A study by ICAs shows that finance directors are losing confidence in the UK economy and cannot reach consensus over the best way to solve the problem.
ICAs surveyed more than 170 of its UK members and discovered that only 9% expect economic growth to be slow but consistent in the coming 12 months. This time last year the figure stood at 28%.
56% expect to see negligible growth until the second half of next year and 25% believe that things are going to get worse before starting to improve. FDs at firms with a turnover of less than 10 million are less optimistic than their counterparts in large organisations.
Just over half of the respondents back the government’s policy of eliminating the fiscal deficit during one parliamentary term, but 20% fear the economy is suffering because of the austerity measures. Among the smaller business community, 30% of FDs said the scale and speed of cuts could damage the economy, whilst 46% thought the coalition was coping with the problem in the right way.
Anton Colella, the chief executive of ICAS, said that as well as being concerned about the current economic predicament, financial directors also worry about where the next global crisis is going to start. Despite their concerns, 60% of FDs have had the chance to grow their business since the start of the recession in 2008 and 52% have managed to grow by acquiring other companies.
Meanwhile, the number of jobs available continues to grow, albeit very slowly, according to the latest Report on Jobs from KPMG and the REC.
The number of permanent staff placements in August increased at the same pace as in July and demand for temporary staff remained steady. More people are now looking for a permanent position as candidate supply rose at its fastest rate since the beginning of 2010.
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