CPA Australia seeks 10-year NZ small-business growth plan

By Nathan Brooks

CPA Australia wants New Zealand’s next government to set a 10-year small-business growth plan, with a few measures published each year so owners can judge progress.

Rick Jones, CPA Australia’s Regional Head, said the strategy should make small businesses a core pillar of the country’s growth and productivity agenda. His argument rests on a structural mismatch: nearly every business in New Zealand’s economy is small, yet those firms often sit at the edge of government growth plans.

A decade, measured annually

Jones said the strategy should set a 10-year direction and publish a limited set of measures each year. That cadence would give owners evidence of whether policy is working, rather than leaving them to judge isolated announcements at election intervals.

CPA Australia has made the same case to the Australian Government: productivity growth needs a long-term policy commitment and support across parties. It has proposed an annual Small Business Simplicity Index there to track how easily small businesses can meet their tax obligations. Jones said New Zealand should consider a similar index.

The proposal’s value is its measurement test. Annual publication would turn broad policy promises into a recurring check on whether small businesses are investing, adapting and complying more effectively.

What does this change for small-business owners?

For owners, the plan would replace broad promises with annual evidence on technology returns, succession and compliance. It would also direct support toward practical outcomes rather than more technology spending alone.

Only 26%—about one in four—of New Zealand small businesses said technology investment improved their profitability, the lowest result in the region. Last year, they invested most heavily in computer equipment, while artificial intelligence was the region’s leading investment category.

CPA Australia’s 2026 Business Technology Report, based on a survey of accounting and finance professionals in six markets, found that 88%—nearly nine in ten—of Australian and New Zealand businesses use AI. Only 11%, or about one in nine, have embedded it deeply. Businesses with broader AI integration were more likely to report higher profitability.

“The challenge, then, is not simply getting businesses to invest in more technology. It is helping them use it well,” Jones said. He said AI needs to become part of how a business operates, and owners need practical support to make that shift.

“Small businesses have a productivity problem, not a motivation problem,” Jones said. He argued that owners are willing to invest and adapt, and pointed to Singapore as a model for bundled, sequenced digital support. He said New Zealand should provide practical, well-funded programs that encourage owners to keep investing.

The succession gap in New Zealand ownership

Sixty-eight per cent—roughly two in three—of New Zealand’s small-business owners are aged 50 or over, the oldest ownership profile in the region. The regional average for that age group is 30%, or three in ten, while only 12%—about one in eight—of New Zealand owners are under 40.

Among owners under 40, 71%—nearly three in four—reported growth last year. Owners over 60 reported growth at 25%, or one in four.

CPA Australia’s report suggests a First Business Owners programme to connect aspiring owners with accredited advisers, mentoring and access to finance. Jones said older owners also need support if they want to adapt their businesses or hand them over. He argued that who owns small businesses over the next decade could matter as much as any single policy setting.

Compliance must become usable

Jones said one principle runs through all three proposals: policy must be simple enough for small businesses to use. CPA Australia’s submissions to Inland Revenue on GST, fringe benefit tax and shareholder loans each raised concerns about compliance costs for small businesses.

He argued that stronger small businesses would produce a stronger tax base, more jobs and a more resilient economy. But he warned that closing the gap with regional peers would take more than a collection of policies announced one election at a time.

Whoever forms New Zealand’s next government can set the 10-year direction and publish the measures that show whether it is working. For owners, the practical change would be an annual test of investment returns, succession and compliance, rather than another election-cycle pledge.