Australia’s small business sector is bullish about its prospects for 2018 according to the most recent Westpac-Melbourne Institute SME Index (December 2017) with strong sales and profitability driving the current wave of positivity. This is the first time small to medium enterprises have reported positive business conditions since 2016, AAP reported. Yet while the index, which gauges the sentiment among the nation’s more than two million small to medium-sized enterprises, suggests strong business confidence in the short-term, SMEs had a less optimistic outlook when they looked further into the future, according to a number of end-of-year surveys. Part of the reason for the slightly bearish outlook was while SMEs understand there are many more channels for success and avenues to grow, the other side of the coin is that there are more pitfalls to navigate. According to Westpac’s general manager for SME banking, Ganesh Chandrasekkar, the future for SMEs can be more positive if we help SMEs–alongside other key industries and government–to overcome barriers such as time, human resource needs, payments, cash-flow and quick access to credit.
