EOFY and Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day
Small and medium businesses are the backbone of the global economy.
The numbers are striking. MSMEs account for over 90% of businesses worldwide, employ between 60 and 70% of the global workforce, and contribute roughly 50% of global GDP. In Australia, the picture is similar – small businesses make up around 97% of all businesses and employ nearly half the private sector workforce.
The UN’s theme for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day (27 June) of “Enhancing the Role of MSMEs as Drivers of Sustainable Growth and Innovation” signals that MSMEs are no longer just economic units. They are also engines of social change. So with the end of financial year (EOFY) happening at the same time, why not get started on thinking about:
Your Social Bottom Line
EOFY offers something more valuable than a regulatory deadline: it’s a natural reset point to audit not just what you earned, but how you earned it.
Here’s what a social impact-aware EOFY review looks like in practice:
1. Review Your Workforce Story
Look at your payroll data not just for tax purposes, but for fairness. Are casual employees being offered job security? Are your superannuation obligations fully met – and on time? Have any of your staff been paid at or above award rates throughout the year? EOFY is the moment to catch and correct your business practice.
2. Audit Your Supply Chain
Who did you spend money with this year? Consider whether a portion of that spend could shift to other small businesses, social enterprises, minority-owned businesses, or local suppliers.
3. Set an Intentional Giving or Contribution Goal
Many Australian businesses make end-of-year charitable donations partly for the tax deduction. That’s fine – and the deduction is real. But a good question for the new financial year is whether your contribution to community wellbeing is reactive (making a donation in June) or strategic (building giving, volunteering, or social procurement into your operating model).
4. Reflect on Your Environmental Footprint
Climate-related financial disclosures are now mandatory for large Australian businesses, and the regulatory tide is coming for everyone. As a smaller business EOFY is the time to begin tracking your energy use, waste, and emissions – because starting early is far cheaper and less disruptive than scrambling when the requirement arrives. Simple actions like switching to renewable energy providers, reducing paper use, or auditing your business travel can be planned and budgeted for in the new financial year.
5. Write a One-Page Impact Statement
This isn’t a formal ESG report – the starting point can be a one-page account of what your business contributed to social good and communities. What jobs did it create or sustain? What local suppliers did it support? What skills did it help develop? What communities did it serve?
New Financial Year Goals
The new financial year is an opportunity to make intentional commitments so consider anchoring your planning around a handful of impact-led goals:
On employment: Commit to exploring what your business would need to do to include and represent the diversity in our population in its new hires – whether that’s a young person entering the workforce, a woman returning after a career break, a person living with a disability or a refugee or migrant with English as a second language.
On procurement: Identify two new suppliers you may be able to partner with in your procurement process, such as a local small business or a social enterprise delivering social purpose returns.
On ESG foundations: Even if sustainability reporting isn’t mandatory for you yet, begin tracking one environmental metric such as your electricity consumption or business travel in kilometres.
EOFY is the one moment in the year when you’re already looking at everything – use it to look at more than the numbers. Create a plan to grow over the long term by embedding fairness in the business, procuring thoughtfully, and taking its role in the community seriously.
At Impact Business School, we help organisations and entrepreneurs turn social impact into practical business strategy — from inclusive workforce design to impact business modelling and learning design that builds the capabilities of your team through modern learning and development. If you’re looking to build a business that grows sustainably while creating meaningful social value, contact us to explore our masterclasses, business advisory, and impact-led learning experiences: connect@theimpactleague.com
