2011 A Year In Review

There is no doubt that 2011 was a difficult year for business.  When you consider the other issues that have affected business in Australia, you gain an appreciation of the problems that confronted every business and the government including natural disasters such as the Christchurch earthquake, Japanese tsunami, floods in Queensland, Victoria, NSW, SA and WA.

The Queensland coal mine floods have affected export sales income significantly for many months of 2011.

These external matters, when combined with continuing political uncertainty in Australia and the drop in business activity, all contributed to a difficult year.  Interest rates did drop a little, but unemployment has started to increase to around 5.5%.  The Australian currency has had a mixed result.  The rates of the A$ -vs- US$ ranged from 90 cents to A$1.10 and is currently about $1.02.  When this score card is examined, in conjunction with what is happening in Europe, USA and, to some extent, Japan, it highlights the necessity for small business operators to be very diligent in their business management in 2012.