The latest government Budget was announced on May 21, with businesses small and large keen to see whether there are any sweeping changes that will affect them.
While Finance Minister Bill English explained that the country's prosperity going forward will hinge on private sector companies, many of which are small to medium enterprises, the steady approach adopted in the past appears to be staying.
A focus on innovation and growth
In positive news, the budget did outline ways in which it will help businesses across New Zealand innovate. There will be as much as $80 million offered via grants and other schemes over the next four years to companies looking to boost research and development practices.
It remains to be seen whether any of the announcement will help in driving the currency exchange rates down, which would have been high on the wish list of SMEs that are exporting their offerings to other parts of the world.
A question of time
Of course, whether the budget will have any real positive affects on small businesses is a question of time. However, it can perhaps be put in better perspective when compared with the 2014 budget.
In fact, KPMG noted that announcements made last year had some longer term positives for SMEs, not necessarily because of the budget itself, but due to the fact it made financial reporting a touch easier.
The government moved to make small business accounting fairer, by separating the rules by size of business. For example, organisations with a turnover of less than $30 million or assets worth less than $60 million were no longer required to prepare general purpose audited accounts, unlike their bigger counterparts.
While that change was relatively subtle, it has helped small businesses streamline their accounting practices. Whether any such factors within this year's budget have as much of an impact remains to be seen.
However, implementing any alterations in how the company has to account for its finances is kept simple by CashManager from Accomplish. Providing a hub for company capital, it can ensure that any small business is ready and prepared to deal with change.