Australia’s peak accounting and bookkeeping organisations, along with the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell, are trumpeting calls to subsidise professional advice for struggling small business owners.

Under the proposed Small Business Viability Review program, many ailing small businesses could access a 15-month plan from an accredited professional providing advice on the direction of the business.

To stay open, or not to stay open

Given the recession has forced small businesses owners to squeeze every penny, they are less inclined to pay for a professional assessment of the business.

While there are certainly aspects that business owners can review themselves, they fall short of the comprehensive financial evaluation provided by bookkeepers and accountants.

Carnell said that this assessment “is the critical first step that the small business owner needs to take so they can make an informed decision about the future of their business.”

Without one, business owners are potentially ploughing on blindly without an objective evaluation of their financial situation.

Approximately 500,000 Aussie small businesses, many now ineligible for JobKeeper, would benefit from the funding.

On top of this, 240,000 of these businesses are already at risk of failure, according to Council of Small Business Australia (COSBOA) CEO, Peter Strong.

What the viability review could provide

 “Small businesses have a short window to revitalise their operations and professional advisers play a key role in determining the best course of action,” explained Ainslie van Onselen, CEO of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ).

This would likely be generated through an assessment of the business’ profitability, revenue sustainability and comparisons to past financial years that business owners often lack the time to review.

Bookkeepers and accountants have already been helping small businesses through this crisis but can’t work for free.

By helping to provide access to these advisers, at a cost of around $1.5 billion to the already stretched federal budget, the government could support many Aussie business owners that have slipped through the cracks of JobKeeper.

“We know that many small businesses are under enormous financial pressure as a result of this crisis and the sooner they act on their professional advice the better the outcome for everyone involved,” said Strong.

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