This op-ed is based on a speech delivered this week at the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers Summit in Brisbane, coinciding with Global Bookkeeping Week.
Bookkeepers play a critical role in supporting thousands of small businesses across Australia.
Very often, bookkeepers are the first port of call for small business owners seeking advice, clarification and assistance.
The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers is the largest bookkeeping institute in the world.
It promotes and maintains the standards of bookkeeping as a profession, through the establishment of a series of relevant qualifications.
It’s important that bookkeepers raise their voice and celebrate success during Global Bookkeeping Week.
Data from COSBOA’s latest research with Square shows that Aussie micro and small businesses recovered more slowly than their mid-market peers in 2024.
Over the past year, 46% of SMBs have increased prices, and one in five have streamlined operational processes and changed their approach to marketing or social media in order to cope.
Almost half (49%) of SMB owners are feeling less optimistic about the Australian economy in the next 12 months, and are calling on policy support from the federal government.
Small businesses are struggling to maintain resilience in the face of tough economic headwinds, with small business owners looking to policymakers and government for more support.
Data from millions of transactions processed on Square reveals a two-speed economy in Australia, with local micro and small businesses recovering slower than their mid-market peers in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, and businesses are growing at different rates depending on their location, sector, and size.
Conditions are tough out there for Australia’s small businesses, as highlighted by a survey of small business owners across the country, which showed roughly half (49%) are feeling less optimistic about the Australian economy in the next 12 months.
Small businesses continue to feel the pinch of inflation, with owners noting that many operational costs are weighing more heavily on them today than before.
Small business owners outlined the areas where government policy could make running their businesses easier:
The overwhelming majority of bookkeepers are themselves small businesses.
It is therefore critical that red tape and costly regulation does not stifle small business growth and the success of bookkeepers.
The recent Tax Agent Services Act (TASA) Code of Conduct Determination 2024 is an example of how federal governments too often try to impose red tape onto small business without due consideration.
The initial approach of the Federal Government’s would have compelled bookkeepers and BAS agents to reveal to clients’personal information including with respect to their mental health and to publicise any investigations against them “no matter how spurious and vexatious”.
Rightly, you were particularly concerned about section 45 of the Determination which requires tax practitioners to disclose to clients ‘any matter’ which may significantly influence a decision of the client to engage the practitioner. In real terms, this would have meant sharing irrelevant personal information with clients.
These rules would causing real concern for professionals who already operate in an environment of significant scrutiny and regulatory burden.
Thanks to your advocacy, the TASA (Code of Conduct) Determination 2024 has now been amended and further amendments are to follow.
Its effective start date has been deferred unconditionally.
The new provisions do not commence until 1st July 2025 for firms with 100 people or less. For larger firms they will apply from 1st January 2025.
The TASA example is just one of many where small businesses face higher complexity, red tape and costs if there is not constant scrutiny and noise from industry.
Small businesses continue to report that the regulatory system is not working for them.
Recent research from the NSW Small Business Commissioner found that:
With a new government elected here in Queensland, and an upcoming federal election, now is the time for small businesses and the bookkeeping industry to speak up and demand a better deal from government.
Whether it is areas such as energy security, industrial relations, cyber, privacy or the regulation of BAS agents and bookkeepers themselves, we need to all work together to ensure red tape does not strangle small businesses, and the millions of jobs they create.
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Luke Achterstraat is the CEO of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia.
