Chief monetary officers at large U.S. corporations entered 2020 on a cautious notice, with nearly all anticipating an financial slowdown in opposit
Chief monetary officers at large U.S. corporations entered 2020 on a cautious notice, with nearly all anticipating an financial slowdown in opposition to the backdrop of an overvalued inventory market, in accordance with a survey launched Thursday.
The Deloitte CFO Indicators Survey confirmed that whereas the company leaders see the economic system as “good,” they anticipate that earlier than the yr is over, circumstances will sluggish.
They see shopper and enterprise spending slowing, and 82% anticipate taking extra defensive actions, like lowering discretionary spending and headcount, as a strategy to stave off the looming headwinds.
The slowdown is more likely to be significantly acute in Europe and China. Whereas 69% of respondents see circumstances in North America pretty much as good, the quantity is simply 7% in Europe and 18% in China, the latter a three-year low because the nation’s shift to a extra consumer-focused economic system and its commerce battle with the U.S. each conspiring to carry again development.
“North America is clearly the place the place corporations are persevering with to extend their funding focus,” stated Sandy Cockrell, Deloitte World CFO program chief. “There’s nonetheless a excessive stage of warning.”
Whereas CFOs see a downturn, that does not imply they’re foreseeing a worst-case situation. In truth, expectations for an outright recession fell to three% within the fourth-quarter survey, down from 15% within the first-quarter 2019 survey. Nevertheless,…