Business development tested as economic confidence wavers

Businesses will be looking to focus on the future with the new financial year now well and truly underway. However, whether they will be approaching the coming 12 months with confidence still remains to be seen as reports indicate that optimism is flat-lining in the country's businesses. 

According to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (ACCI) Business Expectations Survey for the June quarter of 2015, economic confidence is no longer decreasing at the same rate as before. 

The organisation reported that expectations had dropped by 1.5 points in its index to 41.6. While this is the fifth quarter of decreasing confidence in a row, the rate has lessened, hopefully providing a boost to business development in the meantime. 

Despite the positive outcomes for SMEs in the recent federal budget, ACCI CEO Katie Carnell believes the effects of these developments are not reflected in the index yet. 

"The Federal Budget was a good one for businesses, particularly small businesses, but it is taking a while for that to filter through to business expectations," she said. 

Business owners aren't only struggling with their expectations of the overall economy, as confidence in their own companies has also taken a hit. When adjusted for trends, the index decreased for a fourth consecutive quarter. However, it actually increased when compared seasonally, which should hopefully bolster confidence among SMEs. 

These findings are in stark contrast to the consumer confidence figures recently published by Roy Morgan Research which showed that individuals are excited about the financial prospects of the coming year. While the results are down 1.8 per cent on the high recorded last year, they're a notable increase over the lows the index hit in recent weeks. 

Hopefully this increased consumer confidence will benefit the country's businesses as spending rises with it.