SMBs more resilient

Most Canadian small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have adjusted their business strategies over the past year in anticipation of a recession and are now feeling more optimistic about their growth ambitions, finds a KPMG in Canada survey. Although new challenges have emerged, nearly nine in 10 (88 percent) businesses are confident their company will grow over the next three years, up from 83 percent in 2022, and noticeably higher than the confidence levels of CEOs of large corporations (80 percent). 

The ‘KPMG Private Enterprise Business Survey’ of 700 companies reveals that recession worries mobilized leaders to take proactive steps to make their business more resilient. These wide-ranging efforts have included improving operational efficiencies (37 percent), cutting business costs/expenses (41 percent), reducing headcount (26 percent), and temporarily halting large expenditures (30 percent).