The report indicates that while this sector of business have good intentions to plan for growth, businesses stumble when it comes to implementation.
Essentially this is as result a greater focus placed on the day-to-day demands of internal and external business issues, thus leaving little time to dedicate to growth strategies and succession planning.
Rob Bazzani Head of KPMG Private Enterprise said good business planning could yield a more robust revenue growth plan for these businesses.
The survey sought the views of 161 SMEs throughout Australia, across different sectors of business.
More than 50 percent of these businesses had fewer than 200 employees while at least one-third of the respondents were owner-operators.
David Pring, Managing Partner, KPMG Western Sydney, said the report reflected similar findings in the local region.
“What we are seeing is that a lot of private companies are seeking to innovate and grow through products, markets or technology. There is a lot of development with the technology disruption, we are also seeing a demand for better products and innovation in new markets,” said David.
“An example of this is how does a domestic manufacturer become a global player? Companies are looking at international markets and how we can be more competitive. There is an achievement on ‘brand Australia’ where Chinese consumers for example will pay a premium for Australian products.”
David said while business growth and planning to innovate is important, SME businesses faced unique challenges.
“It’s always a balance when it comes to SME and family businesses. Balancing growth plans, family relations and a business are different issues to what a publicly owned business has to deal with,” he said.
He added that family-owned businesses have come a long way, for example by putting in more governance.
However he said there was still room for better planning, especially when it came to assets, growth and succession planning.
