SMEs bullish on growth but stuck in strategic advice gap

Australian small and medium-sized businesses are heading into 2026 confident about growth, but many say they lack access to advisers with the skills needed for strategic decision-making, according to research commissioned by Findex.

The survey of 521 SME owners and senior decision-makers found 72% felt positive about their growth potential over the next 12 months. Almost a third (30%) said their business was in a very strong position to grow.

Most respondents also reported clear targets. Some 86% said they had specific growth goals for the year ahead, with the most common priorities being increasing revenue and improving operational efficiency.

Costs and capacity

Despite the upbeat outlook, the research pointed to persistent constraints. Around 79% of SMEs reported barriers to growth. Rising costs were the leading issue (41%), followed by lack of time or internal capacity (23%) and regulatory burdens (19%).

The survey also pointed to what it described as an "advice gap". About 85% of SMEs said they did not have access to all the professional advice or support services they required. Nearly two-thirds (64%) said their current accountant or adviser did not offer the full range of skills or services they needed.

More than a third (37%) said they did not believe their accountant or adviser supported business growth. The research also found that 90% mainly used advisers for compliance or administrative tasks rather than strategy and growth decisions.

Findex linked this pattern to delayed decisions and greater reliance on self-service approaches. Regional businesses were more likely to take on financial tasks themselves, with 31% reporting they handled accounting work in-house.

Regional divide

The research suggested the gap is sharper outside major capitals. Regional businesses represent 31% of Australia's 2.5 million SMEs, it found. About 80% of respondents agreed that regional and rural businesses face more barriers to growth than metro businesses.

Accessing quality advice also emerged as a key issue. Some 69% agreed it was harder to find top-tier financial advice from advisers who understood the specific needs and challenges of regional enterprises. In another measure reported in the findings summary, almost 70% of regional owners and senior decision-makers said it was harder to find quality financial advice from advisers who understood local industries and challenges.

Support for growth also appeared weaker outside cities. Around 42% of regional SMEs said they received poor support from their accountant or business adviser on growth, compared with 34% of metro SMEs.

Among regional respondents, the most sought-after improvements were advice from someone who understood local or regional context, strategic business advisory, and industry-specific insights. Each ranked among the top three needs, with local or regional context and strategic advisory both at 33%, and industry-specific insights at 32%.

Decision risks

The survey also pointed to operational and financial risks from inadequate guidance. Almost half of SMEs (45%) said they had avoided making a business decision, or made the wrong one, because they did not know where to go for help. More than one in four (26%) said this had happened multiple times.

The findings also suggested shifting expectations among younger business leaders. Gen Z and Millennial owners were more likely than Gen X and Baby Boomers to value deep knowledge and strategic advice from advisers. They were also more likely to engage an accountant or business adviser, with 66% engagement among Gen Z and Millennials compared with 35% among older groups.

Use of advisers for strategy remained limited overall, with only 10% saying they mainly used their adviser for strategic advice. Half relied primarily on compliance or administration, while 38% used a mix of both.

Trust was the leading factor when choosing an adviser (60%), followed by cost effectiveness (48%) and responsiveness and accessibility (44%).

Strategic advisory was a key unmet requirement, with 46% placing it among their top three needs from advisers. Industry-specific insights and financial planning or forecasting followed at 32% each.

Matthew Games, Co-CEO of Findex, said the gap was constraining growth in a challenging economic environment.

"Australia's SMEs have ambition in abundance but ambition alone isn't enough. Right now, too many business owners are hustling hard but flying blind without the strategic guidance required to turn opportunity into sustainable growth," Games said.

He said the findings showed a gap between how businesses use advisers and what they want from them.

"Our findings define a gap between compliance and confidence. Small business owners need advisors who can help translate numbers into strategy, using insights, forecasting and industry knowledge to turn financial data into decisive growth moves. For a sector that contributes around a third of Australia's GDP, unlocking that potential is not a 'nice to have', it is mission-critical," said Games.

Findex has 2,500 staff across more than 100 offices in Australia and New Zealand. It expects demand for strategic advisory and locally informed guidance to rise as SMEs pursue growth plans amid cost and regulatory pressures.