BDO, a leading Automotive accounting and consulting firm, has been engaged to facilitate a national Dealer Attitude Survey – and all should participate

For the first time in Australia, AADA will give franchised motor dealers the opportunity to provide meaningful feedback on key franchise and operational matters which impact the relationship between the retail Dealer network (franchisees) and the manufacturers/importers (franchisors).

Additionally the survey is expected to reveal the insights of Dealers regarding the future of the industry itself.

This vital feedback will be distilled through the ‘Dealer Attitude Survey’. AADA have engaged BDO, a leading provider of professional services to the automotive sector, to facilitate the survey and distil the responses.

BDO’s automotive partners, Mark Ward and Randall Bryson, will present the findings at this year’s AADA National Dealer Convention to be held in Melbourne in early August 2015.

The survey is based on similar surveys conducted by AADA’s sister associations, namely NADA in the United States and NFDA in the United Kingdom. AADA and BDO have designed the survey questions to follow a logical format.

In essence, the survey will be divided into four pillars:
•   Franchise – what is the current state of play?
•   Financial – is the model sustainable?
•   Facilities – are you investing in your facilities?
•   Future – what does the future look like?

We expect responses to questions about the future to be particularly interesting.

Through participation in this survey, Dealers nationally will have an opportunity to provide insight and opinion regarding the dealership model going forward on a range of topics like profitability, value, investment, consolidation, the cessation of local manufacturing and the industry challenges they would like AADA to be contemplating.

Each pillar will include a number of questions designed to evaluate the opinions of Dealers representing each franchise, regarding the performance of the franchisor.

‘The survey is designed to identify opportunities to enhance the relationship between the Dealer network and the manufacturers and importers,’ said Mark Ward.

The survey is also intended to provide constructive feedback. Participants may choose to address areas of weakness if they consider it necessary. It’s no different to an employee climate survey; the survey is not intended to be negative, rather an opportunity for feedback and response as required.

‘We hope that all of Australia’s Dealers will participate,’ said Mr Ward, ‘each survey should take around 15 minutes to complete and the identities of the participants and their responses will remain anonymous. For Dealers who complete multiple surveys as a result of representing multiple brands, we expect subsequent surveys should take approximately 10 minutes each.’

‘We look forward to distilling and presenting the results of the survey at the AADA National Dealer Convention. No doubt we will gain valuable insights which will be useful for all parties’ said Mr Ward.

For more information about the survey, contact Mark Ward, Partner, BDO on 07 3237 5744 or mark.ward@bdo.com.au