Senior finance executives across the globe remain optimistic about the economy, the outlook for their companies and their investments for the future, an international study has shown.
The 2019 Global Business and Spending Outlook was released by American Express and Institutional Investor Thought Leadership Studio (IITLS), The study is based on a survey of 901 senior finance executives from companies around the world with annual revenues of $500 million or more. In total, 180 CFOs and other senior finance executives from Asia and 30 from companies in India participated. All survey responses were gathered in late November and December 2018. IITLS estimates the margin of error for the survey to be approximately +/-3.2 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence.
Optimism in the air
The optimism of the top executives can be seen in their spending outlook.
“Indian firms are gearing up to efficiently manage their spending and investment this year with a keen eye on the future,” said Manoj Adlakha, CEO of American Express India. “While they balance spending to drive top-line growth with profitability, they’re pressing ahead with plans to take advantage of demographic and economic changes to stay relevant and competitive in the next 5-10 years," he noted.
Companies on growth track
Indian companies continue to grow; 87 percent of companies surveyed in India report higher or much higher revenue in the last 12 months, as compared to 43 percent last year. This number is notably higher than the worldwide (65 percent) and Asia average (63 percent) for this year.
The study has listed the top priorities of Indian CFOs as they seek to ‘future-proof’ their businesses.
Upbeat on external environment
Outlook on the external environment also remains extremely positive.
“I feel CFOs today play a critical role in the long-term strategic planning and health of the company. In fact, one of the findings in the survey is that 73 percent of Indian CFOs collaborate most closely with the board of directors. This is testimony to the increasingly important and strategic role CFOs play, as they navigate organisational spending in line with economic drivers and influences,” Adlakha pointed out.
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