This report contains the findings of an independent review in the United Kingdom, commissioned by Ofgem's Board, into the root causes of the recent supplier failures and specifically, into how regulation of the retail energy industry played a part.

A summary of policy papers Ai Group has released in the lead-up to the 2022 federal election. They reflect the policy priorities of their members and support Ai Group’s ambition for thriving industries and a prosperous community.

Company-level investment is very sensitive to changes in the new sentiment indicator, even controlling for fundamentals, such as current and expected profits, as well as measures of company-level uncertainty. This paper explores the mechanisms that link investment to sentiment.

This report reviews the differing experiences of UK economic sectors during the COVID-19 crisis so far, the support offered by the government, and why the financial viability of many businesses still looks precarious.

This study uses tax data from the Longitudinal Business Database to estimate the firm-level average interest rate on liabilities.

Australia’s economy, like that of almost all other rich countries, is increasingly dominated by its service sector. This paper sheds light on the evolution of the services sector in Australia, busts some common misconceptions about services, and highlights the challenges associated with services productivity measurement...

This strategy report from the Business Council of Australia provides three clear steps to reopen the country and let people get on with their lives.

This study compares the relative performance of New Zealand’s firms to those economies using novel cross-country microdata from CompNet. The authors present stylised facts for New Zealand relative to the economies of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands and Sweden based on average productivity levels, as well...

Brexit and coronavirus are two shocks that are almost perfectly designed to substantially affect the entire UK economy. This paper argues that the UK government should restrict access to coronavirus support schemes to businesses affected by the pandemic, rather than those adjusting to Brexit changes.

This report is the last in a series of monthly reports by the Australian Industry Group about Australia’s business experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and recession in 2020.

The scale and pace of COVID-related transformations have led to a need for many businesses to re-strategise and to keep adapting. Over September and October 2020, CISL initiated a series of conversations to explore the implications of these challenges and transformations for business action on...

This report looks at the areas likely to be driving changes to risk management in 2025, including business continuity and resilience, regulatory change and compliance, and cybersecurity) — and how these impacts will evolve by 2030 (with climate change and artificial intelligence becoming increasingly prominent).

Doing business involves navigating a myriad of risks which makes insurance (compulsory and non-compulsory) an essential element of a successful business. This report finds that insurance is a pain point for many Australian businesses with most problems the result of complex global factors, rather than...

The COVID-19 pandemic has halted economic activity worldwide, hurting firms and pushing many of them toward bankruptcy. This paper discusses four central issues that have emerged in the academic and policy debates related to business financing during the downturn.

Reflecting on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on board practices and processes, the insights in this report have been drawn from interviews and roundtables with directors and company secretaries, as well as a survey of Australian Institute of Company Directors members.

This research brief provides an overview of the state of businesses in Australia throughout the COVID-19 pandemic from mid-March through to latest business impacts in June.

The Business Council of Australia and the Asia Society’s Asia Taskforce have released this interim report, which provides a blueprint for deeper engagement in the region, boosting trade and living standards, and building a strong economic recovery.

This survey asked small and medium-sized companies (defined as those with annual revenues of $1million to $100 million) what their unique needs and challenges were in the current operating environment.

Doing Business 2020 is the 17th in a series of annual studies investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. It provides quantitative indicators covering 12 areas of the business environment in 190 economies.

This background paper provides information about small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Australia, and describes some ways that SMEs interact with providers of financial products. This paper also highlights that there is no single definition of an SME in Australia, and that data about SMEs...

We estimate an unobservable domestic business conditions index for Australia using a variety of observable macroeconomic and nancial variables, relating it to an unobservable external index involving external variables relevant to Australia. Our small open economy, dynamic factor model uses stock and ow variables arriving...

The new small and medium sized businesses that are a by-product of this corporate restructuring use spatial networks instead of hierarchy (e.g. vertical and horizontal integration) to address agency problems and reduce transaction costs.