A high proportion of Australian businesses, 82 percent, are not looking to register their assets under the new Personal Property Securities Reform (PPSR) coming into effect on 30 January.
In a recent report conducted by Coface Australia, Survey of Corporate Credit Risk Management in Australia, many Australian SMEs were still unaware of the implications to their business, despite significant changes to the way many companies will conduct their trading relationships.
The survey revealed 76 percent of respondents do not have a strategy in place to adapt their business to the changes. One of the key reasons for business operators being under prepared is due to a lack of education and awareness of the reforms. Some 74 percent said they were still unaware of the reforms, compared to 91 percent last year.
Chris Doubé, General Manager of Coface Australia said: “It’s alarming so many businesses are not yet prepared for this critical new piece of legislation, as the reforms will impact virtually all business operators in Australia.
“The PPSR will affect business documentation and procedures, providing a new level of security and certainty in business relationships. Australian companies should seek advice on registering their debtors to protect them against default,” he said.
The PPSR will bring together the different Commonwealth, State and Territory laws and registers governing personal property under one national system. The reforms will introduce the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 and the online PPS Register.
Press Contacts:
Tania Muñiz: ( +61 (0)2 8235 8615 / tania_muniz@coface.com.au
About the survey:
This is the third annual survey by Coface Australia on corporate credit risk management in Australia, and supports Coface’s commitment to developing the credit risk management market in Australia. The Survey of Corporate Credit Risk Management in Australia was conducted between 20-24 October 2011, with responses from 533 companies of all sizes, ages and industries. The survey aimed to provide a broad understanding of the status of payment experiences, payment trends and credit risk management practices among companies. The majority of respondents were private (39%) and sole traders (27%) from a wide range of industries including manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and finance services. In 2011, a greater number of larger companies (those with 100+ employees) took part in the survey, accounting for 34% of respondents compared to 4% last year. Public companies made up 16% of respondents compared to 2% in 2010.
About Coface – www.coface.com.au
The Coface Group, a worldwide leader in credit insurance, offers companies around the globe solutions for trade receivables management. In 2010 the Group posted a consolidated turnover of € 1.6 billion euros. 6,400 staff in 66 countries provide a local service worldwide. Each quarter, Coface publishes its assessments of country risk for 156 countries, based on its unique knowledge of companies’ payment behaviour and on the expertise of its 250 underwriters. In France, Coface manages export public guarantees on behalf of the French state.Coface is a subsidiary of Natixis whose share capital (Tier 1) was 16.8 billion Euros end December 2010.
