing corporate taxes, infrastructure development and increased promotion of Western Sydney as a place to do business were the initiatives that would have the most positive impacts on their respective businesses,” said Mr Wakim.
15 per cent of Western Sydney SMEs were looking just to survive while six per cent were expecting to contract.
Only six per cent of those surveyed believed the construction of the new airport would have the most positive impact on their business out of a series of other initiatives.
Western Sydney businesses were concerned by many pressures out of their control.
While only 31 per cent of those surveyed said they were worried about competition, 41 per cent were concerned by paperwork and bureaucracy, 41 per cent by the Australian economic climate, 42 per cent by the Australian dollar, 50 per cent by taxes and 52 per cent by business costs.
Eighteen per cent of respondents believed the Federal Budget will have a negative impact on their business, while 13% said it would have a positive impact. Most of those surveyed were fairly neutral.
Alan Shields, Managing Director of RFi Advisory - the firm that conducted the research for YCG accountancy firm - commented: “It highlights that the main concerns of small business are related to macro-economic factors and the cost of doing business, rather than any underlying weaknesses in local business conditions.”
While 39 per cent of respondents said that reduced corporate taxes would have the most positive impact on their business, nearly one in four cited increased promotion of Western Sydney as a place to do business.
“This interesting statistic suggests that businesses operating in the region may be looking for increased investment by governments at all levels into the region’s brand and better promotion of its value proposition,” said Mr Wakim.
“From its vast area, large population, high levels of entrepreneurship and proximity to Australia’s largest CBD, there is no question that Western Sydney has some unique characteristics that may appeal to many businesses and people.”
24 per cent of those surveyed believed that Parramatta will rival the CBD and other state capitals as a business hub by 2024, while nine per cent disagreed.
“We commissioned the survey because we wanted to better understand Western Sydney businesses and their thoughts on the future,” said Mr Wakim.
“It’s a large and important region, so understanding its businesses can help service providers like ourselves better tailor our offering while assisting other stakeholders in the region contribute to its next stage of growth.”
YCG is Parramatta’s largest headquartered accountancy, advisory and auditing firm.
Shields commented: “This type of research, focused on the Western Sydney small business demographic is unique and very important at a time of such economic uncertainty. The findings help to debunk a lot of myths about the western suburbs and show that there is a lot of reason to feel optimistic about the future.”
The survey is based on the responses of 100 Australian small to medium enterprise business owners and leaders.
For the purposes of the survey, a SME was defined as having turnover of below $10,000,000. All respondents had a role in the financial decision making of the business.
