Welcome to the fourth edition of the European CFO Survey, a major initiative of the EMEA CFO Programme. The Q3 2016 Survey presents the opinions from over 1,100 CFOs across 17 European countries, giving access to a wide comparison of national sentiment in a continuing period of economic uncertainty.
These opinions are focused around topics such as risk appetite, financial prospects, and strategic priorities, as well as this quarter's special questions on BREXIT: The survey details how CFOs believe the negotiations between the EU27 and the UK will impact their business, and which aspects of Brexit would affect their business the most. Download the report to find out more.
Uncertainty lingers...
- Businesses across Europe have had a number of political shocks to contend with over the summer and two-thirds of CFOs view current levels of uncertainty as above normal
- Combined with a background of modest growth in Europe, CFO optimism remains broadly unchanged
- CFOs continue to be risk averse, with less than a third believing now is a good time to be taking greater risk onto their balance sheets.
...as Brexit fears mount
- Overwhelmingly, European CFOs think Brexit holds many more potential negatives than positives from the process: 37% think the negotiations will have a negative impact on their business, while just 5% foresee any positives
- A rise in non-tariff barriers to trade – specifically 'increased complexity and costs due to the introduction of different regulatory requirements' – rates as the biggest concern for 12 of 14 countries asked
- As a whole, 'reduced workforce mobility' and a 'rise in tariffs' rank as the next biggest concerns. The message for politicians and policymakers - ahead of the Brexit negotiations – is that non-tariff barriers matter at least as much, if not more, than the more-talked-about issues of tariffs and migration.
Download the report - European CFO Survey Q3 2016.
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