How Global Businesses Can Better Manage Their Finances in 2025

Tristan Dakin, ANZ Country Manager, Wise

Research by Wise revealed that globally, nearly half (46%) of all micro, small and medium sized businesses (MSMBs) operate internationally. This includes over two-thirds (67%) of these businesses selling across borders, over half (56%) sourcing goods or services from international suppliers and a third (34%) engaging contractors or other employees overseas.

In Australia, 43% of MSMBs were operating internationally when this research was conducted a few years ago. Fast forward to now, you can only expect that number to have grown. Following the pandemic, rising interest rates and inflation - even more MSMBs are likely to actively be looking overseas for revenue growth.  But just as your business grows and becomes increasingly more global, so does the weight and burden of financial admin. Managing your business’ finances takes time away from your ability to do what you actually set out to do by starting a business in the first place. 

At Wise, we want to enable the Aussie businesses of today to operate globally from day one. So as business owners head into 2025, here are my recommendations for starting the year strong, and setting a future-proof strategy in place when it comes to managing your finances. 

Reduce dependency on traditional banking solutions:
The Australian business banking scene is not well set up enough to support MSMBs with global ambitions. Australian banks still have a very domestic-first focus with limited incentive to invest in international banking solutions. Because of this, businesses are forced to turn to multiple different tools to simply do business across borders. They may have one business account with a major bank in Australia as well as additional local accounts with other banks in the countries they operate in; they may use one provider for invoicing and another for employee expense cards and a completely different provider for paying staff in different locations. Or they may try and use their local bank, and get unknowingly ripped off. The Australian banking scene simply does not have a one size fits all solution for businesses with global ambitions. In addition to this, they often come with high (and hidden) fees and slow transaction times. Reduce your dependency on traditional banking solutions and look to specialist providers who can cater specifically to the international needs of your business. 

Automate whatever you can:
As a business owner, one of your most precious resources is time. Investing in tools that can integrate directly with accounting systems will help save time, streamline processes and drive efficiencies. It’ll also help business leaders make more informed, strategic decisions that lead to you being able to more accurately understand your cash flow position and therefore forecast your financial position more effectively. With Wise Business, you can sync all your accounts seamlessly, connecting to accounting software like Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and more, which most banks simply cannot do, and set-up automatic conversions at specific target rates. 

Safeguard your business when it comes to tax compliance:
It’s important that small business leaders mitigate risk by providing their finance manager or accountants with up to date, accurate data. This is especially important for global businesses who need to be tax compliant in various jurisdictions, as the reporting requirements will vary from country to country. To my earlier point, syncing your business accounts and accounting software will be a huge time saver when it comes to getting all the reporting in order.

Work with transparent partners:
As a small business owner, you’re going to work with many different suppliers and partners, particularly as your business grows and scales - both in size and across borders. When choosing these partners, I’d caution you to select those that are going to be transparent with you and share your business’ ethos. Choosing transparent, reliable partners will prevent supplier turnover in the long run, which only ends up being a huge resource suck. 

Global businesses can no longer afford to treat financial management as an afterthought. And planning ahead will help business owners to build future proof strategies that are resilient against unforeseen circumstances as we head into 2025.