CFOs More Optimistic For 2023

Chief financial officers (CFOs) in the U.S. are starting to be a little more optimistic for their companies’ financial prospects with 32 per cent expressing optimism in the first quarter of 2023 compared to only 20 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022, says Deloitte’s ‘CFO Signals Survey 1Q 2023.’ Their appetite for greater risk-taking also increased, at 40 per cent compared to last quarter’s 20 per cent. Even while 93 per cent of CFOs have their finance organization focused on planning for a mild recession, more than half (54 per cent) see the North American economy improving over the next 12 months. The top actions they are taking to prepare for an economic recovery include investing in growth, sales, customers, and new markets; controlling cost/increasing operational efficiency; and building inventory/production capacity to meet demand.