1. Cash flow stability of small businesses in Australia: is there a relationship with taxation and owner literacy? Melissa Belle Isle PhD Canditate Griffith Business School Supervisors: A/P Brett Freudenberg Dr. Tapan Sarker

2. Research progress & purpose of the presentation 1. Status of the research  Progress to date  Where to from here 2. Purpose of todays presentation  Seek participants including experts and small businesses  Build a network in terms of sharing results and ideas  Feedback about concepts and methodology

3. Importance of small business in the service sector  The service industry is important to Australia because: -Employment: 85% of all Australian employees (9,147,000 people) -Gross Value Added: 82% or $850 B  A service is defined as:  An activity that delivers help, utility or care, an experience, information or other intellectual content. The majority of that activity is intangible rather than residing in any physical product.  Small Businesses in the service industry: -Employment: 44% or 4,009,000 of all service industry employees -Gross Value Added: $292 B

4. Relationships explored in this project Cash Flow Owner Literacy Financial Statements CAS Business Tax Literacy Taxation Timing of tax payment Frequency of reporting

5. Tax systems included in the research Pay as You Go Superannuation Guarantee Income Tax Goods and Services Tax Fringe Benefits Tax

6. Research Questions RQ: PRIMARY RESEARCH QUESTION  How is the cash flow of Australian small businesses influenced by tax obligations? SECONDARY RESEARCH QUESTIONS  SRQ1: Is cash flow of small business affected by the timing of tax payments?  SRQ2: Is cash flow management practices in small business influenced by literacy of small business owners?

7. Methodology Mixed Methods Research Project – 3 stages  Stage One – Multiple Case Study (qualitative) »Participants: small service sector businesses  Stage Two – Delphi Method (qualitative and quantitative) »Participants: experts  Stage Three – Large scale survey (quantitative) »Participants: small service sector businesses

9. UNIT OF ANALYSIS Small business in Australia Small business classified as service industry businesses Includes businesses defined as ‘Micro and Small’ by the ATO and the ABS. Annual turnover ≤ $10 million Full time workforce of ≤ 20 employees Experts:  Accountants, Financial Advisers, Academics, ATO staff and Small Business Advocates  All experts must have considerable involvement with small businesses in Australia

10. Issues/Feedback  How to measure o Financial Statement Literacy o Computer Accounting Software Literacy o Business Taxation Literacy  How to gain participants o Small service sector businesses o Experts - Accountants, Financial Advisors - Academics - ATO staff - Small business advocates

11. Contact Me Melissa Belle Isle Email: m.belleisle@griffith.edu.aum.belleisle@griffith.edu.au Website: http://www.melissabelleisle.com/smallbusinesscashflowandtaxati onresearch/ http://www.melissabelleisle.com/smallbusinesscashflowandtaxati onresearch/