‘Finance and mortgage brokers play a critical role in helping small businesses navigate periods of uncertainty’
An alliance of professional bodies is urging Australia’s 2.6 million small businesses to lean on their trusted advisers as rising costs, regulatory changes and global uncertainty converge to squeeze margins and cashflow.
In a joint statement, the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA), the Affiliation for Business Resilience and Turnaround (ABRT), the Commercial & Asset Finance Brokers Association of Australia (CAFBA), CPA Australia, the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) and the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) warned that many SMEs are struggling not with awareness of the pressures, but with how to respond.
“Small businesses are not just dealing with one issue at a time, they are managing multiple pressures simultaneously,” said COSBOA chief executive Skye Cappuccio. “In this environment, the difference between a sound decision and a costly one often comes down to having access to the right advice at the right time and acting on it early.”
The groups are encouraging small businesses and sole traders to proactively engage with their accountants, bookkeepers, and finance and mortgage brokers to help manage rising input and fuel costs, volatile interest rates and reforms such as payday super and changes to payment surcharging.
Read more: SMEs are heading into payday super storm unprepared – how can brokers help?
Early engagement, they say, can help businesses shore up cashflow, restructure or refinance high‑cost debt, and avoid rushed decisions made under stress.
The alliance outlined six practical ways brokers and advisers can help SMEs right now:
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Managing rising fuel and input costs: Advisers can review margins, pinpoint where cost increases are eroding profits, and guide pricing decisions, including when to pass on costs or adjust contracts
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Preparing for payday super: Bookkeepers and accountants can help shift from quarterly to more frequent super payments, update payroll systems and plan cashflow to avoid shortfalls or penalties
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Navigating payment and surcharging changes: Advisers can unpack merchant fees, model the impact of removing surcharges and shape pricing strategies to protect margins
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Strengthening cashflow and financing: Finance and mortgage brokers can assess borrowing capacity, restructure facilities, refinance high-cost debt and open up a wider range of lenders and funding options
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Reducing red tape and admin: Advisers can streamline reporting, automate processes and ensure compliance is met efficiently, freeing up valuable time.
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Improving decision-making: With real-time financial visibility, advisers can help owners avoid reactive decisions such as under-pricing, cutting too many staff or delaying necessary changes
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Improving decision making: By providing real-time financial visibility, advisers can help business owners avoid reactive decisions, such as under-pricing, over-cutting staff, or delaying necessary changes
ABRT chair Eddie Griffith cautioned owners against quick‑fix pitches dressed up as advice. “If you’re approached with a single product or service as the fix to your financial stress, take a step back. That is not advice – it is a sales pitch,” he said, adding that genuine trusted advisers are members of professional bodies, bound by codes of conduct, and will “slow the conversation down” and walk through options and trade‑offs.
CAFBA advocacy chair David Gandolfo (pictured, right) said brokers have helped clients through past recessions, COVID and natural disasters, and urged borrowers to forecast cashflow three to six months ahead and contact their broker “proactive now rather than reactive when the pressure is far greater”.
Real-world examples of adviser support cited by the alliance include:
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A trades business discovering that rising fuel and materials costs had cut margins by more than 10%, prompting the introduction of a fuel adjustment clause in customer quotes
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A hospitality business preparing for payday super by reshaping cashflow planning so super is paid at the same time as wages
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A small business reviewing high-interest loans and refinancing to lower repayments and ease short-term cashflow pressures amid rising costs
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A retailer analysing merchant fees to find more cost-effective payment options and adjusting pricing to maintain profitability as surcharging rules change
CPA Australia chief executive Chris Freeland said engaging a professional adviser is “not just about compliance – it’s about protecting your business and having a trusted partner when it matters most”.
MFAA chief executive Anja Pannek (pictured, left) added that early engagement with brokers can help SMEs access the right funding options and “avoid costly decisions and build resilience” in a more complex economic environment.
“Finance and mortgage brokers play a critical role in helping small businesses navigate periods of uncertainty,” said Pannek. “Brokers work closely with business owners to understand their full financial position, explore a range of lending options and structure finance in a way that supports both immediate cashflow needs and longer-term growth.”
