Given the growing number of portents, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the coming year will be a notably tough one for business.
Wise CFOs will already have been responding according to their company and sector needs. However, the tenor of these responses is markedly more towards a defensive position, rather than expansionary. It’s all about cost reduction.
That’s small wonder. As Deloitte’s autumn 2022 European CFO survey suggests, CFOs are feeling “an all-time high” in their financial and economic uncertainty, topping the previous all-time high of spring 2022. In the UK, 57% are pessimistic about the financial prospects for their companies and sectors. Only a bold 13% say they’re optimistic for 2023.